Written by / 9/07/2018 / No comments / , , , , , , , , , , ,

BURT REYNOLDS 'RIVERBOAT' COMMAND AND EXTERNAL TRIBUTE

Burt Reynolds in RIVERBOAT season one circa 1959
The late Burt Reynolds held a fine line between movie star and cult actor: Before he got really famous, he appeared in edgy movies like DELIVERANCE, THE LONGEST YARD, HUSTLE...

After he skyrocketed in SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT and became a superstar, he'd been around the car movie block in more subtle vehicles like WHITE LIGHTNING and GATOR. And for some, his immense fame became a cult in itself. Following two Hal Needham directed BANDIT flicks was arguably his greatest "race car" movie (also directed by Needham), CANNONBALL RUN, and the entertaining stunt man tribute, HOOPER. Alas, like most big stars, a string of mediocre romantic comedies and sequels disintegrated these fun, frolicking romps that seemed made for everyone. Worse than even BANDIT 2 was the second CANNONBALL RUN, which hardly involved a race at all, and then... STROKER ACE provided the hammered nails in a coffin that'd already been pretty much closed...

Burt Reynolds with Vincent Price on Riverboat
From the middle 1980's until his TV-return on EVENING SHADE, he starred in some cool action flicks like the stuff between DELIVERANCE and SMOKEY: the forgotten and dusty gems MALONE, STICK, HEAT and the underrated and relatively unknown BREAKING IN.

Backing up now... hardcore Burt fans already knew that he'd been acting since the 1950's. The first television series to feature him in a co-starring role... even before his turn as a half-Indian blacksmith on GUNSMOKE... was called RIVERBOAT, centering on a charming gambler, played by a charming Darren McGavin, who runs the fancy title vessel, floating up and down the river finding adventures along the way. Burt, as the muscular-mellow ship's pilot, only appeared in 80% of the first of two seasons: and as he shared in a book and tons of interviews, he just kinda stood there, looking tough, even complacent. But, not always relegated to the second spot, he had three entire episodes pretty much all his own... beginning with the 8th and most vapid, banal, flowing and fun titled WITNESS NO EVIL wherein Vincent Price, a con man who brings a zoo of exotic animals on board, has a gorilla (a man in a horribly dated ape suit) trained to steal money from loaded/lucky gamblers...

Burt Reynolds in Riverboat's Night at Trapper's Landing Episode 9
The entire episode was so wacky, poor Burt seemed unprepared for the captain's seat, and seemed half in a daze, even in his agile Marlon Brando-looking youth...

But the following two episodes had more to offer Burt's concentrated and intense early style: A NIGHT AT TRAPPER'S LANDING and THE FAITHLESS, ranging from fighting to save young soldiers from dying by the hands of much more cunning and experienced Indians... to keeping a hostile mob from lynching a wrongfully accused prison-bound doctor. In the other more lightweight episodes, his comedic skills, that would unbound years later (albeit perhaps too much), were either in hibernation or, like Jack Nicholson before EASY RIDER, he was letting his charm out slowly, meticulously, till the world was ready...

Darren McGavin getting a verbal load of that night's episode
And now, written on the day of Burt Reynolds's death... who was a legend long beforehand... what can be said? The man has been here, and now he's gone. Between that is a generation who's been alive as long as Burt's been acting, and we remember his heyday without belated hindsight sighs of He could have done better films because Reynolds was always exciting and energetic, and seemed to be hiding the true talents that it took many of us years later to fully realize (BOOGIE NIGHTS, for example)...

And, so, at the end of his three reigning RIVERBOAT episodes, Darren McGavin would show up at the epilogue... back from a prolonged trip to New Orleans... and Burt's character would tell him everything that happened in a nonchalant tone while McGavin would listen, stunned, at everything he'd missed (on his own series... the second after MIKE HAMMER)... and that Burt had gone through and taken care of with the rudimentary signs of a style and charm that'd eventually rule the world. 
Burt Reynolds on the TV series RIVERBOAT
Burt Reynolds on the TV series RIVERBOAT
A man in an ape costume on the TV series RIVERBOAT
Burt Reynolds on the TV series RIVERBOAT
Pics of Burt vs a "gorilla" on RIVERBOAT and his site pics w/ the Orson Welles quote "Success is Burt Reynolds' only handicap"
Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

ROBERT BEATTY WITH TERRY MOORE IN 'POSTMARK FOR DANGER'

Title: POSTMARK FOR DANGER Year: 1955 Rating: ** Twenty years before Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, involving a first-act wher...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "The Love Generation... Vicious little creeps!" Peter Strauss, Rich Man Poor Man

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)CHARLES BRONSON1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE