Description

A martial arts classic starring Chuck Norris as John T. Booker, a Vietnam Vet whose war actions have landed him at the top of the CIA's hit list. Now only a beautiful Senate investigator can help him unravel a treacherous plot - and maybe help keep him alive. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Norris's first big hit.
This low-budget 'gem' from 1977 (I even remember there being a novelization, got to look for it) was a modest hit and pretty much made Chuck Norris a star. Playing John T. Booker (the way the credit is listed mades me wonder if there would be more John T. Booker movies, alas not to be), Norris is a former CIA commando whose dark past comes back to haunt him when the politician that set him up in a raid turned death trap needs to erase that unpleasent part of history. This is an old school action movie, back when they bothered to have plot and mystery prior to the fist fights and car chases, and it will probably bore many expecting wall to wall kung-fu action. Nothing happens until nearly an hour into the movie, then the pay off begins. Good Guys Wear Black was sold on the strength of one big stunt, Norris (or a double) leaping onto a car and kicking through the windshield to get at the assassin driving. It was impressive then, today it is routine. As I said, it is a low budget movie, one with Southern California locations filling in for Vietnam (sandy trails and eucalyptus trees in Vietnam???) as well as East Coast locations. Pretty giggle inducing. But the movie still works when watched in the context of its era (70s exploitation) and director Ted Post (Hang 'Em High, Magnum Force, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, etc.) keeps the movie professional looking, at least. One shocking bit of trivia, one of the movie's screenwriters is Children of A Lesser God author Mark Medoff. Wow. Recommended only to Norris fans on a nostalgia kick.

not one of Chuck's better efforts
Whew! This one's a stinker. Even if you're a Chuck fan, this one just doesn't measure up. The film is poorly made and put together; sequences in the night in Vietnam are so dark you can hardly see what's going on (but that might have been good...). There's actually not much action; this was supposed to be more of a "drama." If you want a good Chuck movie, stick with Lone Wolf McQuade or An Eye for an Eye.

Moderately good Chuck Norris film
If you like Chuck Norris films, especially of the 70's and 80's you'll probably like this one. The DVD was unrated but I'd say it's about a PG-13. The DVD allows chapter access, English, French and Spanish subtitles and some bio info on the cast. No theatrical trailer was present. The film is generally well-preserved (no widescreen) but the colors fade in and out a little bit (probably the cinematography was a bit inconsistent).

The film is definitely *very* 1970's. That means lotsa keyboard instrumental jazz music scored with the action, 3-piece suits, undercranked camera shots to make cars look like they're speeding (giving unnatural jerky motion), and half-witted dialogue. And Anne Archer, while lovely in the film, wears some awful-looking sunglasses (egads!).

While there are several martial arts fight scenes (what else?) they are not nearly as sophisticated as those in 1973's Bruce Lee classic "Enter the Dragon" (this is a 1978 film).

Major John Booker (Chuck!) leads a top secret team into Vietnam in 1973 to rescue some American POW's (boy, you never see THAT in a Chuck Norris movie, eh?) ... ahem ... Well, they were set up and several men died. Booker takes the loss philosophically and takes up test-driving Porsches and teaching Political Science at the local college (whatta guy!). Ah, but then a lovely young lady lawyer shows up and starts reciting all the top secret details of the 1973 mission to Booker. Booker must figure out what she's all about. At the same time all of Booker's buddies who survived the disastrous operation start dropping like flies.

James Franciscus is the up-and-coming Secretary of State and boy does he cuss a lot (probably after seeing the script!), hence my PG-13 rating. And he's a very baaaaad man. Jim Backus (Gilligan's Island!) shows up as a protective doorman. And the ubiquitious Soon-Tek Oh is here. Not a bad film, on a par with other Chuck flicks such as "Hero and the Terror", "Invasion U.S.A." and "Code of Silence".

Will Major Booker discover the truth and stop the bad guys? ... hmmm ... well, I'll let you buy the movie and find out ... (as if you couldn't guess) ... While you're waiting to find out, you can count all the green automobiles in the film ...

There must have been a lot of automobiles painted green in 1978 because there's a green car in nearly every street scene (all shades!). Even the toy car at one of the politician's home is green. Generally OK, and we can overlook some of Norris' acting since it's one of his first films. It is hard to forgive the paisley robes, Harvest Gold appliances, and the wide collars on the shirts, but hey, that was the 1970's.

Diplomacy is not always that clean
A simple film about the aftermath of the Vietnam War. A diplomat negociates the destruction of a special unit of the CIA, the Black Tigers, at the end of the war. So they are tricked on a fake mission. Yet five manage to escape and survive. But the diplomat is going to become the Secretary of State and the five survivors are the argument of some, in the wings, to blackmail the diplomat. So they have to disappear. But one of them and a CIA executive say no and put a stop to the killings and to the career of the diplomat. A perfect film about what politics are really about for some politicians : careerism and nothing else.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

A Guilty Pleasure-I LIke this Poorly Made Film
This film, directed by Mike Post (Magnum Force) was Chuck Norris' second lead-starring role. It starts out as a movie of politcal intrigue put sputters on the direction. In the scene wear the plane blows up, one can see that right before the explosion, the plane is not even there. Just a small example of poor editing.

I do, however, love this movie. The few fights scenes in this pitcure are fun (airport and parking lot) and it is one of Norris' better acting performance. The "jumping into the car scene" is actually Chuck's brother Arren. The other acting performances are also very good (Ann Archer, Lloyd Hayes, and Dana Andrews to name a few). The Chuck Norris fan may want to add this film to your collection. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

P.U.
I watched this movie being filmed as did pretty much everyone else in Tooele, Utah. It was exciting, like the biggest thing ever to happen in Mayberry. But when the movie came out I think we all wanted to destroy every copy made. It was just awful. We wanted to like it but it just wasn't funny. Perhaps that had something to do with the facts this movie was based on. Prior to the film, a large number of animals had been killed by a poison gas leak nearby. Maybe that memory spoiled it.

However, one local extra stole the show. Paula Argus was standing in line ahead of Gould in a bank. She was truly the best thing in the movie.

I own this movie simply for the nostalgia. It is a part of my personal history. Otherwise I can't think of any reason to own it, rent it or watch it.

A quirky movie with great performances by noted actors.
The premise of the movie is very funny. Characters are well played with some very well done visuals. The actors must have had a wonderful time filming this and I would love to see the outtakes. Harry Guardino (sp) is terrific as are Eliot Gould and Eddie Albert. You really need to watch the film and follow the story line. It is comic and quirky but not to far from the truth. My favorite line is from E. Albert when talking about the military drug warfare division"...we don't want to KILL the enemy...we just want to make him a little bit sick". Another sceen with Gould and Guardino undergoing drug testing in a lab is hilarious. See it if you have a chance, it is not available in most stores. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Legend of Tom Dooley
I found this VHS tape to be exactly as described and I was thrilled to receive it in such good condition. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Exciting thriller to the eyes!
Nightkill is one of those kind of thriller that you dont normally see now a days. Actually, it has a very interesting and original plot that will suck your brain up to the last minute. The first half hour is the so-called "routine" check like all other thrillers but the last half hour is a nail biter.

This movie stars Jaclyn Smith, James Franciscus and veteran actor Robert Mitchum. This is also one of Jaclyn Smith's best performances. I mean, she's gorgeous in every angle, the camera just love her but she's also capable as a performer. Her shower scene is also the high point of this thriller -- see for yourself!

This is a five (5) stars, thumbs up rating!!!! Cant wait to see a re-make.

Murder In Arizona
Jaclyn Smith of "Charlie's Angels," stars a wife who's husband is then murdered and Jaclyn finds all kinds of things going on. What she doesn't know is that Robert Mitchum is the killer.

This excellent thriller should not be forgotten.
I have been searching for a long time for this movie. What a shame that it has been discontinued, because it is one of the best thrillers ever produced. I have never met anyone who has seen it which is so unfortunate - the acting is superb. Most young people today have never heard of Robert Mitchum. "Scream" in my opinion was a predictable piece of trash and look at the ratings it got - they even wasted more resources and came up with a sequel. Nightkill will leave you on the edge of your chair - I saw it by myself and was attracted to it because I read in the TV guide that Robert Mitchum was starring in it. I think it was one of his finest performances.

HAUNTING
I SAW THIS MOVIE SEVERAL TIMES AND EACH TIME IT GOT BETTER, I HAVE SEARCHED FOR THE VIDEO, BUT HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. IF YOU WANT ONE THAT WILL KEEP YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT THIS IS THE ONE THAT WILL DO IT. MITCHUM IS SMOOTH & SMITH WELL, I HAVE TO SAY THIS IS ONE OR HER BEST YET. THE TWO ARE COMPLETE OPPOSITES THAT COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER TO THE MAX.IT'S DEFINITELY ONE I WANT IN MY COLLECTION.

"Heart-pounding thriller"
This movie was supposed to be Jaclyn Smith's first major feature film in the '80s. But due to some problems, it was largely unreleased in theaters and ended first on television. Good for us movie buff because this film is probably one of the best that I've seen and one of the most satisfying "thriller" in years. It doesn't have the same style of the current slasher/screamer films of late but it offers lot better. The last half hour is a nail biter especially the shower scene. Robert Mitchum's performance is top notch and actress Jaclyn Smith is terrific. I think this is one of her best performances. Her on-screen chemistry with actor James Franciscus is just great! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Lordage 'Shield'
A CIA agent named Doug Matthews (Michael Dudikoff) goes to Iraq to save his imprisoned brother against a diabolical defector. That's the whole movie. "The Human Shield" is like Noah's Arc, it brings splendor to many. I was dumbfounded with the thrilling action scenes which happened in this movie, totally deserving of an award (not really). Praise the heavens for this motion picture! Even the love triangle that forms is too much! Again, "The Days of Our Lives" would be jealous. Too bad this movie is not on DVD unlike all of the other Michael Dudikoff Cannon Films affiliated movies. Please MGM! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Lordage 'Shield'
A CIA agent named Doug Matthews (Michael Dudikoff) goes to Iraq to save his imprisoned brother against a diabolical defector. That's the whole movie. "The Human Shield" is like Noah's Arc, it brings splendor to many. I was dumbfounded with the thrilling action scenes which happened in this movie, totally deserving of an award (not really). Praise the heavens for this motion picture! Even the love triangle that forms is too much! Again, "The Days of Our Lives" would be jealous. Too bad this movie is not on DVD unlike all of the other Michael Dudikoff Cannon Films affiliated movies. Please MGM! ... Read more

Reviews (39)

"A man's got to know his limitations."
Who can forget that line from Magnum Force? It has more than one meaning here and definitely sets the theme. Dirty Harry says it a few times in the film but it has the most impact right after Hal Holbrook meets with an unfortunate accident in his car...priceless scene. This is my favorite line Eastwood says to Holbrook in the movie, with the second being when he throws a shell casing from evidence at him saying "eat it!". Magnum Force (1973) is the sequel to Dirty Harry (1971) and this time Harry is still an outsider with his own brand of justice, but he's got nothing on the 4 young motorcycle patrol cops who don't even bother with arrests and paperwork (the criminals don't make it that far!). In Dirty Harry, Callahan chased Scorpio, the mad sniper, but in Magnum Force he doesn't have to go far to find the criminals...they work with him! Action packed and stylish, Magnum Force is essential in the Dirty Harry/Eastwood Collection. The film is directed by television director, Tim Post (Baretta, Combat!) and written by Michael Cimino (director: The Deer Hunter, Thunderbolt & Lightfoot). The cast is great: Felton Perry plays Harry's unfortunate partner who just had to open his mailbox. Look for several familiar faces before they made it big: David "Hutch" Soul, Robert Urich, & Tim Matheson. Also look for a topless Suzanne Somers (uncredited) getting blown away in a swimming pool! I can imagine Joyce DeWitt from Three's Company laughing maniacally when she saw that scene.

"A man has to know his limitations".
"Magnum Force" from 1973,the follow up to "Dirty Harry",(a movie many consider to be a classic) is not as good.Of course sequels rarely are. It does have more action and laughs.You could call it a kind of black comedy,because it is kind of far fetched. The screenplay was cowritten by Michael Cimino,(who wrote and directed "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" with Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges in 1974,which was a good flick),and John Milius,who had an uncredited hand in the original "Dirty Harry". Milius wrote the now famous line,"This being a .44 magnum,...."Do you feel lucky?". It turns up again here right after the opening credits for "Magnum Force". It came out just two years after the original,both were Christmas releases, and it was just as big a hit.They both made about the same amount of money.

The producer and writers had in mind to answer the critics who called Harry Callahan a fascist and a vigilante.Clint Eastwood said in an interview in 1997 about him being called a fascist,"that was just nonsense.Harry was just very concerned about the rights of the victims.What's the matter with that?" The late Gene Siskel also disagreed with those critics. He said "if Harry were to encounter Mussolini or Hitler,he would have popped them to".The critic Roger Ebert calls Harry "extremely fair, he'll shoot anybody". "Magnum Force" is well paced,has some good action sequences and a good chase scene and it does get intense.But,the plot is hokey and it's a little too violent at times.This is not a movie for the kiddies. The cinematography isn't nearly as good as in the original. It doesn't make very good use the San Francisco locations. Lalo Schifrin's score is good though not as inspired as in the original. It's still better than many so called cop movies that have come out since.Like certain bloodthirsty,sadistic mayhem released in the '80's and '90's. In the funny book "Real Men Don"t Eat Quiche" from 1982, the author Bruce Feirstein put "Magnum Force" among those movies real men will pay hard cash to see. Feirstein had a couple of dozen on the list including "Patton","Rocky",some of the James Bond movies,only the ones with Sean Connery,"North Dallas Forty" among others. All these movies are for men only.

Some trivia,Clint Eastwood said in an interview that this story was inspired by the Brazilian death squad of the 1950's.Actor Robert Urich appears as one of the rookie motorcycle cops,this was Mr.Urich's movie debut.Also,a then unknown Suzanne Sommers appears in the swimming pool party scene.Ms. Sommers scenes have her showing off a ring she just received and where she takes her bikini top off in the pool.(Not so shocking since she did do a layout in PLAYBOY about ten years later).Her name didn't get mentioned in the credits.And,Ms.Sommers gets blasted along with the other unfortunate people at the party.And,remember "a man has to know his limitations".

My Favorite Dirty Harry Sequel
Okay... before I begin, I must tell you I am a bit prejudice. I actually saw a scene from this movie being filmed. I lived in San Francisco and in 1973 was walking up the hill to Lafayette Park as they shot some scenes in a high rise apartment building.
I was fascinated as they shot the scene over and over to get the "tension" just right.

Now it is on DVD 30 years later. It has never looked better. Color corrected true wide screen picture, and a soundtrack that is crystal clear.

2 of the vigilante officers are played to perfection by "pre-Starsky" David Soul and, in his first role, the late Robert Urich. The scene in the darkened garage is still powerful in it's quiet threatening tone. It is SO CLEAR the cops enjoy wearing their elegant uniforms and tall boots, leather creaking and chrome gleaming in the dark... an awesome and memorable moment when those who are sent to protect and defend, go over the edge so confidently, quietly and in their minds, logically. It is still very frightening.

Tell Warner Brothers to release the WHOLE film!
The people who assembled this DVD should be ashamed of themselves - the whole film is not there!

One of the most hilarious scenes in the original version of Magnum Force was when the crooked cops are chasing Harry around inside the (very dark) hull of a ship. Every time a shot was fired down there, there would be at LEAST six or seven loud, cartoon-like ricochets. The fact that this might really happen when all of the walls and ceiling are solid steel does not take away from its comic effect. Well, when they remastered the film for DVD, they took all of the ricochets out!

They also cut out some of the sting operation where three hoodlums hold up a convenience store.

Magnum Justice
This is the second of five "Dirty Harry" films in which Eastwood stars as a San Francisco police detective. By the time the last appeared (The Dead Pool in 1988), Eastwood had aged and times had changed but Callahan's non-negotiable values and unorthodox methods had remained essentially the same. In this film, directed by Ted Post with a screenplay co-authored by directors John Milius (e.g. Conan the Barbarian) and Michael Cimino (e.g. The Deer Hunter), the essential premise is that the same legal systems and law enforcement systems to which Callahan so strongly objects have encouraged others to become vigilantes, four of whom serve as police officers under the direct supervision of Lieutenant Briggs (Hal Holbrook). They target and assassinate those whom the "system" has failed to keep off the streets. Of course, Callahan has no sympathy whatsoever for those eliminated. However, he is uncomfortable with the vigilantes' methods (if not their motives) and with what the ancient Greeks -- but not Callahan -- would characterize as their hubris. Eventually, there is the inevitable and obligatory confrontation with them. (Guess who wins?) Those who enjoy this film should also check out The Brotherhood of the Bell (1970), Death Wish (1974), and The Star Chamber (1983) in which Holbrook also appeared. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Big, tall, calm Clint
This is one of my favorite western movies and was also one of my Dad's. Clint Walker plays a U.S. Marshall who comes to Yuma to clean up the town. Right off the bat, he has to kill (in self defense) the brother of the owner of a large trail herd headed toward the town and quickly gets blamed for the death of another brother. The interesting thing about this movie is Walker's calm easy-going way. There's no bluster and loud show of force here; he just does his job, quietly and well. There's also a lot of cultural diversity as he befriends a homeless Mexican boy and the local Reservation Indians who are being cheated, but learn to trust the new Sheriff and also tangles with the Army. A memorable scene occurs when he goes to the Fort to talk with the Army about some recent occurences. When a soldier refuses to wake his commanding officer, Walker handles things in his own quiet, humorous way. This was a good role for Clint Walker, who handled the part of the sheriff very well.

Ted Post's Yuma
Aaron Spelling produced this made for television western that gets awfully plotty for a seventy three minute film. It plays like a probable failed series pilot.

Handsome Clint Walker is U.S. Marshal Dave Harmon, who wanders into Yuma, Arizona Territory in time to kill one of the brothers of the local bigwig rancher who is out on a trail drive. Walker takes the other brother to jail. Walker also meets a "cute" homeless Mexican kid who sleeps at the jailhouse. One night, Andres is snoozing when a villain and another man dressed in Army blue take the remaining brother into the street and kill him, pinning the murder on Walker. Not good for your first twenty four hours on the job. Walker visits the local Army fort, and rankles the chains of the commander. The bigwig hears of his brothers' deaths, and rides back to town in time to get his chains rankled as well. The local native population, who get short changed by the Army on their beef, also get rankled in the chains area. With all these chains getting rankled, Walker still has time to woo the local hotel owner. The Army guy involved in the murder ends up dead, the local cattle buyer is implicated, the indians do a lot of hesitant speechifying, and the climax brings about an unlikely showdown as Walker must prove to the town that the villainous cattle buyer had a boss, someone we have suspected as being too helpful all along.

There is a semi-subplot involving the death of Walker's family at the hands of Army raiders, and I think this would have been the force behind the series, had it been picked up. Instead, the film ends abruptly, and I kept waiting for scenes from next week's exciting episode. Because of the fade outs for nonexistent commercial breaks, the pacing is all off on this and its story jumps in fits.

Walker is handsome, rugged, and has a voice deeper than a well. The rest of the cast is full of television actors you have probably seen in other television movies. Much of the action is pretty lame, and the violence is tepid. The first brother killed gets a shotgun blast midtorso, and falls without a scratch on him. I did not expect "Reservoir Dogs," but this is the wrong film to use to teach children about the evil of guns! Speaking of children, the Mexican kid here goes from "cute" to "aneurysm inducing annoyance" very quickly.

If you dislike westerns, then you will dislike "Yuma." If you like westerns, then you will still dislike "Yuma." I cannot recommend it.

This is unrated, but contains physical violence and gun violence.

A Big Man For a Big Job
This early 70's Western, an Aaron Spelling Production, stars 6'6" Clint Walker as the big, calm, new U.S. Marshall in the territory around Yuma. Like many western towns of the time, Yuma has been having it's troubles. As U.S. Marshall Dave Harmon comes into town, two members of a big ranching outfit are whooping it up with the stagecoach they stole in a fit of drunken revelry. Harmon has trouble with them and his day goes downhill from there.

The cast is excellent, and the plot is very well done, as were several of the westerns made during that general time. There are sub-plots which lend the central character depth and personality that some of the older westerns did not always achieve. And there's enough shoot-em-up to keep it exciting, although Harmon displays a calm control of each situation that many of us would envy today. Very good all-around entertainment, nothing in there the kids couldn't watch, but adults will like it, too...if they like westerns. I've watched this one several times--and will again. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Big, tall, calm Clint
This is one of my favorite western movies and was also one of my Dad's. Clint Walker plays a U.S. Marshall who comes to Yuma to clean up the town. Right off the bat, he has to kill (in self defense) the brother of the owner of a large trail herd headed toward the town and quickly gets blamed for the death of another brother. The interesting thing about this movie is Walker's calm easy-going way. There's no bluster and loud show of force here; he just does his job, quietly and well. There's also a lot of cultural diversity as he befriends a homeless Mexican boy and the local Reservation Indians who are being cheated, but learn to trust the new Sheriff and also tangles with the Army. A memorable scene occurs when he goes to the Fort to talk with the Army about some recent occurences. When a soldier refuses to wake his commanding officer, Walker handles things in his own quiet, humorous way. This was a good role for Clint Walker, who handled the part of the sheriff very well.

Ted Post's Yuma
Aaron Spelling produced this made for television western that gets awfully plotty for a seventy three minute film. It plays like a probable failed series pilot.

Handsome Clint Walker is U.S. Marshal Dave Harmon, who wanders into Yuma, Arizona Territory in time to kill one of the brothers of the local bigwig rancher who is out on a trail drive. Walker takes the other brother to jail. Walker also meets a "cute" homeless Mexican kid who sleeps at the jailhouse. One night, Andres is snoozing when a villain and another man dressed in Army blue take the remaining brother into the street and kill him, pinning the murder on Walker. Not good for your first twenty four hours on the job. Walker visits the local Army fort, and rankles the chains of the commander. The bigwig hears of his brothers' deaths, and rides back to town in time to get his chains rankled as well. The local native population, who get short changed by the Army on their beef, also get rankled in the chains area. With all these chains getting rankled, Walker still has time to woo the local hotel owner. The Army guy involved in the murder ends up dead, the local cattle buyer is implicated, the indians do a lot of hesitant speechifying, and the climax brings about an unlikely showdown as Walker must prove to the town that the villainous cattle buyer had a boss, someone we have suspected as being too helpful all along.

There is a semi-subplot involving the death of Walker's family at the hands of Army raiders, and I think this would have been the force behind the series, had it been picked up. Instead, the film ends abruptly, and I kept waiting for scenes from next week's exciting episode. Because of the fade outs for nonexistent commercial breaks, the pacing is all off on this and its story jumps in fits.

Walker is handsome, rugged, and has a voice deeper than a well. The rest of the cast is full of television actors you have probably seen in other television movies. Much of the action is pretty lame, and the violence is tepid. The first brother killed gets a shotgun blast midtorso, and falls without a scratch on him. I did not expect "Reservoir Dogs," but this is the wrong film to use to teach children about the evil of guns! Speaking of children, the Mexican kid here goes from "cute" to "aneurysm inducing annoyance" very quickly.

If you dislike westerns, then you will dislike "Yuma." If you like westerns, then you will still dislike "Yuma." I cannot recommend it.

This is unrated, but contains physical violence and gun violence.

A Big Man For a Big Job
This early 70's Western, an Aaron Spelling Production, stars 6'6" Clint Walker as the big, calm, new U.S. Marshall in the territory around Yuma. Like many western towns of the time, Yuma has been having it's troubles. As U.S. Marshall Dave Harmon comes into town, two members of a big ranching outfit are whooping it up with the stagecoach they stole in a fit of drunken revelry. Harmon has trouble with them and his day goes downhill from there.

The cast is excellent, and the plot is very well done, as were several of the westerns made during that general time. There are sub-plots which lend the central character depth and personality that some of the older westerns did not always achieve. And there's enough shoot-em-up to keep it exciting, although Harmon displays a calm control of each situation that many of us would envy today. Very good all-around entertainment, nothing in there the kids couldn't watch, but adults will like it, too...if they like westerns. I've watched this one several times--and will again. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good View
Along with the two part classic, "Hills Are For Heroes", this
episode depicts a humanistic, sensitve side of Saunders which is rarely showcased on this series. A cowardly, non-
confrontational soldier (James Best) is left to cover the back of Saunders during battle. This occurs after Saunders receives news about a brother who's missing in action.

A poignant, thought provoking episode which is easily one
of Combat's best. And certainly one of Vic Morrow's best
performances.

MAIL CALL - great Vic Morrow episode!
This is one of the best "Saunders" episodes from the 1960s WWII television series "Combat!" In this episode, Sergeant Saunders, while dealing with a malingerer, receives a personal letter with bad news. One of the few episodes where fans learn something of Saunders' home life. Guest star James Best. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

COMBAT! Episode "The Flying Machine"
This episode features Rick Jason (Lt. Hanley) on a solo mission away from the squad as he goes on a surveillance flight with a cantankerous pilot (Keenan Wynn). Their single-engine monoplane, of course, crashes, and the two are in for an adventure behind enemy lines. From the 1960s WWII series, "Combat!" [Note: no other cast members from the show appear in this episode] ... Read more

Reviews (31)

Eastwood, home on the American range
After earning major stardom with Sergio Leone's spaghetti western trilogy, Clint Eastwood turned down both Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West" and Carl Foreman's "MacKenna's Gold" to star in and co-produce this tightly scripted, well-acted western directed by "Gunsmoke" veteran Ted Post. It proved a good choice. If not a masterpiece on the order of Leone's film, or a star studded spectacular like Foreman's offering, "Hang 'Em High" was something the other two were not: a hit. It's also intelligent and makes some interesting if subtle comments on the meaning of justice. The clean-shaven Eastwood is fine as Jed Cooper, a former marshal who once more wears a badge to hunt down the men who hanged him as an alleged cattle thief, but Pat Hingle as a hanging judge who is even more vengeance minded than Eastwood offers the standout performance. Bruce Dern, Bob Steele, Ben Johnson, Joe Sirola, Dennis Hopper, and Alan Hale, Jr. (yes, the Skipper from "Gilligan's Island") are among the notable character actors who appear throughout, and Dominic Frontiere's music score, including the title theme that would go on to be a hit for Booker T and the MGs, is excellent.

Exciting, thoughtful western
After earning major stardom with Sergio Leone's spaghetti western trilogy, Clint Eastwood turned down both Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West" and Carl Foreman's "MacKenna's Gold" to star in and co-produce this tightly scripted, well-acted western directed by "Gunsmoke" veteran Ted Post. It proved a good choice. If not a masterpiece on the order of Leone's film, or a star studded spectacular like Foreman's offering, "Hang 'Em High" was something the other two were not: a hit. It's also intelligent and makes some interesting if subtle comments on the meaning of justice. The clean-shaven Eastwood is fine as Jed Cooper, a former marshal who once more wears a badge to hunt down the men who hanged him as an alleged cattle thief, but Pat Hingle as a hanging judge who is even more vengeance minded than Eastwood offers the standout performance. Bruce Dern, Bob Steele, Ben Johnson, Joe Sirola, Dennis Hopper, and Alan Hale, Jr. (yes, the Skipper from "Gilligan's Island") are among the notable character actors who appear throughout, and Dominic Frontiere's music score, including the title theme that would go on to be a hit for Booker T and the MGs, is excellent.

Hung at high noon!
Clint Eastwood's movie, Hang 'em High, is very interesting and dramatic. The plot of this movie was predictable but that is quiet alright. The producer and director probably wanted to convey some other message and hence a standard plot was chosen.

Clint Eastwood is a rancher who is strung up at high noon by a bunch of thugs from a nearby town. They accuse him of murder and theft of cattle. Eastwood however does not die. A US Marshall recues him and brings him to the judge for trial. Judge aquitts Eastwood.

It so happens that Eastwood was a ex-lawman and judge appoints him as a Marshall. Then begins the story of revenge and justice as Eastwood hunts down the vigilante mob that tried to hang him.

There are many interesting questions raised in the movie. What is the relationship between Revenge and Justice? How should justice be dealt out? It is a thought-provoking movie although it has somewhat banal action scenes. Regardless, it's a movie worth your money.

"When you hang a man, You better look at him!!!!!
Hang'em High is one of my favorite westerns. Clint Eastwood is awsome in the role of Jed Cooper, a cowboy who is mistaken for a rustler and gets hanged. After being rescued by a sherriff and given a job as a lawman, Cooper seeks revenge on the 9 men who hung him.
Hang'em High is a good'ol western that's packed with great actors, like Alan Hale Jr. (Giligan's Island) Ed Begley. L.Q. Jones, Dennis Hopper, and in a brief role as a preacher, James MacArthur(Hawaii Five-O), and Bob Steele, in the role as a prison inmate. If you like westerns with Clint Eastwood, give Hang'em High a try.

Hi-Noon Gloom at Solar Eclipse of Justice
Great and terrific western, although a bit incomplete compared to his later American movies, featuring a Clint Eastwood youngster once more, or already, in search of Justice.

How come so many of those Eastwood Westerns remind one of the epics of the Christian narrations of the Gospel themes? It has to be borne in mind that the colonization of the West was once undertaken by deeply religious believers and pious colons, fleeing religious persecutions by bigots, various religious hypocrits and other political imperialists and oportunists. Redemption is and was always strictly a business of individuals, and the Far Wild West narrational environment is or was able to bring out a suitable environment and circumstances for the depiction of the various themes of redemption. Clint Eastwood, in his half-a-dozen or so mythical Westerns, has usually done a great job at this.

In this movie, the heroe (self-tortured as usual with a high inner sense of justice) almost loses his life several times, once in an expedient summary judgement followed by an attempted lynching by a bunch of respectable criminal outlaws in search of an innocent scapegoat, another time by an attempted cold-blooded execution, barely escapes each time with notable scars and (Christ-like) stigmatas, to go out to seek justice and revenge.

In all of Clint Eastwood's westerns, this is a major theme. The world looks like a rather gloomy place, haunted by the lost and the wicked, where there is neither justice nor reprieve for a few righteous ones, and Clint Eastwood incarnates a type of Christ, or avenging Angel, usually back from the Dead or almost-Dead, in a lonely search or quest for justice in a lost world.

For a subsequent illustration of these themes, see the following

- Unforgiven: The Redeemer of Blood pushed to His utter limits
- Pale Rider: The Redeeming and Avenging Angel, or Man with a Mission
- The Outlaw Josey Wales: Moses, the Hunted One turned Leader in the Wilderness
- High Plains Drifter: The Resurrected Righteous, or His Angel, or His Next of Kin , bringing down Retribution to a wicked town (Caphernaum by the Sea)

Although Hang 'em High presents some of the above-mentionned themes in a barely embryonic fashion, these subsequent four Western movies developped the theme matter to further epic dimensions, besides allowing for a few very realistic and authentic western entertainments. Highly watchable. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Lordage 'Shield'
A CIA agent named Doug Matthews (Michael Dudikoff) goes to Iraq to save his imprisoned brother against a diabolical defector. That's the whole movie. "The Human Shield" is like Noah's Arc, it brings splendor to many. I was dumbfounded with the thrilling action scenes which happened in this movie, totally deserving of an award (not really). Praise the heavens for this motion picture! Even the love triangle that forms is too much! Again, "The Days of Our Lives" would be jealous. Too bad this movie is not on DVD unlike all of the other Michael Dudikoff Cannon Films affiliated movies. Please MGM! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Lordage 'Shield'
A CIA agent named Doug Matthews (Michael Dudikoff) goes to Iraq to save his imprisoned brother against a diabolical defector. That's the whole movie. "The Human Shield" is like Noah's Arc, it brings splendor to many. I was dumbfounded with the thrilling action scenes which happened in this movie, totally deserving of an award (not really). Praise the heavens for this motion picture! Even the love triangle that forms is too much! Again, "The Days of Our Lives" would be jealous. Too bad this movie is not on DVD unlike all of the other Michael Dudikoff Cannon Films affiliated movies. Please MGM! ... Read more

Reviews (39)

"A man's got to know his limitations."
Who can forget that line from Magnum Force? It has more than one meaning here and definitely sets the theme. Dirty Harry says it a few times in the film but it has the most impact right after Hal Holbrook meets with an unfortunate accident in his car...priceless scene. This is my favorite line Eastwood says to Holbrook in the movie, with the second being when he throws a shell casing from evidence at him saying "eat it!". Magnum Force (1973) is the sequel to Dirty Harry (1971) and this time Harry is still an outsider with his own brand of justice, but he's got nothing on the 4 young motorcycle patrol cops who don't even bother with arrests and paperwork (the criminals don't make it that far!). In Dirty Harry, Callahan chased Scorpio, the mad sniper, but in Magnum Force he doesn't have to go far to find the criminals...they work with him! Action packed and stylish, Magnum Force is essential in the Dirty Harry/Eastwood Collection. The film is directed by television director, Tim Post (Baretta, Combat!) and written by Michael Cimino (director: The Deer Hunter, Thunderbolt & Lightfoot). The cast is great: Felton Perry plays Harry's unfortunate partner who just had to open his mailbox. Look for several familiar faces before they made it big: David "Hutch" Soul, Robert Urich, & Tim Matheson. Also look for a topless Suzanne Somers (uncredited) getting blown away in a swimming pool! I can imagine Joyce DeWitt from Three's Company laughing maniacally when she saw that scene.

"A man has to know his limitations".
"Magnum Force" from 1973,the follow up to "Dirty Harry",(a movie many consider to be a classic) is not as good.Of course sequels rarely are. It does have more action and laughs.You could call it a kind of black comedy,because it is kind of far fetched. The screenplay was cowritten by Michael Cimino,(who wrote and directed "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" with Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges in 1974,which was a good flick),and John Milius,who had an uncredited hand in the original "Dirty Harry". Milius wrote the now famous line,"This being a .44 magnum,...."Do you feel lucky?". It turns up again here right after the opening credits for "Magnum Force". It came out just two years after the original,both were Christmas releases, and it was just as big a hit.They both made about the same amount of money.

The producer and writers had in mind to answer the critics who called Harry Callahan a fascist and a vigilante.Clint Eastwood said in an interview in 1997 about him being called a fascist,"that was just nonsense.Harry was just very concerned about the rights of the victims.What's the matter with that?" The late Gene Siskel also disagreed with those critics. He said "if Harry were to encounter Mussolini or Hitler,he would have popped them to".The critic Roger Ebert calls Harry "extremely fair, he'll shoot anybody". "Magnum Force" is well paced,has some good action sequences and a good chase scene and it does get intense.But,the plot is hokey and it's a little too violent at times.This is not a movie for the kiddies. The cinematography isn't nearly as good as in the original. It doesn't make very good use the San Francisco locations. Lalo Schifrin's score is good though not as inspired as in the original. It's still better than many so called cop movies that have come out since.Like certain bloodthirsty,sadistic mayhem released in the '80's and '90's. In the funny book "Real Men Don"t Eat Quiche" from 1982, the author Bruce Feirstein put "Magnum Force" among those movies real men will pay hard cash to see. Feirstein had a couple of dozen on the list including "Patton","Rocky",some of the James Bond movies,only the ones with Sean Connery,"North Dallas Forty" among others. All these movies are for men only.

Some trivia,Clint Eastwood said in an interview that this story was inspired by the Brazilian death squad of the 1950's.Actor Robert Urich appears as one of the rookie motorcycle cops,this was Mr.Urich's movie debut.Also,a then unknown Suzanne Sommers appears in the swimming pool party scene.Ms. Sommers scenes have her showing off a ring she just received and where she takes her bikini top off in the pool.(Not so shocking since she did do a layout in PLAYBOY about ten years later).Her name didn't get mentioned in the credits.And,Ms.Sommers gets blasted along with the other unfortunate people at the party.And,remember "a man has to know his limitations".

My Favorite Dirty Harry Sequel
Okay... before I begin, I must tell you I am a bit prejudice. I actually saw a scene from this movie being filmed. I lived in San Francisco and in 1973 was walking up the hill to Lafayette Park as they shot some scenes in a high rise apartment building.
I was fascinated as they shot the scene over and over to get the "tension" just right.

Now it is on DVD 30 years later. It has never looked better. Color corrected true wide screen picture, and a soundtrack that is crystal clear.

2 of the vigilante officers are played to perfection by "pre-Starsky" David Soul and, in his first role, the late Robert Urich. The scene in the darkened garage is still powerful in it's quiet threatening tone. It is SO CLEAR the cops enjoy wearing their elegant uniforms and tall boots, leather creaking and chrome gleaming in the dark... an awesome and memorable moment when those who are sent to protect and defend, go over the edge so confidently, quietly and in their minds, logically. It is still very frightening.

Tell Warner Brothers to release the WHOLE film!
The people who assembled this DVD should be ashamed of themselves - the whole film is not there!

One of the most hilarious scenes in the original version of Magnum Force was when the crooked cops are chasing Harry around inside the (very dark) hull of a ship. Every time a shot was fired down there, there would be at LEAST six or seven loud, cartoon-like ricochets. The fact that this might really happen when all of the walls and ceiling are solid steel does not take away from its comic effect. Well, when they remastered the film for DVD, they took all of the ricochets out!

They also cut out some of the sting operation where three hoodlums hold up a convenience store.

Magnum Justice
This is the second of five "Dirty Harry" films in which Eastwood stars as a San Francisco police detective. By the time the last appeared (The Dead Pool in 1988), Eastwood had aged and times had changed but Callahan's non-negotiable values and unorthodox methods had remained essentially the same. In this film, directed by Ted Post with a screenplay co-authored by directors John Milius (e.g. Conan the Barbarian) and Michael Cimino (e.g. The Deer Hunter), the essential premise is that the same legal systems and law enforcement systems to which Callahan so strongly objects have encouraged others to become vigilantes, four of whom serve as police officers under the direct supervision of Lieutenant Briggs (Hal Holbrook). They target and assassinate those whom the "system" has failed to keep off the streets. Of course, Callahan has no sympathy whatsoever for those eliminated. However, he is uncomfortable with the vigilantes' methods (if not their motives) and with what the ancient Greeks -- but not Callahan -- would characterize as their hubris. Eventually, there is the inevitable and obligatory confrontation with them. (Guess who wins?) Those who enjoy this film should also check out The Brotherhood of the Bell (1970), Death Wish (1974), and The Star Chamber (1983) in which Holbrook also appeared. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Big, tall, calm Clint
This is one of my favorite western movies and was also one of my Dad's. Clint Walker plays a U.S. Marshall who comes to Yuma to clean up the town. Right off the bat, he has to kill (in self defense) the brother of the owner of a large trail herd headed toward the town and quickly gets blamed for the death of another brother. The interesting thing about this movie is Walker's calm easy-going way. There's no bluster and loud show of force here; he just does his job, quietly and well. There's also a lot of cultural diversity as he befriends a homeless Mexican boy and the local Reservation Indians who are being cheated, but learn to trust the new Sheriff and also tangles with the Army. A memorable scene occurs when he goes to the Fort to talk with the Army about some recent occurences. When a soldier refuses to wake his commanding officer, Walker handles things in his own quiet, humorous way. This was a good role for Clint Walker, who handled the part of the sheriff very well.

Ted Post's Yuma
Aaron Spelling produced this made for television western that gets awfully plotty for a seventy three minute film. It plays like a probable failed series pilot.

Handsome Clint Walker is U.S. Marshal Dave Harmon, who wanders into Yuma, Arizona Territory in time to kill one of the brothers of the local bigwig rancher who is out on a trail drive. Walker takes the other brother to jail. Walker also meets a "cute" homeless Mexican kid who sleeps at the jailhouse. One night, Andres is snoozing when a villain and another man dressed in Army blue take the remaining brother into the street and kill him, pinning the murder on Walker. Not good for your first twenty four hours on the job. Walker visits the local Army fort, and rankles the chains of the commander. The bigwig hears of his brothers' deaths, and rides back to town in time to get his chains rankled as well. The local native population, who get short changed by the Army on their beef, also get rankled in the chains area. With all these chains getting rankled, Walker still has time to woo the local hotel owner. The Army guy involved in the murder ends up dead, the local cattle buyer is implicated, the indians do a lot of hesitant speechifying, and the climax brings about an unlikely showdown as Walker must prove to the town that the villainous cattle buyer had a boss, someone we have suspected as being too helpful all along.

There is a semi-subplot involving the death of Walker's family at the hands of Army raiders, and I think this would have been the force behind the series, had it been picked up. Instead, the film ends abruptly, and I kept waiting for scenes from next week's exciting episode. Because of the fade outs for nonexistent commercial breaks, the pacing is all off on this and its story jumps in fits.

Walker is handsome, rugged, and has a voice deeper than a well. The rest of the cast is full of television actors you have probably seen in other television movies. Much of the action is pretty lame, and the violence is tepid. The first brother killed gets a shotgun blast midtorso, and falls without a scratch on him. I did not expect "Reservoir Dogs," but this is the wrong film to use to teach children about the evil of guns! Speaking of children, the Mexican kid here goes from "cute" to "aneurysm inducing annoyance" very quickly.

If you dislike westerns, then you will dislike "Yuma." If you like westerns, then you will still dislike "Yuma." I cannot recommend it.

This is unrated, but contains physical violence and gun violence.

A Big Man For a Big Job
This early 70's Western, an Aaron Spelling Production, stars 6'6" Clint Walker as the big, calm, new U.S. Marshall in the territory around Yuma. Like many western towns of the time, Yuma has been having it's troubles. As U.S. Marshall Dave Harmon comes into town, two members of a big ranching outfit are whooping it up with the stagecoach they stole in a fit of drunken revelry. Harmon has trouble with them and his day goes downhill from there.

The cast is excellent, and the plot is very well done, as were several of the westerns made during that general time. There are sub-plots which lend the central character depth and personality that some of the older westerns did not always achieve. And there's enough shoot-em-up to keep it exciting, although Harmon displays a calm control of each situation that many of us would envy today. Very good all-around entertainment, nothing in there the kids couldn't watch, but adults will like it, too...if they like westerns. I've watched this one several times--and will again. ... Read more