Jaclyn Smith, in her early "Charlie's Angels" days, gives a commendable, somewhat exaggerated or uneven performance as a young Mrs. tied down to the "little dictator" of a dirt-poor Texas county; she tries leaving him but, knowing too much about his shady financial dealings, is arrested without cause and thrown into jail. Made-for-TV feature doesn't look like much at first, yet director Steven Hilliard Stern has ambitions for the film to be more than just a television throwaway (he doesn't have the attentive nature needed to give the movie a suspenseful undercurrent, but his pacing and detail-work show sophistication). Michael Parks is very good as a State Ranger who helps Jaclyn out, and the film's best scene has him playing a little guitar for her in the jailhouse. Other performances are pushy and unpleasant, and the dusty, sweaty locations aren't used particularly well, yet this star-vehicle for the pretty Angel does hold the interest for much of its length.
3 Reviews
Terror in a Texas Town
GaryPeterson672 April 2022
Strange bedfellows in Bogen County. Imagine the Lone Ranger teaming up with Chester from GUNSMOKE to rescue the angelic Kelly Garrett from the clutches of J. R. Ewing.
The late, great Mitchell Ryan stars as a malicious and megalomaniacal Texas power broker who runs Bogen County as his own private fiefdom. Speeding down the highway, he waves off the dutiful patrolman who immediately pulls back. He hunts wild game from his helicopter and then hosts an elaborate barbecue for his loyal subjects, where he gropes and grabs a young woman he later seduces into bed. It's good to be the king!
But the king's queen, Jaclyn Smith, catching her husband in flagrante delicto--and not for the first time--takes off for the open road. But Ambler Bowman won't let this prized possession slip from his grasp. Rousting the judge from bed and into court in his bathrobe, he issues a warrant for her apprehension and return. She is dutifully driven the 300 miles back to Bogen County by Texas Ranger Jack Kerns, played by Michael Parks.
"Mister Dillon!" one can almost hear Henry Gibson cry. Gibson plays a limping state bureaucrat dispatched to Bogen County to audit the books, which have been cooked--literally--in a suspicious fire. He tells the Texas Ranger that there's something rotten in Bogen County. Wannabe country music warbler Jack decides to stick around town and refuel on cheeseburgers with mustard and relish. His suspicions were aroused by the trumped-up charges Judge Henry Martin used to lock Maggie in jail. The singing cowboy even bullies his way into jail to perform for Maggie, his "captive audience," while the town's quivering Keystone Kops assemble in the stairwell with shotguns, unsure of how to react to an unprecedented challenge to Bowman's dictates.
Pat Hingle plays the vassal Judge Henry Martin in a complete contrast to the hanging judge he so memorably portrayed a decade earlier in HANG 'EM HIGH. Here he's bought and paid for by Bowman. When Judge Martin's daughter, a friend of Maggie's, calls him to account, Henry's hangdog face reflects a man almost beaten into resignation and despair. But only almost. Judge Martin's mustering the courage to release Maggie is the pivotal first crack in Ambler's once-impenetrable line of loyalist toadies.
Crater-faced John Quade is perfectly cast as the corrupt sheriff. He's apoplectic at the judge's turning against Ambler, "You done checked your brains out of town on a Greyhound bus, Henry? ... It's your funeral!" he bellows at the turncoat judge, whose conscience is clear but who's head is now in the crosshairs of Ambler's rifle. Alerted to this Brutus' betrayal, Ambler speeds and skids his car right onto the sidewalk of the courthouse and shoots out the judge's window. Chester runs to warn the Lone Ranger that Ambler is officially unhinged.
Jack and Maggie learn firsthand that Ambler has flipped when the husband scorned chases after their car in his helicopter. "He's nuts!" shouts Jack in a keen Captain Obvious observation. This tense scene is amazingly played out and appeared incredibly risky for all involved as the blades tilted low and the dust clouds billowed. This was a cinematic-quality chase scene start to finish.
Mitchell Ryan as Burke Devlin on DARK SHADOWS struck a balance between menace and charm. Here, even when flashing his trademark broad, squinty-eyed smile, it's all malice. He's a very scary man. And Maggie is a very scared woman. Jaclyn Smith's Maggie is not the street-smart Kelly Garrett of CHARLIE'S ANGELS. Maggie was a poor and ignorant young rustic who had the misfortune of catching the roving eye of the lustful Ambler. Whether to curry favor or to avert his wrath, her parents gave her over to Ambler, sealing her fate and squashing her dream of escaping this dried-up and dusty town.
No mention is made of Maggie suffering physical abuse, but evidence of psychological abuse abounds. A fearful Maggie's initially refuses to help the investigation into Ambler's illegal activities. She's convinced nothing will change and that Ambler will always find her to exact revenge. One can feel the frustration of Jack and Chester as they try to convince Maggie that by testifying can be freed for good from Ambler's control. Only when Ambler finally overplays his hand does Maggie muster the courage to defy him.
Ryan, Smith, and Parks were each excellent in their roles. Special mention must be made of LAUGH-IN veteran Henry Gibson, a cartoon voice and comic actor who herein proved he can play it straight convincingly. I loved the scene where the diminutive Gibson stands up to the tall but indifferent bureaucrat Alan Fudge and prevails. A highlight of the supporting cast unfortunately underutilized were Fred Willard and George Memmoli as Ambler's bumbling henchmen. I suspect their roles were diminished because this latter-day Abbott and Costello combo did serve to lighten the mood, which would have undermined the tension the producers successfully established and sustained.
This compelling and entertaining movie initially aired over CBS on a Friday night. Perhaps not coincidentally, just a few years later this same Friday night spot would for a decade boast the blockbuster drama DALLAS. Could this film about a Texas power broker with a love for money and an eye for the ladies have exerted any influence or inspired the creation of J. R. Ewing? Parallels include Ambler mentioning he is owed favors from all over Texas and his calling out a woman at the barbecue named Sue Ellen. But J. R., even at his most scheming, underhanded, and devious, could never match the evil embodied by Ambler Bowman. J. R. Always loved his mama.
The late, great Mitchell Ryan stars as a malicious and megalomaniacal Texas power broker who runs Bogen County as his own private fiefdom. Speeding down the highway, he waves off the dutiful patrolman who immediately pulls back. He hunts wild game from his helicopter and then hosts an elaborate barbecue for his loyal subjects, where he gropes and grabs a young woman he later seduces into bed. It's good to be the king!
But the king's queen, Jaclyn Smith, catching her husband in flagrante delicto--and not for the first time--takes off for the open road. But Ambler Bowman won't let this prized possession slip from his grasp. Rousting the judge from bed and into court in his bathrobe, he issues a warrant for her apprehension and return. She is dutifully driven the 300 miles back to Bogen County by Texas Ranger Jack Kerns, played by Michael Parks.
"Mister Dillon!" one can almost hear Henry Gibson cry. Gibson plays a limping state bureaucrat dispatched to Bogen County to audit the books, which have been cooked--literally--in a suspicious fire. He tells the Texas Ranger that there's something rotten in Bogen County. Wannabe country music warbler Jack decides to stick around town and refuel on cheeseburgers with mustard and relish. His suspicions were aroused by the trumped-up charges Judge Henry Martin used to lock Maggie in jail. The singing cowboy even bullies his way into jail to perform for Maggie, his "captive audience," while the town's quivering Keystone Kops assemble in the stairwell with shotguns, unsure of how to react to an unprecedented challenge to Bowman's dictates.
Pat Hingle plays the vassal Judge Henry Martin in a complete contrast to the hanging judge he so memorably portrayed a decade earlier in HANG 'EM HIGH. Here he's bought and paid for by Bowman. When Judge Martin's daughter, a friend of Maggie's, calls him to account, Henry's hangdog face reflects a man almost beaten into resignation and despair. But only almost. Judge Martin's mustering the courage to release Maggie is the pivotal first crack in Ambler's once-impenetrable line of loyalist toadies.
Crater-faced John Quade is perfectly cast as the corrupt sheriff. He's apoplectic at the judge's turning against Ambler, "You done checked your brains out of town on a Greyhound bus, Henry? ... It's your funeral!" he bellows at the turncoat judge, whose conscience is clear but who's head is now in the crosshairs of Ambler's rifle. Alerted to this Brutus' betrayal, Ambler speeds and skids his car right onto the sidewalk of the courthouse and shoots out the judge's window. Chester runs to warn the Lone Ranger that Ambler is officially unhinged.
Jack and Maggie learn firsthand that Ambler has flipped when the husband scorned chases after their car in his helicopter. "He's nuts!" shouts Jack in a keen Captain Obvious observation. This tense scene is amazingly played out and appeared incredibly risky for all involved as the blades tilted low and the dust clouds billowed. This was a cinematic-quality chase scene start to finish.
Mitchell Ryan as Burke Devlin on DARK SHADOWS struck a balance between menace and charm. Here, even when flashing his trademark broad, squinty-eyed smile, it's all malice. He's a very scary man. And Maggie is a very scared woman. Jaclyn Smith's Maggie is not the street-smart Kelly Garrett of CHARLIE'S ANGELS. Maggie was a poor and ignorant young rustic who had the misfortune of catching the roving eye of the lustful Ambler. Whether to curry favor or to avert his wrath, her parents gave her over to Ambler, sealing her fate and squashing her dream of escaping this dried-up and dusty town.
No mention is made of Maggie suffering physical abuse, but evidence of psychological abuse abounds. A fearful Maggie's initially refuses to help the investigation into Ambler's illegal activities. She's convinced nothing will change and that Ambler will always find her to exact revenge. One can feel the frustration of Jack and Chester as they try to convince Maggie that by testifying can be freed for good from Ambler's control. Only when Ambler finally overplays his hand does Maggie muster the courage to defy him.
Ryan, Smith, and Parks were each excellent in their roles. Special mention must be made of LAUGH-IN veteran Henry Gibson, a cartoon voice and comic actor who herein proved he can play it straight convincingly. I loved the scene where the diminutive Gibson stands up to the tall but indifferent bureaucrat Alan Fudge and prevails. A highlight of the supporting cast unfortunately underutilized were Fred Willard and George Memmoli as Ambler's bumbling henchmen. I suspect their roles were diminished because this latter-day Abbott and Costello combo did serve to lighten the mood, which would have undermined the tension the producers successfully established and sustained.
This compelling and entertaining movie initially aired over CBS on a Friday night. Perhaps not coincidentally, just a few years later this same Friday night spot would for a decade boast the blockbuster drama DALLAS. Could this film about a Texas power broker with a love for money and an eye for the ladies have exerted any influence or inspired the creation of J. R. Ewing? Parallels include Ambler mentioning he is owed favors from all over Texas and his calling out a woman at the barbecue named Sue Ellen. But J. R., even at his most scheming, underhanded, and devious, could never match the evil embodied by Ambler Bowman. J. R. Always loved his mama.
Howdy Angel...?
alfo_21061 July 2006
This is the first major TV movie of actress Jaclyn Smith. It was actually made during her hiatus from the first season of Charlies Angels.
Jaclyn has been given always a first chance among the angels to branch to a higher degree of fame. While Kate was looming to some other projects and Farrah doing tons of commercials, Jaclyn was starring in this well written and violent drama.
Her role is a contrast from her tight pants image in her series. Shes believable, scarred and yet sexy. She purrs and scream and run like hell and yet you still wanting her to not to escape in the county.
Worth watching because of acting, plot and a good ride to sit down and eat your home made popcorn!
Jaclyn has been given always a first chance among the angels to branch to a higher degree of fame. While Kate was looming to some other projects and Farrah doing tons of commercials, Jaclyn was starring in this well written and violent drama.
Her role is a contrast from her tight pants image in her series. Shes believable, scarred and yet sexy. She purrs and scream and run like hell and yet you still wanting her to not to escape in the county.
Worth watching because of acting, plot and a good ride to sit down and eat your home made popcorn!
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