Steel Cowboy

Last updated
Steel Cowboy
GenreDrama
Written byDouglas Wheeler
Bill Kerby
Directed byHarvey Laidman
Starring James Brolin
Rip Torn
Jennifer Warren
Strother Martin
Melanie Griffith
Music by Charles Bernstein
Juice Newton
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers Tony Converse
Roger Gimbel
ProducerR.J. Louis
CinematographyFrank Holgate
Editor Aaron Stell
Running time90 minutes
Production companies EMI Films
Roger Gimbel Productions
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseDecember 6, 1978 (1978-12-06)

Steel Cowboy is a 1978 American made-for-television drama film starring James Brolin, Rip Torn, Jennifer Warren, Strother Martin and Melanie Griffith. It was originally broadcast on NBC on December 6, 1978. [1]

Contents

Plot

With his marriage, sanity and livelihood on the line, an independent trucker and his buddy agree to haul a load of stolen cattle for a black marketer.

Cast

Reception

The Los Angeles Times said the film had some "nice characterizations but precious little story." [2]

It was the 42nd highest rated show of the week. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Capricorn One</i> 1977 thriller film by Peter Hyams

Capricorn One is a 1977 British-produced American thriller film in which a reporter discovers that a supposed Mars landing by a crewed mission to the planet has been faked via a conspiracy involving the government and—under duress—the crew themselves. It was written and directed by Peter Hyams and produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It stars Elliott Gould as the reporter, and James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O. J. Simpson as the astronauts. Hal Holbrook plays a senior NASA official who goes along with governmental and corporate interests and helps to fake the mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Johnson</span> American actor and singer (born 1949)

Donnie Wayne Johnson is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series Miami Vice, for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his work in the role. He also played the titular character in the 1990s series Nash Bridges. Johnson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Brolin</span> American actor (born 1940)

James Brolin is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin and the husband of Barbra Streisand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strother Martin</span> American actor (1919–1980)

Strother Douglas Martin Jr. was an American character actor who often appeared in support of John Wayne and Paul Newman and in Western films directed by John Ford and Sam Peckinpah. Among Martin's memorable performances is his portrayal of the warden or "captain" of a state prison camp in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, in which he utters the line, "What we've got here is failure to communicate." The line is number 11 on the American Film Institute list of 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanie Griffith</span> American actress (born 1957)

Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elliott Gould</span> American actor (born 1938)

Elliott Gould is an American actor. In a career spanning over seven decades, he began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gig Young</span> American actor (1913–1978)

Gig Young was an American stage, film, and television actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastside Los Angeles</span> Eastside Los Angeles

The Eastside is an urban region in Los Angeles County, California. It includes the Los Angeles City neighborhoods east of the Los Angeles River—that is, Boyle Heights, El Sereno, and Lincoln Heights—as well as unincorporated East Los Angeles.

<i>Night Moves</i> (1975 film) 1975 film by Arthur Penn

Night Moves is a 1975 American neo-noir film directed by Arthur Penn, and starring Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren, Susan Clark, with supporting performances from Melanie Griffith and James Woods. Its plot follows a Los Angeles private investigator who uncovers a series of sinister events while searching for the missing teenage daughter of a former movie actress.

Football Digest was a sports magazine for fans interested in professional American football, with in-depth coverage of the National Football League (NFL). The magazine modeled the Reader's Digest idea, to bring the best in football journalism from newspapers and magazines that the fans would have otherwise not had an opportunity to read.

<i>The Villain</i> (1979 film) 1979 American Western comedy film

The Villain is a 1979 American metrocolor Western comedy film directed by Hal Needham and starring Kirk Douglas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ann-Margret, Paul Lynde, Foster Brooks, Strother Martin, Ruth Buzzi, Jack Elam, and Mel Tillis. It is a parody of Western films, blended with an homage to the Warner Bros. cartoon Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.

<i>Mulholland Falls</i> 1996 film by Lee Tamahori

Mulholland Falls is a 1996 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori, written by Pete Dexter, and starring an ensemble cast featuring Nick Nolte, Jennifer Connelly, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Melanie Griffith, Andrew McCarthy, Treat Williams, and John Malkovich.

<i>The Phantom Empire</i> 1935 serial film

The Phantom Empire is a 1935 American Western serial film directed by Otto Brower and B. Reeves Eason and starring Gene Autry, Frankie Darro, and Betsy King Ross. This 12-chapter Mascot Pictures serial combined the Western, musical and science-fiction genres. The first episode is 30 minutes, the rest about 20 minutes. The serial film is about a singing cowboy who stumbles upon an ancient subterranean civilization living beneath his own ranch that becomes corrupted by unscrupulous greedy speculators from the surface. In 1940, a 70-minute feature film edited from the serial was released under the titles Radio Ranch or Men with Steel Faces. This was Gene Autry's first starring role, playing himself as a singing cowboy. It is considered to be the first science-fiction Western.

<i>The Carey Treatment</i> 1972 film by Blake Edwards

The Carey Treatment is a 1972 American crime thriller film directed by Blake Edwards and starring James Coburn, Jennifer O'Neill, Dan O'Herlihy and Pat Hingle. The film was based on the 1968 novel A Case of Need credited to Jeffery Hudson, a pseudonym for Michael Crichton. Like Darling Lili and Wild Rovers before this, The Carey Treatment was heavily edited without help from Edwards by the studio into a running time of one hour and 41 minutes; these edits were later satirized in his 1981 black comedy S.O.B..

Jennifer Warren is an American actress, producer and film director.

The 1978 Dallas Cowboys season was their 19th in the National Football League (NFL). For the third consecutive season, the Cowboys finished in first place in the NFC East. The Cowboys scored 384 points, which ranked first in the league, while the defense only gave up 208 points, 3rd best in the league. Twice, the Cowboys appeared on Monday Night Football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Seacat</span> American actress, director and acting coach (1936–2023)

Sandra Diane Seacat was an American actress, director and acting coach best known for her innovations in acting pedagogy—blending elements of Strasberg, and Jungian dream analysis—and for a handful of coaching success stories.

<i>Angel, Angel, Down We Go</i> 1969 film by Robert Thom

Angel, Angel, Down We Go, also known as Cult of the Damned, is a 1969 American film directed by playwright and screenwriter Robert Thom, his sole directorial credit. Thom based his screenplay on an unproduced stage play of the same title that he had written several years earlier as a vehicle for his wife, actress Janice Rule. The film was produced by Sam Katzman's Four Leaf Productions and distributed by American International Pictures.

<i>Copper Sky</i> 1957 film by Charles Marquis Warren

Copper Sky is a 1957 American Western film directed by Charles Marquis Warren and written by Eric Norden. The film stars Jeff Morrow, Coleen Gray, Strother Martin, Paul Brinegar, John Pickard and Patrick O'Moore. The film was released in September 1957, by 20th Century Fox.

References

  1. FILM CLIPS: Brolin's Career in High Gear Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times22 Mar 1978: g11.
  2. TV MOVIE REVIEW: 'Steel Cowboy'--Discouraging Herd Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times 6 Dec 1978: h34.
  3. CBS' Specials Tie Up a First-Place Package Los Angeles Times 13 Dec 1978: 34.