Anthony James Movies

Hearts of the West (British title: Hollywood Cowboy) stars Jeff Bridges as Lewis Tater, a 1930s-era aspiring novelist who harbors dreams of becoming the next Zane Grey or Peter B. Kyne. He arrives in Nevada to seek out the correspondence school that has "graduated" him. After learning that he's been taken to the cleaners by crooks, he stumbles onto a threadbare film-unit grinding out "B" westerns. He is given a job by unit manager Kessler (Alan Arkin), then falls in love with spunky script girl Miss Trout (Blythe Danner). With the help of crusty stunt man Howard Pike (Andy Griffith), Tyler fends off the correspondence-school crooks who want the money that he has accidentally stolen from them. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Several inconvent truths about "equal consideration under the law" come to surface as Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) investigate two separate murders. One of the victims was a wealthy and well-connected white foreign businessman; the other was an impoverished black police informant. Judyann Elder delivers a stunning performance as the black victim's embittered wife, who challenges the cops to pay as much attention to her husband's death as to the executive's murder. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Richard Sarafian directed this minimalist chase film, starring Barry Newman as ex-marine, ex-race car driver and cop named Kowalski. He drives into Denver to deliver a car and pick up another vehicle to drive to San Francisco. To make the fifteen-hour drive to San Francisco bearable he pops a load of pep pills and drives off. Almost immediately, he is told to pull over by the police, but Kowalski refuses to stop. Ignoring the cops, a police chase ensues. Egging Kowalski on is a blind black disc jockey, Super Soul (Cleavon Little), who announces his comings and goings on his local radio show, praising Kowalski to the skies as "the last American to whom speed means freedom of the soul." Super Soul's hype makes Kowalski a media sensation and Kowalski fans mount up -- as do the police cars chasing him -- as he races against time to deliver both the car and himself to his San Francisco destination. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

When Jimmy Price (Jim Brown) wins an upset victory for sheriff, he becomes the first black man ever to hold the job (or any elective office) in anyone's memory in his rural southern county. He also sets off an ominous rumblings as the entire county seems split apart by his presence -- Mayor Parks (Fredric March) offers him the support of his office, but many whites aren't prepared to accept a black man as sheriff, while most of the whites that can accept him aren't saying so too loudly; a lot of older black residents, remembering decades of Jim Crow laws that only lately disappeared, are more confused than encouraged by Price's victory, while younger, more radical black citizens like George Harvey (Bernie Casey) have little use for Price's straight-arrow personality; they expect him to show them favoritism, and when he doesn't, they suspect him of being an nothing but a white man in black skin. Even Price's own wife (Janet MacLachlan) wonders if the cost of his being sheriff is too high. He finds himself alone, walking a tightrope between all of the forces pulling at him, and then the whole situation threatens to explode when he arrests the good-for-nothing son (Bob Random) of a wealthy man from the next county, who has killed a child while driving drunk. Soon the local klavern of the Ku Klux Klan is planning a meeting, and a lynch mob seems to be gathering across the county line to break the prisoner loose and take care of the sheriff. Price finally gets some unexpected help from his embittered predecessor, John Little (George Kennedy) -- Little would like nothing more than to sulk over losing his longtime job, but with his wife's coaxing he realizes that he can't let Price fail without the risk of destroying everything he worked for years to build. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Oscar winner Strother Martin is cast as Joad Bruder, the father of jailed stagecoach robber Randy Bruder (Anthony Colti). Aware that Joad is holding the Ponderosa money that was stolen by Randy, Joe and Hoss hatch another of their hare-brained schemes to retrieve the loot. Heading to Pineville, the Cartwright boy pose as two members of Randy's gang-a ruse that threatens to burn and crash when the wife of one of the gang members shows up unexpectedly. Originally shown on December 13, 1970, "The Impostors" was written by Robert Vincent Wright. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The winner of the 1967 Oscar for Best Picture (as well as four other Oscars), In the Heat of the Night is set in a small Mississippi town where an unusual murder has been committed. Rod Steiger plays sheriff Bill Gillespie, a good lawman despite his racial prejudices. When Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a well-dressed northern African-American, comes to town, Gillespie instinctively puts him under arrest as a murder suspect. Tibbs reveals himself to be a Philadelphia police detective; after he and Gillespie come to a grudging understanding of one another, Tibbs offers to help in Gillespie's investigation. As the case progresses, both Gillespie and Tibbs betray a tendency to jump to culture-dictated conclusions. Still, the case is solved thanks to the informal teamwork of the two law officers. Based on the novel by John Ball, In the Heat of the Night inspired two sequels, both starring Poiter as Virgil Tibbs. In 1987, a TV series version of In the Heat of the Night appeared, with Carroll O'Connor as Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Tibbs. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though based on an Edgar Wallace novel, Traitor's Gate was not part of the long-running British series of second features based on the works of Wallace. Albert Lieven plays a London businessman who doubles as a high-tech crook. He organizes an elite gang of thieves to steal the crown jewels. Their escape at sea is complicated by the rivalry between Lieven and his brother Gary Raymond. Traitor's Gate provides an interesting contrast to The Jokers (67), a "mod" comedy in which another pair of brothers pilfer the crown jewels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi