Frank Pierson Movies

An old friend of Paladin's named Gravely (Bill Mims) has organized a western "safari" for a group of wealthy British visitors. The highlight of the festivities is to be a mock Indian raid--but things take a deadly turn when one member of the party is found dead, shot by an arrow! Called in to protect the survivors, Paladin (Richard Boone) begins to suspect that the murderer is not an Indian, but instead a member of the safari...but who, and why? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Billy Banjo (Jacques Aubuchon), an old friend of Paladin (Richard Boone), is currently running for the Wyoming State Senate. Billy's wife Elise (Rita Lynn) is so devoted to her husband that she is willing to do anything--anything!--to assure his victory. As a result, a nervous Billy hires Paladin (Richard Boone) to prevent Elise from arranging the murder of the opposing candidate! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Released from prison after eight years, Aaron Bell (Barry Cahill) heads to the town where his brother was lynched during the Civil War. Fearing that Bell craves revenge, the nervous townsfolk hire Paladin (Richard Boone) for protection. As it turns out, however, Paladin must protect Bell from the townsfolk! This is the first Have Gun--Will Travel episode directed by series star Richard Boone. directed by Richard Boone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paladin (Richard Boone) has been summoned to the town of Whiskey Slide, where a baseball game has been going on for days and days. Unfortunately, the makeshift ballpark has become a battleground due to long-standing feuds amongst the local players and their professional out-of-town rivals; in fact, several men have been killed or wounded in the course of the marathon game! Donning an umpire's uniform, Paladin attempts to bring the game to a satisfactory conclusion--while simultaneously avoiding further bloodshed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A ferocious storm rages outside a remote wayside inn. The building's occupants include innkeeper Jeri Marcus (Jeanette Nolan), US Marshal Jim Buell (Crahan Denton), Buell's prisoner Davey Walsh (played by Gomer Pyle USMC's future "Sergeant Carter", Frank Sutton). . .and Paladin (ichard Boone), who has stopped at the inn during his search for a fugitive killer. Throughout the night, Walsh desperately insists that he is innocent--while Marshal Buell, convinced that Paladin has arrived to help Walsh escape, is nervously poised to shoot first and ask questions later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This musical spoof of Westerns featured Lee Marvin in dual roles that won him a Best Actor Oscar. Jane Fonda stars as the title character, a prim schoolmarm returning to her hometown of Wolf City, Wyoming, after receiving an Eastern education. On the train ride, Cat meets up with a pair of friendly, charming crooks, Clay Boone (Michael Callan) and his uncle, Jed (Dwayne Hickman), the former becoming hopelessly smitten with the naive but tough Cat. Upon arriving home, Cat discovers that her eccentric father, Frankie (John Marley), is being threatened with bodily harm by a development company that desperately wants his land. When Frankie is murdered by ruthless, noseless killer Tim Strawn (Marvin), Cat straps on a pair of six-shooters and persuades Clay, Jed, and her father's loyal Native American hand Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini) to sign on as her posse. In her quest for revenge, Cat also recruits Kid Shelleen (also played by Marvin), a one-time fearsome gunslinger who's now a hopeless alcoholic. Cat Ballou (1965) is interspersed throughout the narrative with appearances by Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole as a pair of balladeers who comment on the action musically in Greek chorus style. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Four neophyte criminals get some unexpected help from their first victim in this caper comedy. A quartet of Miami Beach bohemians -- Sureshot (Michael Parks), Taurus (George Maharis), Herby (Robert Walker Jr.), and Sandy (Faye Dunaway) -- are looking for kicks and some fast money, and they hatch a scheme that they're sure will bring them both. Roc Delmonico (Anthony Quinn) is a well-known local restaurateur believed to be connected with the Mafia; the four beach bums kidnap Roc and hold him for ransom. To the surprise of the first-time kidnappers and the great annoyance of Roc, neither his wife, Monica (Martha Hyer), nor his business partners are willing to pony up 200,000 dollars to set the former gangster free. The angry Delmonico soon joins forces with his kidnappers, and with his background in crime, he advises them on how to make a hostage situation work. Roc's advice is right on the money, and the price for his safety zooms from 200,000 dollars to three million dollars. Roc's new friends are happy about this unexpected windfall, and Delmonico likes the idea of putting the screws to the so-called "friends" who let him down, but actually getting their hands on the money turns out to be far more complicated than any of them expected. The theme song from The Happening proved to be a major hit for Diana Ross & the Supremes -- in fact, a much bigger hit than the movie itself. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV Neon Ceiling top-bills Gig Young as a disenfranchised gentlemen who operates a remote desert gas station/diner. Enter Lee Grant, who has driven into the desert with daughter Denise Nickerson in hopes of escaping a bad marriage. Young resents their presence and is as rude as possible--leading Lee to conclude that Young is the first honest man she's ever met. Ultimately (and inevitably), the two lost souls begin a new life together. Critically praised upon its first telecast, Neon Ceiling plays like the rough draft of a forgotten William Inge play when seen today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a true 1972 story, Sidney Lumet's 1975 drama chronicles a unique bank robbery on a hot summer afternoon in New York City. Shortly before closing time, scheming loser Sonny (Al Pacino) and his slow-witted buddy, Sal (John Cazale), burst into a Brooklyn bank for what should be a run-of-the-mill robbery, but everything goes wrong, beginning with the fact that there is almost no money in the bank. The situation swiftly escalates, as Sonny and Sal take hostages; enough cops to police the tristate area surround the bank; a large Sonny-sympathetic crowd gathers to watch; the media arrive to complete the circus; and police captain Moretti (Charles Durning) tries to negotiate with Sonny while keeping the volatile spectacle under control. When Sonny's lover, Leon (Chris Sarandon), tries to talk Sonny out of the bank, we learn the robbery's motive: to finance Leon's sex-change operation. Sonny demands a plane to escape, but the end is near once menacingly cool FBI agent Sheldon (James Broderick) arrives to take over the negotiations. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Not surprisingly, this fascinating dissection of Gypsy life in America was vilified by several ethnic special-interest groups, who'd previously delivered their mimeoed missives to novelist Peter Maas, on whose book the film was based. Sterling Hayden is the "king" of a New York-based gypsy tribe, who on his deathbed passes his crown to his reluctant grandson, Eric Roberts. Roberts' scuzzy father Judd Hirsch, envious that he's been passed over, begins plotting the demise of his own son. It appears at first that the boy, a thoroughly assimilated Manhattanite, would be more than willing to give up his invisible throne to Hirsch, but there's something about his heritage that always draws him back to his own people. Several genuine gypsies took part in the film as extras, bit players and technical advisers; reportedly, they also spent much of the shooting time trying to cadge a few dishonest dollars from cast and crew. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's advisable to know from the beginning of The Milagro Beanfield War that "milagro" is the Spanish word for "miracle". The scene is a rundown Hispanic community in New Mexico, bordering a posh housing development. In full control of the local water rights, the powers-that-be are secure in the belief that they'll be able to expand their development without resistance from the locals. No one can foresee that impoverished farmer Chick Vennera, during a burst of frustrated rage, will accidentally open a heretofore hidden sluice, thereby providing free water for his beanfield. At first, the locals are against Vennera's "insurrection", reasoning that the new housing development will provide jobs. But with the help of John Heard, a burned-out 60s activist who now runs the community newspaper, Vennera becomes the hero of the hour, the spiritual leader of an ever-growing "no development" movement. The evil land developers send their minions to intimidate or coerce Vennera; each time, however, he is seemingly protected from harm by Divine intervention. When Vennera is forced to shoot a trespasser on his land, it looks as though his luck has run out. Chased into the hills by private detective Christopher Walken, Vennera is once more rescued in the nick of time by what appears to be a miracle. And there are more wonders to behold before fadeout time! Whimsical yes, but thanks to its hand-picked ensemble cast (including Sonia Braga, Ruben Blades, James Gammon, Daniel Stern, Freddy Fender, M. Emmett Walsh and Melanie Griffith) the film remains totally credible throughout. Adapted by John Nichols and David Ward from Nichols' own novel, Milagro Beanfield War may be the most likeable "liberal-tract" film of the 1980s. Robert Redford's appropriately Capraesque direction is matched by Dave Grusin's vibrant Oscar-winning musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford) is a bland, oppressed man who burns with a quiet, corrosive intensity that can flare uncontrollably. A Philadelphia prosecutor, Sabich's fire seems to have one outlet: his job. He loves prosecuting people. Otherwise, his life is dead-ended. He has a loveless marriage to a neurotic woman (Bonnie Bedelia) and an overbearing boss (Brian Dennehy) in a labyrinthine law enforcement world of corruption and twisted relationships. Then Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi) comes into his life. Lovely and seductive, Polhemus easily entices him to break his marital vows, but she schemes to get him to try for his boss' job. When he refuses, she leaves him. When she turns up dead, the victim of an apparent rape-murder, clues begin to point to Sabich. His blood type almost perfectly matches that in the semen found in the victim, carpet fibers at the crime scene match those found in his house, and most damning, his fingerprints are found on a beer glass in Polhemus' apartment. His protestations of innocence ignored, Sabich is put on trial for the murder and hires his biggest adversary (Raul Julia) to defend him. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide