James Keach Movies
James Keach is the son of actor/producer Stacy Keach Sr. and the younger brother of actor Stacy Keach Jr. An actor himself, Keach has appeared with his brother in PBS' The Wings of Kitty Hawk (as Orville Wright) and in the 1980 theatrical feature The Long Riders (as Jesse James). He also worked on the script of the last-named project. Emulating his father, Keach has concentrated on behind-the-camera work as a producer and director. In the latter capacity, he has helmed such projects as False Identity (1991) Sunstroke (1991), Stars Fell on Henrietta (1994). In addition, James Keach has directed several episodes of the popular CBS TV series Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, starring his wife, actress Jane Seymour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1977
The story of "red light bandit" Caryl Chessman, previously dramatized in the 1955 film Cell 2455, Death Row (based on Chessman's own book), was adapted for television as Kill Me If You Can. In a radical departure from his usual duties as MASH's Hawkeye Pierce, Alan Alda plays Chessman, who in 1948 was found guilty of robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault. Under the laws of the era, Chessman was sentenced to die in the gas chamber. But by studying the law and publishing four books on his plight, the brilliant (albeit still repugnant) Chessman managed to forestall his execution for 12 years. Though no effort is made in the film to make the sociopathic Chessman any better than he was, John Gay's script comes out squarely in opposition of capital punishment. Kill Me If You Can first aired on September 25, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Talia Shire, (more)
Paul Bartel rips off his own Death Race 2000 in this mindless car-crash saga, containing more twisted metal than a bombed-out steel mill. The nominal storyline concerns an illegal auto race from Los Angeles to New York that promises the winner 100,000 dollars. David Carradine is Coy "Cannonball" Buckman, the race leader who drags his girlfriend, Linda (Veronica Hamel), along for the ride. Cade Redman (Bill McKinney) tools around in a loud red Trans Am, while Cannonball's nemesis barrels along in a big, black Plymouth, trying to outsmart Cannonball at every turn and exit ramp. The pile-ups keep building, and the cameos (Roger Corman, Martin Scorsese, Sylvester Stallone, Joe Dante, Paul Bartel) keep coming, but Cannonball must make it to New York to collect his winnings. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Bill McKinney, (more)
- 1976
- PG
The action in Death Play takes place during the opening night of a Broadway show. Interestingly enough, the cast is comprised of New York stage performers, including James Keach (Stacy's brother), former Hester Street star Stephen Strimpell, and future Benson co-star James Noble. The notion of a murder taking place while a show is going on is not new, though the depiction of the mystery killer demonstrates a bit of creativity, especially on the sound track. Death Play wasn't widely distriubed in 1976, so tracking down a copy may be difficult. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Higgins, James Keach, (more)
- 1976
- R
Alan Rudolph's first feature Welcome to L.A. displays his characteristic mood of romantic despair utilizing a La Ronde-like circle of sexual adventures and failed affairs centered around song-writer Carroll Barber (Keith Carradine) which spread out through the city. Barber is an aloof womanizer who cannot commit or love and is used by Rudolph to illustrate the loneliness inherent in big-city life. The film, featuring a haunting score by Richard Baskin, is a bit too ambitious for the beginning director. However, he gets good performances from Sally Kellerman as a lonely real estate agent, Geraldine Chaplin, as a Valley housewife addicted to taxi rides and Lauren Hutton as the mistress of a wealthy man. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Sally Kellerman, (more)
- 1976
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Directed by Stacy Keach, this 1976 made-for-television movie features a performance of Nobel Prize-winner Luigi Pirandello's fantastical drama Six Characters in Search of an Author. Starring Andy Griffith, the play takes place on the set of a made-for-television adaptation of Pirandello's The Rules of the Game and finds the cast and crew questioning their reality when six strangers magically appear. Also starring John Houseman, Julie Adams, Beverly Todd, and James Keach, the program was released as part of Kultur's Broadway Theatre Archive series. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Sal Mineo guest stars as Joey Hopper, the Manson-like head of a Satanist cult known as the Butcher Brigade. Escaping from a prison hospital ward with the help of his "family," Hopper swears vengeance against all the jury members that found him guilty of murder. The SWAT team's efforts to track down Hopper are stymied by obstreperous underground-newspaper publisher Ross Collins (William Windom), who might not be so sympathetic toward Hopper if he knew that his own daughter Judy (Belinda Balaski) aided in the cult leader's bloody escape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Forrest, Rod Perry, (more)
- 1975
The long-standing blood feud between the Hatfield family of West Virginia and the McCoy clan of Kentucky is effectively dramatized in this made-for-TV movie. Jack Palance and Steve Forrest star as the family's respective patriarches, Devil Anse Hatfield and Randall McCoy. Remaining faithful to the facts (more so than the 1949 Sam Goldwyn production Roseanne McCoy), the film charts the fluctuating relationship between the two warring factions -- sometimes they actually made overtures of peace, which of course didn't last too long -- as well as the star-crossed romance between Devil Anse's daughter Rose Ann (Karen Lamm) and Randall's son Johnse (Richard Hatch). Featured in the cast are Palance's former wife Virginia Baker as Devil Anse's present wife Levicy and his daughter Brooke as Mary Hatfield. The Hatfields and the McCoys first aired January 15, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
While still grieving over the murder of her son, Joanna Portman (Kim Hunter) is visited by a young girl (Gretchen Corbett) claiming to her daughter Gail--who for several years has been presumed dead. Though Joanna is delighted by the girl's arrival, Ironside suspects that Gail's sudden reappearance is too good to be true. Sure enough, it turns out that there are sinister forces who are trying to kill off Joanna's entire family...and that the girl calling herself Gail may be at the center of the carnage! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- R
In this violent drama, two hippies head for the wilds of California to find a good buddy and end up assaulted and raped by two terrifying woodsmen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Its title inspired by the famous Robert Frost poem "Stopping By a Woods on a Snowy Evening," Miles to Go Before I Sleep stars Martin Balsam and MacKenzie Phillips. Balsam plays a lonely senior citizen, seeking a means of keeping busy in a world that has shut him out. He takes a part-time job at a youth rehabilitation center, where he meets incorrigible delinquent Phillips. Tentatively reaching out to one another, the two lost souls both find a reason for living. Miles to Go Before I Sleep was first telecast as a 90-minute GE Theater special on January 8, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
New York City is held in thrall by a serial killer known as Excalibur, who rapes and strangles unmarried women, then tosses them in the river--but not before marking their heads with a design resembling the sword of King Arthur. After several months' activity, Excalibur is back in business, and Kojak (Telly Savalas) is determined to put him away. But is it really Excalibur who has resumed the killing spree, or a demented copycat? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
