Kenny Rogers in THE GAMBLER TV Movies Review

[00:00:00] This podcast is a production of Unfiltered Studios. If you would like to know more about joining Unfiltered Studios, please visit our website at unfpod.com for more information. You got to know when to hold up, know when to fold up.

[00:00:28] When I did, you'd be in one hell of a fix right now. I'm a gambler. I learned to read cards and I learned to read faces. And yours tells me you're running a bluff. You got to know when to hold up, know when to walk away, know when to run. You never got to. It wouldn't be big time poker without Brady Hawks. Why don't I just save us some time? Winner takes all.

[00:00:57] When the deal is done. How about it? You there?

[00:01:56] Welcome all. Once again, we got another minisode here. And since we're talking all about cowboys and the wild, wild west this week, I figured I'd talk about another series of infamous westerns. That's right. Know when to hold up. We're talking about the goofy, cheesy, and just outrageous gambler movies. Produced for TV.

[00:02:24] Starring the late, not so great, Kenny Rogers. Yeah, so I'm not much of a country music guy. I like some of these guys when they actually grow as actors. I listen to some occasional folk rock, but yeah, I'm not the crowd for that. However, I'm a fair guy to an extent.

[00:02:50] And yeah, other than a few hits, I never listened much to Kenny Rogers. He was always kind of one of those just very ego-headed personas I would casually see on TV. And I was like, yeah, that voice is such a turnoff. But alas, he retired in 2015, but occasionally dabbled in acting.

[00:03:19] Did some photo books, but yeah, these are probably his best known TV movies. So, he's got some reasonable charisma, but like you probably have seen viewers say, including on the High Def Digest website, review of this, he's not much of an actor. That being said, he doesn't waste time in just conveying what's on the script.

[00:03:47] But I would say in many ways, this is a... He's not so much an actor as he's giving instructions to the producers and they're writing the character around his so-called persona. He's pleasant, but he likes charisma, but he gets the job done. So, that's a nice thing to get out of the way.

[00:04:15] This is a synchology, that's right, we're using the unofficial term. Five movie entries produced between 1980 and 1994. So yeah, that's right. Most of them were in the 80s, and then the last two were in the early 90s. Why the hell am I here? Well, long story short, I like myself a goofy movie night.

[00:04:38] And these have numerous actors who, at some point or another, you're gonna see a lot of movies on their resume. And if you like cheesy TV movies, or B-movies, or westerns for that matter, these are gonna come up. As previous reviewers have said, don't bother buying these unless you are a TV movie completist. Just wait for them to come on TV, and that's okay. You won't have to wait long.

[00:05:08] They're literally on Hallmark, or Inspire, or one of those other type channels all the damn time. They're decently shot, they're quickly edited, but for the most part, I gotta say, they're pretty damn average. But, let's get to the stars, since that's the main reason why anyone would want to come here.

[00:05:34] So, basically, it's just all about a card shark, a poker player, who Rogers portrays Brady Hawks. If that's not a manly name, well, I don't know what the hell kind of name that is.

[00:05:49] But, yeah, he trains Bruce Boxlutner, who, you know, prior to becoming the sci-fi king, was in all kinds of just TV westerns, including the How the West was one show. So, yeah, he did all kinds of these westerns for TV and straight to video when he wasn't doing TV soaps and dramas and other sci-fi movies.

[00:06:18] So, he's decent here, it's just, he plays such a petulant, selfish man named Billy Montana. And the rest of the cast throughout the movies includes Klu Goliger, you know, B-movie king, who's, you might know, from Return of the Living Dead and McHugh and The Initiation. And recently, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He's in the first one.

[00:06:48] Another recurring person is Kate Muldoon, played by Linda Evans, who many will know from the classic western-era show, The Big Valley, as well as Dynasty. So, there you go. And she recurs on and off. Part 2 has a lot of the same people, but Part 3 ups the star power. Yeah, it goes for a lot of people. Oh, I forgot.

[00:07:18] In Part 1, they have Lance Legault, who many will know as Colonel Decker from A-Team. So, yeah, he's in a supporting role there as Doc Palmer. But, yeah, Movie Free amps it up. You got an early appearance by Mark Alimo, who many will know from his movie roles in Tango and Cash. And all Star Trek people will know him as Dukat on Deep Space Nine. So, it's cool seeing him in a different role there as Private Bob Butler.

[00:07:48] Charles Durning is there as Senator Colton. And, again, all the acting is adequate, but it's also not, it's far from their high point. Part 4 had the most names. You had basically a who's who of western TV. And, yeah. In fact, you had Mr. TV Lawyer himself.

[00:08:17] Gene Berry from Bat Masterson and Bricks Law. You might know him also from the 1953 version of War of the Worlds. You had Chuck Connors. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. They had to get the Chicago Cubs player turned rifleman.

[00:08:38] And then they got Brian Keith, who, again, you know, has been the go-to for everything from the comedy The Russians Are Coming to The Wind of the Lion, where he played Teddy Roosevelt, to sitcoms like Hardcastle and McCarmick and Family Affair, him and his own TV show. But, yeah. I've seen him in his fair share of war movies and period pieces. Always an ensemble guy. Hugo Bryan. That's right.

[00:09:07] From The Legend of Wyatt Earp. The original adaptation of Ten Little Indians, as well as a key sporting role in John Wayne's The Shootist. But, yeah. You'll recognize that name, even if you haven't seen these movies. They're going to come up on every Western actor list. Then we got Che Yeen, frontman Clint Walker. Yeah. He's in there. All in the fourth movie. But this all matters not.

[00:09:34] Because one way or another, you probably have seen this on a DVD pack. Because, I kid you not, David freaking Carradine reprises his role as Kway Shane Kane on, that's right, Kung Fu. So he had just done the Kung Fu movie. And then about seven, five years later, he does The Gambler Returns, this fourth one.

[00:10:02] And it really has nothing to do with the movie. It was just an excuse for ABC or CBS or whoever the hell aired this to just have a crossover. Just have an established star reprise their role. It has nothing to do with the rest of the plot. But I guess it's an okay fight. He just comes in, gets in a random bull shark fight, and then just leaves. Some shit like that. It's random. It's so goddamn random.

[00:10:29] But it's interesting, I guess. It's just one of those where you're just like, you had to see it to believe it. And it's just like, okay, that was random. And yeah, after that, part five, that has another who's who of TV. They have Scott Holland as Bunch Cassidy. If that name sounds familiar, he's been in a bunch of those B-movies by Albert Pion,

[00:10:58] including the 1990 Captain America. And he's had his share of just plenty of other 80s and 90s movies, including Pump Up the Volume, Turner and Hooch, and The Accused. He's probably better known for TV. He's had his share of just endless TV guest spots and recurring roles, including the 80s Twilight Zone,

[00:11:22] St. Elsewhere, 24, All Fly Away, Jag, where he was one of the captains on that. And he was playing a key role on Castle and has been recently on The Young and the Restless. But yeah, whenever I see him pop up, I'm like, yeah, he's a good actor. He's just one of those, you know, he just always shows up in all kinds of things.

[00:11:51] And it's tough to pick out where you've seen him because he's just done so damn much. But don't be mistaken by his quantity. While he'll never make, you know, best actors of all time, he is still beyond reasonable and chameleon of an actor. You probably have also seen him in the TV movie Capone Behind Bars, as well as some other guest spots on L.A. Law, Friday the 13th, the series,

[00:12:18] and The X-Files, and it was apparently also on Beverly Hills 90210. I might have seen him on that, but I didn't realize he's just like, what's that show? Other movies include Grim Prairie Tales and Road to Hell, which is the loose sequel to Streets of Fire. But yeah, I don't mind him at all. He's a beyond reliable character actor. So yeah, he shows up there.

[00:12:44] I have Brett Collin, who is another go-to guy who's, again, been B-movies and TV, and you've seen him in everything from Falcon Crest to Devious Maids to Lost in Person of Interest to The West Wing and the Young Riders TV show. But so yeah, not his first foray into Westerns. And last but not least, we also have in a key supporting role,

[00:13:11] it's cool seeing her be all in makeup and fancy suits. It's Mariska Hargitay. That's right. Yep. Future Law & Order SVU star. And yeah, she'd already done her fair share of brief short-lived TV shows and was about to do some other detective and sitcom work. But it's interesting seeing how this almost always just comes up on her resume, a list of movies done. It's just like one of the first that just pops up,

[00:13:38] even though not necessarily like a must-see for all her fans. But hey, you know, these... I didn't regret watching these movies, but at the same time, they're just... They're for... If you're not part of that crowd, then the only other crowd is going to be the cheesy movie night crowd. Bad movie, guys. So, other than that, I... You know, if... It's far from the worst.

[00:14:05] If you have a grandparent or a relative who wants to watch this kind of goofy material, then there's worse ways you could do. I mean, it is definitely better than watching cheesy Lifetime or Hallmark movies, but at the same time, it's... If you're not a Western guy, you're really not going to want to rush out and see the miter. But, again, fairly watchable. Jeez. Fairly watchable. Goofy. Outing. And, if anything,

[00:14:33] this is an okay introduction to an overrated music artist. So, for that alone, you'll at least be in the know of who the hell that overrated star is who happens to be a singer. But, other than that, if you're going to watch these, then you still... Cable's the best way to go. Otherwise, don't fucking bother. But, other than that, I... If you're fans of the actors,

[00:15:01] only do so if you're just a hardcore, like, completist. You gotta see most of everything they've done. They all do reasonable work, but they're not, again... They're far from a beyond well-fleshed-out character. They're just saying the lines on the script and reacting accordingly. But, I think the main issue with these movies is there's... While there's reasonable conflict, they're just too damn slow.

[00:15:29] They don't make great use of the TV formula, which is a shame, because I saw the directors listed, and they're the kinds of TV legends who've done everything, you know, from federal agent shows, to soaps, to TV dramas, and sitcoms, so... To thrilling movies of the week, so... Again, only for completists or cheesy movie guys. And I was... I don't... It wasn't a waste of my time, because I'll always have Cable

[00:15:58] until the end of the world, but... It was also not a movie series that I had to just see. But, hey, you're here, you wanted to know, and out of the morbid curiosity, I told you most of what you needed to know. If you must go seek it out, you have your answer. If not, hopefully I entertain you for this many so... But, thank you for listening. Leave us notes on how we're doing, and to all,

[00:16:28] a wonderful Western night. We'll return after these messages. If you like small town mystery, crazy news, and wild history, then the Florida Men on Florida Man podcast is for you. Each week, Josh Mills and Wayne McCarty bring you the absolute best Florida has to offer. So if you're looking for a show that's safe for the family, but funny enough to help you escape everyday life,

[00:16:57] then listen to the Florida Men on Florida Man podcast. That's Florida Men, plural, on Florida Man podcast. Hey, it's Brent Pope, the host of Breakfast with Brent Pope. You've seen me on some of your favorite TV shows saying things like, give it up, Jimmy. You gotta sink this putt to win. On Breakfast with Brent Pope, I sit down with guests from the entertainment world, and we do it all over breakfast. Or should I say, Brent-fist. Every week on Brent-fist, you get inside Hollywood info and tips, great breakfast wrecks and booty debates. Most of all, you get the most delightful 30 minutes of your week.

[00:17:27] So dig in. It's Brent-fist time. Listen at Brent-fist.com, Apple Podcasts, or wherever fine podcasts are found. The Jacked Up Review Show podcast is honored to be part of the Blind Knowledge Podcast Network. Join anytime, talk the talk, and enjoy yourselves. There's something enlightening for everyone with this crowd of cool cats. Check them out.

[00:17:51] Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The podcast is available on Podbean, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Anchor, Apple, and anywhere else podcasts are available. Feel free to review our show and leave comments on any of those sites. Thanks a million for listening.

[00:18:20] It's a Jacked Up Review Show.