Billy Green Bush Movies

Martin Scorsese's first Hollywood studio production also marked his first (and only) foray into a woman-centered story. Alice Hyatt (Ellen Burstyn), a resigned Southwest housewife, takes advantage of her trucker husband's sudden death to hit the road with her bratty son Tommy (Alfred Lutter) and pursue her childhood dream of a singing career. She finds a job as a lounge singer, but after a horrific encounter with an abusive new beau (Harvey Keitel), she flees and winds up taking a waitress job at Mel's Diner, run by gruff cook Mel (Vic Tayback). With her career on hold, Alice soon finds strength and self-worth through her friendship with the other waitresses, saucy Flo (Diane Ladd) and spacy Vera (Valerie Curtin). When sensitive rancher David (Kris Kristofferson) starts courting her, Alice wonders if she wants to abandon her goals for domesticity again. To contrast Alice's dream life with her reality, Scorsese created a stylized opening sequence of Alice as a child reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, Duel in the Sun and Gone With the Wind, before shifting into the present-day atmospheric immediacy of location shooting and scenes built out of improvisations. That opening sequence alone cost over twice as much as Scorsese's debut feature, Who's That Knocking At My Door?. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Attack on Terror: The FBI Versus the Ku Klux Klan is a fact-based, two-part TV movie. The film is a dramatization of the murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. The FBI, personified herein by southern operative Wayne Rogers, is brought in to investigate the trio's disappearance. Upon the discovery of the bodies on August 2, 1964, the feds follow a trail of (admittedly skimpy) evidence which leads to the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, headed by the virulent Glen Tuttle (Rip Torn). The first part of Attack on Terror was originally telecast February 20, 1975. The film was based on the book by Don Whitehead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ben and his fellow cattlemen find themselves at the mercy of Chicago meat packer Emmett J. Whitney (Walter Barnes). Having purchased the rights to all railroad cattle cars, the greedy Whitney refuses to allow anyone to use those cars unless they allow him to purchase their stock at the outrageously low price of three dollars per head. Enraged, Ben puts his fortune-and the Ponderosa-on the line to beat Whitney at his own game. The supporting cast includes Kathleen Freeman as Ma Brinker, James McCallion as Luther, Mark Tapscott as Steve Rance, Billy Green Bush as Spanier, and Arthur Peterson as Lloyd Walsh. Written by Joel Murcott, "Long Way to Ogden" was originally telecast on February 22, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Critters, an amusing horror comedy directed byStephen Herek, is the story of a family menaced by eight basketball sized creatures from outer space who arrive at their Kansas farm in search of food. Helen Brown (Dee Wallace Stone) and Brad (Scott Grimes), owners of the farm find themselves held hostage as the creatures roll, jump and bounce around during the night. They are pursued by a pair of inept, intergalactic bounty hunters, Charlie (Don Keith Opper) and Johnny (Terrence Mann) who can shape-shift at will and are packing weapons capable of taking care of any creature they encounter. The special effects of this humorous thriller are extremely good and the creatures themselves have distinct and separate personalities. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

A police officer who would rather use his brains than his gun is put into a situation where neither can help him in this police drama. John Wintergreen (Robert Blake) is a sawed-off and street-smart Arizona motorcycle cop who dreams of climbing the ladder and becoming a police detective, but his ambitions are scoffed at by his partner, Zipper (Billy "Green" Bush). Wintergreen's superiors tend not to take him seriously due to his short stature, but when he stumbles upon the site of a murder, he digs up enough relevant evidence to insure his advancement to detective status. However, after a few days on the job, Wintergreen begins to realize just how corrupt his superior Poole (Mitchell Ryan) truly is after Poole attempts to frame a local hippie, Bob Zemko (Peter Cetera), for a crime he didn't commit. Adding fuel to the fire is Poole's discovery that he and Wintergreen have been dating the same woman, dancer-turned-barmaid Jolene (Jeannine Riley). Electra Glide in Blue was the first (and to date only) directorial credit for James William Guercio. Successful in the music industry as a manager and producer, Guercio was best known for his association with the top-selling jazz-rock group Chicago; several members of the band appear in the movie, as does a young Nick Nolte in a bit part. On a note of sad irony, Terry Kath, the longtime Chicago vocalist who died in 1978 from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, plays a gun-wielding killer in this film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A disaffected man seeks a sense of identity in one of the key films of Hollywood's 1970s New Wave. Once a promising pianist from a family of classical musicians, Bobby Eroica Dupea (Jack Nicholson, in his first major starring role) leads a blue-collar life as an oil rigger, living with needy waitress girlfriend Rayette (Karen Black) and bowling with their friends Elton (Billy "Green" Bush) and Stoney (Fannie Flagg). Feeling suffocated by responsibilities, Bobby seeks out his sister, Tita (Lois Smith), and, discovering that his father is gravely ill, he reluctantly heads back to the patrician family compound in Puget Sound with a pregnant Rayette in tow. After a road trip featuring a harangue from hitchhiker Palm (Helena Kallianiotes) about filth, and Bobby's ill-fated attempt to make a menu substitution in a diner, he tucks Rayette away in a motel before heading to the house. There Bobby seduces his uptight brother Carl's cultured fiancée, Catherine (Susan Anspach), but Rayette shows up unexpectedly. As Rayette's crassness collides with the snobbery of the Dupea circle, Bobby loses patience with both sides. After trying to reconcile with his mute father, Bobby departs, unwilling to give in to either destiny. Director Bob Rafelson and screenwriter Adrien Joyce (aka Carole Eastman) used the creative control afforded by the low budget to craft a European-influenced character study, catching a cultural mood of anomie and resentment as it was embodied in Bobby. Neither older generation nor hippie, Bobby fits in nowhere, and his desire for independence conflicts with his emotional emptiness. Nicholson's nuanced performance of simmering frustration resonated with 1970 audiences caught between Nixon's "silent majority" and the troubled counterculture; a substantial hit, Five Easy Pieces was nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor, and established Nicholson as a star. Offering no "easy" answers to Bobby's existential crisis, Five Easy Pieces is one of the pre-eminent films in the early-'70s cycle of alienated American art movies, as even the fantasy of rebellion is reduced to merely running away. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Billy Green Bush guest-stars as Cowboy, a wonder chopper pilot. When Henry (McLean Stevenson) refuses to ship Cowboy home, the outraged pilot threatens dire consequences. Before long, the 4077th is plagued by all manner of weird calamities, ranging from a runaway jeep to an exploding toilet. But the worst is saved for last, when Henry is obliged to take a helicopter ride with the combustible Cowboy. This episode originally aired on November 12, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a Louisiana black man has brought his family to Los Angeles to fulfill his dream of opening his own bakery. For him, it was a great gamble as he had no credit, and little money. Still, he manages to get the bakery going. Unfortunately, the business is not able to sustain itself and the fellow is forced to close it down and take a sanitation job. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Hoping to land a hot scoop that will increase his prestigate as a reporter, Tim (Bill Bixby) uses the CCTBS time machine to solve the robbery of the famous Beaudelaire jewels. Instead, Tim is forced to help the jewel robbers--and ends up in jail for his troubles. Martin (Ray Walston) goes undercover as a convict to save Tim and expose the real crooks, who were allegedly behind bars when the heist took place. Look for a young Billy Green Bush (here billed as "William") as a bank guard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Skyway to Death is still another TV-guest-stars-in-jeopardy opus. This time, everyone is packed into an aerial tramway. As the assorted characters hang some 8500 feet in the air, their car breaks down and threatens to plummet earthward. The special guest victims include Ross Martin (sometimes erroniously listed as the film's director), Stefanie Powers, Bobby Sherman, Tige Andrews, Nancy Malone, John Astin and Joseph Campanella. Skyway to Death first dropped onto American's TV screens on January 19, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The cartoon firm of Hanna-Barbera produced the live-action TV movie The Beasts are On the Streets. No, the beasts aren't Yogi Bear, Snagglepuss and Scooby-Doo, but instead a contingent of dangerous jungle animals. A tanker truck has smashed through the fence at a Texas game preserve, releasing the beasts upon a screaming and scrambling populace. Zoologist Carol Lynley tries to predict where the animals are most likely to strike-and strike they do, 'cause they're smarter than the av-er-age beasts. Filmed on location in Grand Prairie, Texas, The Beasts are On The Streets was first telecast May 18, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gary Grimes stars in this revisionist western as Ben Mockridge, a 16-year-old boy who has long dreamed of living the life of a cowboy. Wanting adventure, he persuades Frank Culpepper (Billy Green Bush) to take him along on a cattle drive, and Ben learns the hard way just how lonesome, exhausting, and violent the life of a cowhand can be. As one of the men on the drive puts it, "Being a cowboy is what you do when you can't do anything else." Hal Needham, who would later direct a string of successful films starring Burt Reynolds, can be spotted in a small role as Burgess, one of the cowboys. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide