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 presents
| Seventies & Eighties Made-For-TV Movies - R | 
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RAGE
1980
100 min.
David Soul, James Whitmore, Yaphet Kotto, Caroline McWilliams, Vic Tayback, Sharon Farrell, Craig T. Nelson, Garry
Walberg, John Durren, Darleen Carr, Leo Gordon. Directed by William A. Graham.
Harrowing drama of a convicted rapist who undergoes intensive therapy. Well-acted by a good cast. Script by George
Rubino. Above average.
RAGE OF ANGELS
1983
200 min.
Jaclyn Smith, Ken Howard, Armand Assante, Ron Hunter, Kevin Conway, George Coe, Joseph Wiseman, Deborah May, Joseph
Warren, Wesley Addy. Directed Buzz Kulik.
An ambitious lady lawyer on her way to the top juggles affiars with two powerful men on opposite sides of the law.
Glamour abounds, though acting suffers, in this adaptation of Sidney Sheldon's trashy best-seller. Originally shown in
two parts. Average.
RAID ON ENTEBBE
1977
150 min.
Peter Finch, Charles Bronson, Horst Buchholz, Martin Balsam, John Saxon, Jack Warden, Sylvia Sidney, Yaphet Kotto.
Directed by Irvin Kershner.
Intelligent drama about the Israeli commando rescue of hijacked hostages at Entebbe, Uganda, on July 4, 1976. Finch's
last work on film garnered him an Emmy nomination. Covers the same ground as VICTORY AT ENTEBBE and OPERATION
THUNDERBOLT. Above average.
RAINBOW
1978
100 min.
Andrea McArdle, Don Murray, Piper Laurie, Martin Balsam, Michael Parks, Jack Carter, Donna Pescow. Directed by Jackie
Cooper.
Young Judy Garland's rise from struggling vaudeville performer to THE WIZARD OF OZ, with the star of Broadway's ANNIE
completely miscast in the lead. The story is seemingly accurate and given a touch of authenticity by director Jackie
Cooper, a one-time Garland beau in his youth. Average.
THE RANGERS
1974
78 min.
James G. Richardson, Colby Chester, Jim B. Smith, Laurette Spang, Laraine Stephens, Michael Conrad, Roger Bowen.
Directed by Cris Nyby III.
The rescue operations of U.S. Park Rangers as saluted by Jack Webb. Pilot to the short-lived SIERRA series. Average.
RANSOM FOR A DEAD MAN
1971
100 min.
Lee Grant, Peter Falk, John Fink, Harold Gould, Patricia Mattick, Paul Carr. Directed by Richard Irving.
Lawyer Williams (Grant) murders her husband but is foiled in her escape plan by a deceptively simple-minded police
lieutenant (Falk). Good script, performances by entire cast. Second pilot for the COLUMBO series; the first was
PRESCRIPTION: MURDER.
RANSOM FOR ALICE
1977
78 min.
Gil Gerard, Yvette Mimieux, Charles Napier, Gene Barry, Harris Yulin, Laurie Page, Barnard Huges. Directed by David
Lowell Rich.
Cop show set in 1890s Seattle with Gerard and Mimieux as deputy marshals turned agile undercover agents to crack a
white slavery ring. Average.
RAPE AND MARRIAGE: THE RIDEOUT CASE
1980
96 min.
Mickey Rourke, Linda Hamilton, Rip Torn, Eugene Roche, Conchata Ferrell, Gail Strickland. Directed by Peter Levin.
A shrill, torn-from-the-headlines treatment of a unique marital dispute, based on the landmark 1978 Oregon case about a
housewife who brought a rape charge against her husband.
RASCALS AND ROBBERS - THE SECRET ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER AND HUCK FINN
1982
100 min.
Patrick Creadon, Anthony Michael, Anthony Zerbe, Anthony James, Allyn Ann McLerie, Ed Begley, Jr., Cynthia Nixon.
Directed by Dick Lowry.
Tom and Huck join a ragtag circus while playing a cat and mouse game with a bunco artist in these new, non-Twain
"further adventures." Average.
THE RATINGS GAME
1984
89 min.
Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Gerrit Graham, Ronnie Graham. Directed by Danny DeVito.
A fairly sunny made-for-cable outing about a self-made man who learns how to manipulate a TV ratings service so he can
turn all of the shows he produces into hits. DeVito is fine as the devious would-be tycoon, however the combination of
DeVito and Perlman may prove too heady for lovers of subtlety. Average.
A REAL AMERICAN HERO
1978
100 min.
Brian Dennehy, Forrest Tucker, Brian Kerwin, Ken Howard, Sheree North, Lane Bradbury. Directed by Lou Antonio.
Buford Pusser, the club-wielding law-and-order sheriff of Selmer, Tennessee, whose career inspired three ultra-violent
movies beginning with WALKING TALL, is the American "hero." This time he's battling a dapper local moonshiner. Average.
THE REBELS
1979
200 min.
Andrew Stevens, Don Johnson, Doug McClure, Richard Basehart, Joan Blondell, Jim Backus, Tom Bosley, Rory Calhoun,
Macdonald Carey, Kim Cattrall, William Daniels, Anne Francis, Peter Graves, Pamela Hensley, Forrest Tucker, Robert
Vaughn, William Conrad (narrator). Directed by Russ Mayberry.
In this sequel to THE BASTARD, author John Jake's fictional Philip Kent fights in the American Revolution and hobnobs
with the Founding Fathers. One more Philip Kent adventure, THE SEEKERS, followed. Originally shown in two parts.
Average.
RECKLESS DISREGARD
1985
94 min.
Leslie Nielsen, Tess Harper, Frank Adamson, Ronny Cox, Kate Lynch, Henry Ramer, Sean McCann. Directed by Harvey Hart.
An interesting, made-for-cable drama in the journalist-bashing genre. Nielsen plays a crusading TV reporter on a show
called "Hourglass" (no resemblance to "60 Minutes," we swear) whose report on a clinic that issues unnecessary medical
prescriptions destroys the reputation of an innocent doctor (no resemblance to a lawsuit filed against Dan Rather --
really). A good cast makes it work, even if Charlie Haas's teleplay stacks the deck more than it should. Average.
RED ALERT
1977
100 min.
William Devane, Michael Brandon, Adrienne Barbeau, Ralph Waite, David Hayward, M. Emmett Walsh. Directed by William
Hale.
Taut suspense thriller about an accident at a nuclear power plant. Interesting science-fact with Devane and Waite as
antagonists. Based on the novel PARADIGM RED by Harold King. Average.
THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE
1974
78 min.
Richard Thomas, Michael Brandon, Wendell Burton, Charles Aidman, Warren Berlinger, Lee DeBroux. Directed by Lee Philips.
TV remake of the Stephen Crane classic, telling of the youth who runs away from his first Civil War battle but returns
to be a soldier. Thomas is fine in the lead. Adaptation by John Gay. Above average.
RED FLAG: THE ULTIMATE GAME
1981
100 min.
Barry Bostwick, William Devane, Joan Van Ark, Fred McCarren, Debra Feuer, George Coe, Linden Chiles, Arlen Dean Snyder.
Directed by Don Taylor.
Two pilots involved in war games rekindle an old rivalry that leads to tragedy. Despite a plot reminiscent of an old
Richard Arlen-Chester Morris B movie, this one has quite a bit of bite, thanks to an intelligent script by T.S. Cook
and the realism of contemporary fighter-pilot training under simulated combat conditions. Above average.
THE RED PONY
1973
100 min.
Henry Fonda, Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson, Jack Elam, Clint Howard, Richard Jaeckel, Julian Rivero, Victor Sen Yung.
Directed by Robert Totten.
A beautifully realized remake of the Steinbeck novella, minus the Billy Buck character played by Mitchum in the
original. Fonda is especially good as the gruff father who loves his son in his own distant way. Winner of the Peabody
Award as Outstanding Drama Special; adapted by Robert Totten and Ron Bishop. Above average.
THE RED-LIGHT STING
1984
100 min.
Farrah Fawcett, Beau Bridges, Harold Gould, Paul Burke, Conrad Janis, Lawrence Pressman, Katherine Cannon. Directed by
Rod Holcomb.
A classy call girl is recruited to front for a government-run brothel set up to grab a crime czar. Average.
REFLECTIONS OF MURDER
1974
100 min.
Tuesday Weld, Joan Hackett, Sam Waterston, Lucille Benson, Michael Lerner, R.G. Armstrong, Lance Kerwin. Directed by
John Badham.
A wife and mistress conspire to kill a tyrannical schoolteacher who then returns to haunt them. First-class
performances make this new version of DIABOLIQUE a superior thriller. Script by Carol Sobieski. Above average.
REHEARSAL FOR MURDER
1982
100 min.
Robert Preston, Lynn Redgrave, Patrick Macnee, Lawrence Pressman, Madolyn Smith, Jeff Goldblum, William Daniels,
William Russ. Directed by David Greene.
Engrossing Richard Levinson-William Link mystery surrounding the death of a famous movie star on the night of her
Broadway debut. Preston and pals, as N.Y.C. stage folk, guide the viewer challengingly through countless twists and
turns. Above average.
RELENTLESS
1977
100 min.
Will Sampson, Monte Markham, John Hillerman, Mariana Hill, Larry Wilcox, John Lawlor. Directed by Lee H. Katzin.
Stark chase movie that has an American Indian state trooper pursuing a band of bank robbers and their hostage through
the Arizona mountains. Sampson makes an imposing if offbeat hero. Average.
THE RELUCTANT HEROES
1971
73 min.
Ken Berry, Jim Hutton, Trini Lopez, Don Marshall, Ralph Meeker, Cameron Mitchell, Warren Oates. Directed by Robert Day.
An odd assortment of soldiers are collected to take pivotal Hill 656 under the command of an Army historian with no
combat experience. Excellent performances work well with the dialogue which would've been ruined in other hands. Above
average.
REMEMBER WHEN
1974
100 min.
Jack Warden, Robby Benson, Jamie Smith-Jackson, William Schallert, Tim Matheson, Nan Martin, Robert Middleton. Directed
by Buzz Kulik.
Nostalgic drama centering around a suburban family with four boys in combat in WW2. Warden is tops as the live-in uncle
filled with memories. Written by Herman Raucher, author of SUMMER OF '42. Above average.
REMEMBRANCE OF LOVE
1982
100 min.
Kirk Douglas, Pam Dawber, Chana Eden, Robert Clary, Yoram Gall, Michael Goodwin, Eric Douglas. Directed by Jack Smight.
A widower has an emotional reunion with a woman he had loved as a teenager in the Warsaw Ghetto forty years earlier.
Melodramatically written by Harold Jack Bloom. Average.
RENDEZVOUS HOTEL
1979
100 min.
Bill Daily, Jeff Redford, Teddy Wilson, Edward Winter, Bruce French, Sean Garrison, Jeff Donnell. Directed by Peter H.
Hunt.
A formula smile-inducer about life in a breezy California resort hotel. A beached version of LOVE BOAT is which this
prospective series pilot adds up to. Average.
THE RENEGADES
1982
100 min.
Philip Casnoff, Patrick Swayze, Randy Brooks, Cheryl Tracy, Paul Mones, Angel Granados, Jr., Peter Kwong. Directed by
Roger Spottiswoode.
Move THE MOD SQUAD to the 80s, add a couple of ethnically balanced members, send the gang out to uncover a gun-running
operation, and you've got this pilot for the subsequent short-lived series. Average.
THE RETURN OF CHARLIE CHAN
1971
97 min.
Ross Martin, Leslie Nielsen, Louise Sorel, Richard Haydn, Don Gordon. Directed by Leslie Martinson.
Stale attempt at camping up the venerable detective series, with Charlie brough out of retirement to solve murders
aboard a luxury yacht. Understandably, this sat on the studio shelf until 1979. Filmed as HAPPINESS IS A WARM CLUE.
Below average.
THE RETURN OF FRANK CANNON
1980
96 min.
William Conrad, Allison Argo, Arthur Hill, Burr DeBenning, Taylor Lacher, Diana Muldaur, Ed Nelson, Joanna Pettet,
William Smithers, Rafael Campos. Directed by Corey Allen.
In the growing tradition of trying to revive a former hit series, Cannon is brought out of semi-retirement to
investigate the questionable suicide of an old friend and Army Intelligence colleague. Average.
THE RETURN OF MARCUS WELBY, M.D.
1984
100 min.
Robert Young, Darren McGavin, Morgan Stevens, Elena Verdugo, Jessica Walter, Christina Raines, Dennis Haysbert.
Directed by Alexander Singer.
The friendly old family practitioner comes out of TV retirement only to learn that the hospital in which he works
part-time is trying to strip him of his accreditation in favor of young, more productive doctors. Pilot to a proposed
new MARCUS WELBY series. Average.
RETURN OF THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES
1981
100 min.
Buddy Ebsen, Donna Douglas, Nancy Kulp, Linda Henning, Ray Young, Imogene Coca, Werner Klemperer, King Donovan,
Lurene Tuttle, Earl Scruggs. Directed by Robert Leeds.
The Clampetts are dragged out of comfortable retirement in TV heaven to help solve the country's energy crisis. Below
average.
RETURN OF THE GUNFIGHTER
1967
100 min.
Robert Taylor, Chad Everett, Ana Martin, Mort Mills, Lyle Bettger. Directed by James Nelson.
Likable Western, thanks mainly to an excellent Taylor perormance, as he comes to the aid of an accused killer and a
Mexican girl avenging the death of her parents. Above average.
THE RETURN OF THE HULK
1977
100 min.
Bill Bixby, Laurie Prange, Dorothy Tristan, William Daniels, Jack Colvin, Lou Ferrigno. Directed by Alan Levi.
The further adventures of the Marvel Comics favorite with Banner still searching for a cure for his growth affliction
dthat uncontrollably transforms him into a raging beast. The hit series followed. Average.
RETURN OF THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
1983
100 min.
Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Patrick Macnee, Tom Mason, Gayle Hunnicut, Geoffrey Lewis, Anthony Zerbe, Keenan Wynn,
George Lazenby. Directed by Ray Austin.
Great fun as Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin return home from the good life after fifteen years' retirement from the
weekly TV grind and do battle once more with THRUSH's nefarious Justin Sepheran (Zerbe). The old chemistry between the
stars is still there... and look for one-time Bond George Lazenby in an amusing cameo. Above average.
THE RETURN OF THE MOD SQUAD
1979
100 min.
Michael Cole, Clarence Williams III, Peggy Lipton, Tige Andrews, Tom Bosley, Ross Martin, Victor Buono, Tom Ewell.
Directed by George McGowan.
The three former cops of the "flower child" generation come out of TV-rerun retirement, looking decidedly long of
tooth, in search of new adventure and a possible new series to equal the success of their 1968-73 hit. Average.
RETURN OF THE REBELS
1981
100 min.
Barbara Eden, Don Murray, Christopher Connelly, Michael Baselon, Patrick Swayze, Robert Mandan, Jamie Farr, DeAnna
Robbins. Directed by Noel Nosseck.
Lighthearted drama about the reunion of a motorcycle gang 25 years later. Dig Ms. Eden as a biking mama. Average.
RETURN OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE
1976
78 min.
Larry Hagman, Jenny O'Hara, Nicolas Colasanto, Woodrow Parfrey, Helen Verbit, Ivor Francis. Directed by Dean Hargrove.
A bumbling motorcycle cop believes he actually is Sherlock Holmes and is aided in this delusion by a psychiatric social
worker named Doc Watson. Enjoyable comedy/drama, mixing slapstick with elements of THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS. Average.
RETURN TO FANTASY ISLAND
1977
100 min.
Ricardo Montalban, Adrienne Barbeau, Joseph Campanella, Joseph Cotten, Laraine Day, Cameron Mitchell, Karen Valentine,
George Chakiris, George Maharis, France Nuyen, Horst Buchholz, Herve Villechaize. Directed by George McGowan.
Dapper Mr. Roarke and his diminutive pal Tattoo host the regular complement of guest stars seeking dream fulfillment in
this second pilot to the hit series. Average.
RETURNING HOME
1975
78 min.
Dabney Coleman, Tom Selleck, James R. Miller, Whitney Blake, Joan Goodfellow, Sherry Jackson, Laurie Walters. Directed
by Daniel Petrie.
Remake of the 1946 classic THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, with three returning WW2 vets facing the challenge of adjusting
to civilian life. Or the pitfalls of telescoping a memorable film to 78 minutes. Average.
REUNION
1980
100 min.
Russ Mayberry, Kevin Dobson, Joanna Cassidy, Linda Hamilton, Lew Ayres, George DiCenzo, Conchata Ferrell, Rick Lenz,
Nicholas Pryor, Nick Cassavetes. Directed by Russ Mayberry.
A 20th high-school reunion sets the scene for a married man to meet his old sweetheart and become attracted to her
teenaged daughter. Average.
REVENGE OF THE STEPFORD WIVES
1980
100 min.
Sharon Gless, Julie Kavner, Audra Lindley, Don Johnson, Mason Adams, Arthur Hill, Ellen Weston, Millie Slavin. Directed
by Robert Fuest.
Mediocre sequel to the 1975 theatrical feature finds an eager-beaver lady journalist coming to town and stumbling onto
the sinister secret behind the robot-like behavior of all the women. If the women's movement failed to endorse the
original, it'll find less to cheer about here. Average.
REWARD
1980
105 min.
Michael Parks, Richard Jaeckel, Louis Giambalvo, Malachy McCourt, Annie McEnroe, Andrew Robinson, Lance LeGault.
Directed by E.W. Swackhammer.
Unsold pilot written by Jason Miller about a disenchanted San Francisco cop who quits the force and sets out to solve
the murder of a colleague with the help of a young co-ed. Average.
RICHIE BROCKELMAN: THE MISSING 24 HOURS
1976
78 min.
Dennis Dugan, Suzanne Pleshette, Norman Fell, Lloyd Bochner, William Windom, Sharen Gless. Directed by Hy Averback.
Private eye caper involving a neophyte gumshoe and his amnesiac client. Plodding pilot to the short-lived series with a
cast desperately trying to inject the needed spark. Below average.
RIGHT OF WAY
1983
106 min.
Bette Davis, James Stewart, Melinda Dillon, Priscilla Morrill, John Harkins. Directed by George Schaefer.
An aging couple decide to end their lives together. This pedestrian tale has the dubious distinction of making two
Hollywood legends (in their first co-starring effort) seem dreary. An abrupt resolution, apparently changed by the
producers at the last minute, doesn't help. Made-for-cable. Average.
RING OF PASSION
1978
100 min.
Bernie Casey, Stephen Macht, Britt Ekland, Denise Nicholas, Allen Garfield, Joseph Campanella, Beah Richards. Directed
by Robert Michael Lewis.
Fact-based drama about the two Louis-Schmeling heavyweight fights, set against the politics of the pre-WW2 era. Long on
ideology, short on fisticuffs, and decidedly offbeat. Average.
RITA HAYWORTH: THE LOVE GODDESS
1983
100 min.
Lynda Carter, Michael Lerner, John Considine, Alejandro Ray, Sharon Ipale, Edward Edwards, Dave Shelley. Directed by
James Goldstone.
A limp addition to the TV portrait gallery of movie-star dramatizations; alluring Lynda's superficial drawing of
Hayworth proves again there is only one Rita. Based on John Kobal's book. Average.
RITUAL OF EVIL
1969
100 min.
Louis Jourdan, Anne Baxter, Diana Hyland, John McMartin, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Belinda Montgomery. Directed by Robert Day.
Curious mixture of wide-eyed paranoia and serious black magic explorations as psychiatrist Sorrell (Jourdan)
investigates the contributing factors of a patient's suicide. Desperately in need of polished dialogue, the film
succeeds in spite of itself. Sequel to FEAR NO EVIL. Average.
RIVER OF GOLD
1970
72 min.
Dack Rambo, Roger Davis, Ray Milland, Suzanne Pleshette, Melissa Newman. Directed by David Friedkin.
Various groups wheel and deal, threaten each other in search for the key to sunken treasure off the Mexican coast. A
fair attempt at giving subordinate characters some depth, but the resolution is strictly for laughs. Average.
RIVER OF MYSTERY
1969
96 min.
Vic Morrow, Claude Akins, Niall MacGinnis, Louise Sorel, Nico Manardos, Edmond O'Brien. Directed by Paul Stanley.
Two explosives experts find themselves sought after by a diamond hunter and a revolutionary leader in South America.
Fair location work, lame script. Morrow and Akins perform well together but deserve far better material. Below average.
RIVKIN: BOUNTY HUNTER
1981
100 min.
Ron Leibman, Harry Morgan, Harold Gray, Verna Bloom, George DiCenzo, Glenn Scarpelli, John Getz, Harry Bellaver.
Directed by Harry Harris.
Energetic pilot movie about a nickel-and-dime bounty hunter who makes his living chasing and capturing bail jumpers.
Average.
THE ROCKFORD FILES
1974
78 min.
James Garner, Lindsay Wagner, William Smith, Nita Talbot, Joe Santos, Stuart Margolin. Directed by Richard T. Heffron.
An ex-con private eye looks into a skid row bum's murder at the urging of the dead man's daughter. Garner, the reluctant
hero, at what he does best. The hit series followed. Written and produced by Stephen J. Cannell; Robert Donley plays
Rockford, Sr., the role inherited by Noah Beery in the weekly show. Above average.
RODEO GIRL
1980
100 min.
Katharine Ross, Bo Hopkins, Candy Clark, Jacqueline Brookes, Wilford Brimley, Parley Baer. Directed by Jackie Cooper.
A bronco-buster's bored wife joins an all-girl rodeo circuit in this agreeable adaptation by Kathryn Micaelian Powers
of the true story of world champion rodeo star Sue Pirtle. Average.
ROGER & HARRY: THE MITERA TARGET
1977
John Davidson, Barry Primus, Carole Wagner Mallory, Anne Randall, Richard Lynch, Susan Sullivan, Harris Yulin, Biff
McGuire. Directed by Jack Starrett.
Contemporary swashbuckler featuring a pair of professional retrievers of people and jewelry, attempting to recover a
kidnapped heiress. A live-action cartoon. Below average. Retitled LOVE FOR RANSOM.
ROGUE MALE
1976
100 min.
Peter O'Toole, John Standing, Alastair Sim, Cyd Hayman, Harold Pinter, Hugh Manning. Directed by Clive Donner.
Remake of MAN HUNT with O'Toole as a British aristocrat who tries to assassinate Hitler in the 1930s and then is
hounded by the Gestapo. First-class BBC production with a Frederic Raphael script. Above average.
ROLL, FREDDY, ROLL
1974
78 min.
Tim Conway, Jan Murray, Scott Brady, Henry Jones, Ruta Lee, Moosie Drier, Robert Hogan. Directed by Bill Persky.
This overblown TV sitcom has divorced computer programmer Conway, desperate to compete for his son's attention by
out-doing the boy's flamboyant new stepdad, determined to win a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as a
nonstop rollerskater. Average.
ROLLING MAN
1972
73 min.
Dennis Weaver, Don Stroud, Donna Mills, Slim Pickens, Jimmy Dean, Agnes Moorehead, Sheree North. Directed by Peter
Hyams.
The vivid atmosphere of small-town existence is an excellent counterpoint to the saga of Lonnie McAfee (Weaver) barely
making headway through one raw deal after another: his wife's desertion, murder, prison term, searching for children...
Some characters verge on stereotypes but the film's point of view, direction and plot line make up for it; written by
Stephen and Elinor Knarpf. Above average.
THE ROOKIES
1971
73 min.
Darren McGavin, Paul Burke, Cameron Mitchell, Robert F. Lyons, Georg Stanford Brown, Sam Melville. Directed by Jud
Taylor.
The rigorous training period, indoctrination, and first weeks of active duty in the lives of several specially
recruited young men of the L.A. police force. Lots of action, but the film tries to bite off more than it can chew.
Average; pilot for the TV series, but better than subsequent episodes.
THE ROOMMATE
1986
90 min.
Lance Guest, Barry Miller. Directed by Neil Cox.
Schematic but amiable seriocomedy, based on a John Updike short story, with Guest playing a straitlaced, repressed
college freshman in 1952 who finds himself burdened with a maniacal roommate, who's a leftist pacifist vegetarian
whose eccentricity exhausts Guest's efforts to accomodate. If you're thinking THE ODD COUPLE you're on the right track,
but don't expect many laughs in this poignant, beautifully mounted but overly sober variation. Originally shown on
PBS's "American Playhouse" series. Average.
ROOSTER
1982
100 min.
Paul Williams, Pat McCormick, J.D. Cannon, Ed Lauter, Jill St. John, Katherine Baumann, Delta Burke, Charlie Callas,
Pamela Hensley, William Daniels, John Saxon, Eddie Albert, Henry Darrow, Marie Osmond. Directed by Russ Mayberry.
Williams and McCormick go the Laurel and Hardy route as a pair of mismatched investigators hot on the trail of a band
of arsonists in this pilot that extended the roles they've played on varous series like THE FALL GUY. Average.
ROSETTI AND RYAN: MEN WHO LOVE WOMEN
1977
100 min.
Tony Roberts, Squire Fridell, Patty Duke Astin, Jane Elliot, Susan Anspach, Dick O'Neill, Bill Dana, William Marshall.
Directed by John Astin.
Free-wheeling criminal lawyers with a way with women vs. a hardnosed judge at the trial of their client Duke, charged
with slaying her husband. Pilot for the short-lived series. Average.
ROSIE: THE ROSEMARY CLOONEY STORY
1982
100 min.
Sondra Locke, Tony Orlando, Penelope Milford, Katherine Helmond, Jevin McCarthy, John Karlen, Cheryl Anderson, Robert
Ridgely, Joey Travolta. Directed by Jackie Cooper.
Locke does the acting but Rosie does the singing in this straightforward filming of the Clooney autobiography THIS FOR
REMEMBRANCE, tracing her career from a sister act on Cincinnati radio to her stardom, mental breakdown and journey back
to the limelight. Orlando's Jose Ferrer, however, is gross miscasting. Above average.
ROUGHNECKS
1980
200 min.
Steve Forrest, Sam Melville, Ana Alicia, Cathy Lee Crosby, Stephen McHattie, Vera Miles, Harry Morgan, Wilford Brimley,
Andrew Rubin, Sarah Rush, Timothy Scott. Directed by Bernard McEveety.
Oil wildcatters find time for romance while seeking black gold. Originally shown in two parts. Average.
THE ROYAL ROMANCE OF CHARLES AND DIANA
1982
Catherine Oxenberg, Christopher Baines, Ray Milland, Dana Wynter, Stewart Granger, Olivia de Havilland. Directed by
Peter Levin.
This version of the Prince Charles-Lady Diana Spencer story is the one to look for, based solely on the casting of
Wynter as Queen Elizabeth, Granger as Prince Philip, and de Havilland as the Queen Mother. As with CHARLES AND DIANA: A
ROYAL LOVE STORY, which premiered simultaneously, the leads were -- and largely remain -- unknowns. Average.
RUBY AND OSWALD
1978
133 min.
Michael Lerner, Frederic Forrest, Doris Roberts, Lou Frizzell, Lanna Saunders, Brian Dennehy. Directed by Mel Stuart.
Dramatic recreation of the days just preceding and following the Kennedy assassination unfortunately pales beside the
real events so graphically covered live in those days. Retitled FOUR DAYS IN DALLAS. Average.
THE RULES OF MARRIAGE
1982
200 min.
Elizabeth Montgomery, Elliott Gould, Michael Murphy, Kenneth Mars, Neva Patterson, William Windom. Directed by Milton
Katselas.
An affluent suburban couple decide to split after fifteen years in this overlong contemporary drama written by Reginald
Rose. Originally shown in two parts. Average.
A RUMOR OF WAR
1980
200 min.
Brad Davis, Keith Carradine, Michael O'Keefe, Richard Bradford, Brian Dennehy, John Friederich, Perry Lang, Christopher
Mitchum, Steve Forrest, Stacy Keach. Directed by Richard T. Heffron.
The first of the major TV films set in Vietnam, adapted from Philip Caputo's best-seller by John Sacret Young. Davis
gives an intense performance as Caputo, following him through his transformation from idealistic college student to
enthusiastic Marine to embittered veteran charged at court-martial for murder in a Vietnamese village. Above average.
RUN A CROOKED MILE
1969
100 min.
Louis Jordan, Mary Tyler Moore, Alexander Knox, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Laurence Naismith, Terence Alexander. Directed by
Gene Levitt.
A highway mishap precipitates a math teather's involvement in a plot to change the European gold standard. Good,
intricate amnesia-gimmicked plot and a fine British cast on hand in a serviceable suspenser. Above average.
RUN, SIMON, RUN
1970
73 min.
Burt Reynolds, Inger Stevens, Royal Dano, James Best, Rodolfo Acosta, Don Dubbins, Ken Lynch. Directed by George
McCowan.
An unpretentious, straightforward tale of a Papago Indian returning to his tribe after a prison term, swearing tribal
vengeance on the man who really murdered his brother. Excellent, tense atmosphere; great use of locations; convincing
performances (including Stevens' last) Above average.
RUNAWAY!
1973
73 min.
Ben Johnson, Ben Murphy, Vera Miles, Ed Nelson, Darlene Carr, Martin Milner, Lee H. Montgomery, Ray Danton. Directed by
David Lowell Rich.
A train is careening down a mountain passage without brakes, the lives of various stereotyped characters sway with
Fate's whim. Some moments of good suspense, but overall, the film reeks of formula. Average.
THE RUNAWAY BARGE
1975
78 min.
Bo Hopkins, Tim Matheson, Jim Davis, Nick Nolte, Devon Ericson, Christina Hart, James Best. Directed by Boris Sagal.
The adventures of three men trying to earn a living on a modern day riverboat. Typical TV action movie including a trio
of two-fisted scalawags. Average.
THE RUNAWAYS
1975
78 min.
Dorothy McGuire, Van Williams, John Randolph, Neva Patterson, Josh Albee, Lenka Peterson. Directed by Harry Harris.
Poignant family drama about an unhappy teenaged orphan and an escaped leopard from a wild-animal compound. A well-acted
filming of Victor Canning's sentimental novel. Above average.
RUNNING OUT
1983
100 min.
Deborah Raffin, Tony Bill, Toni Kalem, Ari Meyers, Paul Hecht, Joseph Buloff. Directed by Robert Day.
Raffin happily breathes new life into this now-worn KRAMER VS. KRAMER situation, playing a woman trying to reenter the
lives of the husband and daughter she abandoned years earlier. Above average.
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Made-For-TV-Movies - Q
