Robert Carradine Movies
The youngest of four sons of actor John Carradine, Robert Carradine has followed his brothers Keith and Bruce and half-brother David into the performing trade. Robert made his film bow as a teenager in 1972's The Cowboys, playing juvenile leads until his facial features matured into those of a young character actor. He appeared with his brothers in the 1982 western The Long Riders, which co-starred such show-biz siblings as the Keaches (Stacy and James) and the Quaids (Randy and Dennis). In 1984, Robert Carradine scored a hit as one of the bespectacled, slide-rule-bearing leads of the raunchy comedy Revenge of the Nerds (1984), followed in short order by Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Escape from L.A. finds Kurt Russell once again in the role of Snake, which he played in the 1981 film, Escape from New York. Los Angeles has finally had the really big earthquake everyone was afraid of, and what remains is now an island. Because the country's ultra-righteous President-for-Life (Cliff Roberton) wants it that way, all the weirdos and freaks that previously inhabited New York in large numbers, and the rest of the U.S. in smaller concentrations, have been quarantined on the island of L.A. The president has Snake taken from the nice, decent prison he was living in for a special mission in L.A. The president's daughter has joined the resistance movement determined to overthrow his one-man rule, and has stolen his secret "black box" (a doomsday machine) to boot. Snake is given a poison which will kill him in a few hours unless he returns to the president for the antidote. His mission is to recover the black box and kill the president's daughter. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Stacy Keach, (more)
- 1996
- R
In this sci-fi thriller, a young musician living on another planet sets off for revenge against the egomaniacal corporate fiend responsible for the murder of his twin brother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bentley Mitchum, John Savage, (more)
- 1995
Despite orders from Hicks (CCH Pounder), Benton (Eriq La Salle) is determined to stay awake throughout a 48-hour shift, with potentially disastrous results. Elsewhere, a terminally ill patient (Sanford Meisner) is inadvertently given a brief "reprieve" by Carter (Noah Wyle). Ross (George Clooney) is surprised when Carol (Julianna Margulies) drops by -- during Ross' intimate dinner with Diane (Lisa Zane). And Greene (Anthony Edwards) may lose out on a terrific job opportunity if he can't iron out his domestic problems with Jenn (Christine Harnos). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This thriller was filmed on location in Bulgaria. The story centers on Nikolai as he makes his final confession and tells his story to a priest on the day he is to be executed. His tale of revenge is presented in flashback and begins while Nikolai was still a child. Back then he saw his father, a policeman, brutally shot by Griffith, an American smuggler of drugs and arms when the Communists were still in control. Nikolai spent the rest of his life plotting his revenge. He begins by seducing the smuggler's daughter, Kily, who has come to visit. He then tells the criminal that he has kidnapped her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
The silly spirit of Revenge of the Nerds lives on in this made-for-television sequel. Curtis Armstrong returns as Booger, and this time around the nerds are gathering for his wedding to a wealthy upper-class girl. As the nerds plan a wild bachelor party, the girl's father is busy hiring an investigator to look into Booger's past and hopefully stop the wedding. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Christina (Claire Yarlett) disappears while taking a little excursion on a friend's yacht. It looks like an accident to some, like suicide to others. There are also those who believe that Christina was killed by her businessman husband (John Stamos). He is convinced that she's still alive -- but the police think otherwise and charge him with murder. A USA Cable Network suspense thriller, The Disappearance of Christina debuted on November 9, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Horror virtuoso John Carpenter hosts this goofy horror anthology, originally produced for Showtime as a gory stepchild of HBO's Tales from the Crypt series. Playing an emaciated, eye-rolling "coroner," John introduces the audience to a triptych of creepy vignettes in the EC horror-comics mode while paddling about in the guts of assorted cadavers and cracking jokes more gag-inducing than anything oozing on the slab. Two of the stories are directed by Carpenter himself: "The Gas Station" is a retread (pun intended) of Halloween-style scare tactics as a pretty gas-station attendant watches various oddballs pass by her window after hearing that an escaped killer is on the loose; "Hair" is a morbid, hilarious look at man's obsession with his own virility in which Stacy Keach turns to a bizarre hair-growth clinic (run by David Warner & Debbie Harry) which promises instant results, but at a horrific price. The third segment, directed by Tobe Hooper, involves a baseball player (Mark Hamill) who receives an eye transplant after a car accident and soon begins having optical flashbacks revealing (you guessed it) the identity and tendencies of the eye's former owner -- a serial killer. The second segment is by far the most entertaining, featuring a wonderfully neurotic performance by Keach, but the first and last chapters are too derivative to offer much for the discriminating horror buff, although the same fans will enjoy several cute cameos from other genre directors, including Wes Craven, Sam Raimi and Roger Corman. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Adapted for TV, this is a Stephen King story in which an aspiring writer and an alcoholic poet (with a metal plate in his head, no less) literally stumble over a long-buried spaceship while walking in the woods. It starts glowing green when uncovered and soon everyone in town has green eyes, their teeth fall out and they act out all of their fantasies (violent or otherwise). Guess who's immune to the power of this alien spaceship? You got it--our good old metal-headed poet can save the day if he can get it together enough to do so. Really more of a B movie than most King horrorfests. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Smits, Marg Helgenberger, (more)
- 1992
In this third version of the Nerds theme, the next generation of Nerd boys have by now taken control of Adams College and one of the college trustees is sick of seeing the geeky nerds running everything so he schemes a plan devoted to the return of jock power. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Carradine, Ted McGinley, (more)
Robert Altman takes a scalpel to Hollywood ethics in the 1990s (or the lack thereof) in his acidic satire The Player, adapted from Michael Tolkin's novel. (Tolkin also wrote the screenplay.) The film concerns a sleek and smooth Hollywood studio executive who starts receiving death threats from a disgruntled writer because he has committed the ultimate Hollywood sin -- he promised the writer he would call him back and he never did. This is particularly ironic because the studio executive, Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins), is considered "writer-friendly," spending his days listening to pitches from such noted screenwriters as Buck Henry, who is pushing "The Graduate, Part II" and Alan Rudolph, who is hawking a Bruce Willis action film described as "Ghost meets The Manchurian Candidate." But The Player finds Griffin's comfortable life style in danger of collapse. He is trying to find a way to unload his girlfriend (Cynthia Stevenson) whose independence and intelligence make her a poor candidate for a trophy wife. More importantly, it seems that Larry Levy (Peter Gallagher), a slippery executive from Twentieth Century Fox, is angling for his job. And then there are those nasty postcards and faxes from a screenwriter threatening to kill him. Altman cast over 65 stars in cameo roles as texture for his scabrous tale. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, (more)
- 1991
Based on the true-life adventures of the late Drug Enforcement Agency spy Barry Seal, this exciting espionage adventure chronicles the events that lead up to his death in 1984. Before coming to work for the DEA, smooth-talking Seal (Dennis Hopper) had been a drug smuggler for the notorious Medellin Cartel in Colombia. The DEA captures him and he agrees to become their informant. Unfortunately, though he is a master con artist, he is no match for the con men running the U.S. government agency. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper
- 1991
- R
In this convoluted melodrama, a young wife has a mental breakdown and spends time in a hospital. Eventually, she wants to go home, but her doctor is hesitant to release her. Still the woman, wanting to save her disintegrating marriage, insists. Upon her return, she and her hubby are visited by his seductive "sister." The poor wife is appalled by the chemistry between the two and shares her discomfort with her landlord and he has a peculiar reaction. Meanwhile, the hapless wife seems to becoming increasingly paranoid and strange. She has no idea that drugs are behind her odd behavior. Eventually, she goes over the edge and shoots her sister-in-law, and still the madness continues until the story's violent climax. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heather Locklear, Robert Carradine, (more)
- 1990
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Based on Doug Magee's novel Slow Coming Dark, the made-for-cable Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture is about a photojournalist (Roy Scheider) who is hired by a man (Arliss Howard) convicted of killing a policeman to photograph his execution. As the execution grows nearer, the photographer uncovers evidence that suggests the convicted man is actually innocent, and he tries to save him before it's too late. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Veteran comic actor George Segal plays a wealthy industrialist whose real passion in life is paint-gun war games. In fact, he's so addicted to these quasi-military games that he insists on being addressed as "Colonel." The way to promotion in his company is through these games, rather than through doing a good job. Hard working Ann (Jennifer Edwards) is tired of seeing less competent males promoted because of their war game skills. She joins forces with the Colonel's wife Florence (Sally Kellerman), with whom he's in the midst of a divorce, and the other company wives to form their own war games team. They hire a mercenary (Lou Ferrigno) to train them, leading to a climactic showdown with the men. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal, Sally Kellerman, (more)
Joseph Sargent's made-for-TV drama, set during World War II, stars Walter Matthau as an attorney coerced into defending a German POW who is accused of murdering the town physician (Barnard Hughes), Matthau's best friend. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
Cheech Marin and Eric Roberts play two draft-dodging hippies who flee to a commune in Central America where they stay for 20 years. When they return in 1989 and seek out some of their old NYC buddies, they find they've turned yuppie and things just aren't what they'd expected. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheech Marin, Eric Roberts, (more)
- 1988
- R
After he is framed by his senior partner and sent to jail, Herbie Altman Robert Carradine sets up a lucrative investment company "Con Inc." with the assistance of the other convicts, sympathetic guards, and a well-intentioned prison reformer Lise Cutter. Lame, predictable story which wastes a talanted cast . ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Carradine, Michael Winslow, (more)
- 1988
A telephone prank by 2 teenagers leads to their stalking by a psychotic killer, the person who answered the prank call. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
Detective Berzak (Robert Carradine) and his suave partner Hazeltine (Billy Dee Williams) combine forces to track down a notorious drug lord in this routine action feature. Captain Ferris (Peter Graves) monitors the progress of the decidedly different detectives. The trail leads to Dacosta (Barry Sattels) a respected member of the social elite and the community. Valerie Bertanelli plays Berzak's daughter Teresa, who is pumped for information by her father about his ex-wife (Doris Roberts). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Carradine, Billy Dee Williams, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
In this follow-up to Revenge of the Nerds the nerdy frat boys from Lambda Lambda Lambda go to Ft. Lauderdale to a national frat conference where they again must outwit the thick-tongued jock frat-boys who are also at the conference. This they can do. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Carradine, Curtis Armstrong, (more)
- 1987
The docudrama Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8, relates the story of the trial that resulted from the riots that broke out in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Convention. The majority of the dialogue has been taken directly from court records and archival footage. Michael Lembeck plays the boisterous prankster Abbie Hoffman, who was certainly the most entertaining of the defendants. The main victim of his pranks is Judge Hoffman (David Opatoshu), whose stoic attitude is constantly challenged by the outrageous behavior of the defendants. The cast includes Barry Miller as Jerry Rubin, Robert Carradine as Rennie Davis, Robert Loggia as defense attorney William Hunstler, and other famous politically active actors like Peter Boyle and Martin Sheen. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1987
The Liberators, an ambitious 1987 entry in ABC's Disney Sunday Movie anthology series, was founded on fact. The film begins on a Kentucky plantation in the years before the Civil War. Robert Carradine, nephew of the plantation owner, has grown up with slave Larry B. Scott. Forced by the social structure of the era into a master/slave relationship, Carradine and Scott choose instead to head northward. Befriending a Quaker abolitionist (James Mainprize), the two friends become involved with the Underground Railroad, helping thousands of slaves escape to freedom. A romantic entanglement involving Scott and a lovely slave girl nearly costs the boys their own freedom as The Liberators races towards its climax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
A made-for-TV miniseries set during World War II, Monte Carlo features a Russian singer (Joan Collins) who works in the French city. She moonlights, however, as an Allied spy to retaliate against the Nazis who murdered her husband. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Collins, George Hamilton, (more)
