Pancho Barnes (film)

Last updated
Pancho Barnes
Pancho Barnes (1988 film).jpg
GenreAction
Adventure
Drama
Written by John Michael Hayes
Story byDavid Crisholm
John Michael Hayes
Directed by Richard T. Heffron
Starring Valerie Bertinelli
Ted Wass
James Stephens
Cynthia Harris
Music by Allyn Ferguson
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersBlu André
Alice Pardo
Production locationsHartlee Field Airport, Denton, Texas
Dallas
Forney, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Houston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
CinematographyWilliam Wages
EditorsMichael F. Anderson
Michael Eliot
Running time150 minutes
Production company Orion Television
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseOctober 25, 1988 (1988-10-25)

Pancho Barnes is a 1988 American made-for-television biographical film about the pioneering female aviator, starring Valerie Bertinelli, Ted Wass, James Stephens and Cynthia Harris. The film was directed by Richard T. Heffron and premiered on CBS on October 25, 1988. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Plot

Leaving an arranged marriage to Reverend Rankin Barnes (James Stephens), Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes (Bertinelli) takes an interest in flying light planes in the 1920s, and soon rivals Amelia Earhart (Nance Williamson), breaking world speed records.

Barnes is hired by Howard Hughes (David Kockinis) to do stunt flying for the film Hell's Angels , instigates the formation of the Associated Motion Picture Pilots, was a World War II Air Force Civilian Pilot Trainer, and establishes the Happy Bottom Riding Club as a mess hall for pilots and former servicemen. [4]

Cast

Reception

Don Shirley of the Los Angeles Times was critical, saying the film sanitized Barnes' life and persona. [5]

Awards

At the 1989 Emmys, Pancho Barnes won Outstanding Achievement in Costuming for A Miniseries or A Special and was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for A Miniseries or A Special. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Harris</span> American actor and director (born 1950)

Edward Allen Harris is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in Apollo 13 (1995), The Truman Show (1998), Pollock (2000), and The Hours (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Stanley</span> American actress (1925–2001)

Kim Stanley was an American actress who was primarily active in television and theatre but also had occasional film performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Danson</span> American actor (born 1947)

Edward BridgeDanson III is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1982–1993), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He was further Emmy-nominated for the FX legal drama Damages (2007–2010) and the NBC comedy The Good Place (2016–2020). He was the recipient of the 2025 Carol Burnett Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Berenger</span> American actor (born 1949)

Tom Berenger is an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in Platoon (1986). He is also known for playing Jake Taylor in the Major League films and Thomas Beckett in the Sniper films. Other films he appeared in include Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Dogs of War (1980), The Big Chill (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), Betrayed (1988), The Field (1990), Sniper (1992), Gettysburg (1993), The Substitute (1996), Training Day (2001), and Inception (2010).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Leeves</span> English actress

Jane Elizabeth Leeves is an English actress, best known for her role as Daphne Moon on the NBC sitcom Frasier (1993–2004), for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 50th Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film at the 52nd Golden Globe Awards. She also played Joy Scroggs on TV Land's sitcom Hot in Cleveland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valerie Bertinelli</span> American actress (born 1960)

Valerie Anne Bertinelli is an American actress and television personality. She first achieved recognition as an adolescent, portraying Barbara Cooper Royer on the sitcom One Day at a Time (1975–1984), for which she won two Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film. She subsequently earned adult stardom as Gloria on the religious drama series Touched by an Angel (2001–2003), and Melanie Moretti on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland (2010–2015), which brought her a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In 2012, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

<i>One Day at a Time</i> (1975 TV series) American television sitcom (1975–1984)

One Day at a Time is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from December 16, 1975, to May 28, 1984. It stars Bonnie Franklin as a divorced mother raising two teenage daughters, played by Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli, set in Indianapolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Madigan</span> American actress

Amy Marie Madigan is an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1985 film Twice in a Lifetime. Her other film credits include Love Letters (1984), Alamo Bay (1985), Nowhere to Hide (1987), Uncle Buck (1989), Field of Dreams (1989), Female Perversions (1996), With Friends Like These... (1998), and Winter Passing (2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pancho Barnes</span> American aviator

Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes was a pioneer aviator and a founder of the first movie stunt pilots' union. In 1930, she broke Amelia Earhart's air speed record. Barnes raced in the Women's Air Derby and was a member of the Ninety-Nines. In later years, she was known as the owner of the Happy Bottom Riding Club, a bar and restaurant in the Mojave Desert, Southern California, catering to the legendary test pilots and aviators who worked nearby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happy Bottom Riding Club</span> Dude ranch at Edwards Air Force Base

The Happy Bottom Riding Club (1935–1953), was a dude ranch, restaurant, and hotel operated by aviator Florence "Pancho" Barnes near Edwards Air Force Base in the Antelope Valley of California's Mojave Desert. Barnes and her club were featured in Tom Wolfe's 1979 book, The Right Stuff, and its 1983 film adaptation.

Stephen Hopkins is a Jamaican-born British director and producer of film and television. He directed Predator 2, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Blown Away, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Lost in Space and Under Suspicion. He also produced and directed several episodes of the first season of 24.

Nick T. Spark is an American documentary filmmaker and writer. Films he has written, directed or produced include Regulus: The First Nuclear Missile Submarines (2001) the Emmy award-winning The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club (2009) and Right Footed (2015). In addition to being a contributing editor to Wings and Airpower magazines, his articles have appeared in the Annals of Improbable Research, Naval History, the Journal of the American Aviation Historical Society, and Proceedings. People he has interviewed include President Gerald Ford, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Secretary of State Colin Powell, disability activist Jessica Cox and numerous test pilots including Charles "Chuck" Yeager. In 2007 Spark was interviewed on National Public Radio, concerning an article he wrote about the USS Panay incident, and he appeared on PBS' History Detectives in 2011 as an expert on the Navy's World War II drone, the TDR-1.

<i>The Bourne Identity</i> (1988 film) 1988 American TV miniseries

The Bourne Identity is a 1988 American mystery action thriller miniseries adaptation of Robert Ludlum's 1980 novel The Bourne Identity. The adaptation was written by Carol Sobieski, directed by Roger Young for Warner Bros. Television with Richard Chamberlain in the title role, along with Jaclyn Smith. It follows the storyline of the original novel, with a run-time of 185 minutes; with commercials added, the running time was extended to four hours, and was first shown on ABC in two 120 minute installments over two nights, making its first run count as a miniseries rather than a TV movie. As such, it was nominated in the Outstanding Miniseries category at the 40th Primetime Emmy Awards.

<i>Steal the Sky</i> 1988 American TV series or program

Steal the Sky is a 1988 HBO movie directed by John D. Hancock and starring Mariel Hemingway and Ben Cross. The film is based on the true story of an Iraqi Assyrian fighter pilot Munir Redfa, who defected by flying a MiG-21 fighter jet to Israel in 1966. Steal the Sky was the first production under the HBO-Paramount co-financing agreement launched in 1987.

The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club is a 2009 American documentary film that chronicles the life of aviation pioneer Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Air Derby</span> American aviator

The Women's Air Derby was the first official women-only air race in the United States, taking place during the 1929 National Air Races. Humorist Will Rogers referred to it as the Powder Puff Derby, the name by which the race is most commonly known. Nineteen pilots took off from Clover Field, Santa Monica, California, on August 18, 1929. Marvel Crosson died in a crash apparently caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, but fifteen completed the race in Cleveland, Ohio, nine days later.

Clayton "Clay" Westervelt is a film director, producer, and cinematographer based in Los Angeles, California. He is the founder of Martini Crew Booking and Imaginaut Entertainment.

The Triple Crown of Acting is a term used in the American entertainment industry to describe actors who have won a competitive Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Tony Award in the acting categories, the highest awards recognized in American film, television, and theater, respectively. The term "Triple Crown" is used in other competitive areas, such as the Triple Crown of Horse Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. James' Episcopal Church (South Pasadena, California)</span> Church in South Pasadena, California

St. James' Episcopal Church is a parish of the Episcopal Church in South Pasadena, California, and part of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monrovia Airport, California</span> Airport in California, US, 1928 to 1952

Monrovia Airport, also called the Foothill Flying Field, was an American airport in Monrovia, California active from 1928 to 1952.

References

  1. [ dead link ]
  2. "Florence "Pancho" Barnes; the Woman, the Legacy". Mojave Desert News . Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  3. "Setting the record straight on Pancho Barnes". Theitem.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  4. "Who is Pancho Barnes…". Panchobarnes.com. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  5. "Television Review : 'Pancho Barnes' Never Gets Off the Ground". Los Angeles Times . 25 October 1988. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  6. "PANCHO BARNES". Emmys.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.