Bama-365

Roses Are for the Rich from Alabama

Add comment December 28th, 2007

Roses Are for the Rich (1987)

Roses are for the rich is a drama movie directed by Michael Miller and it was released on 17 May 1987. The movie was filmed in Birmingham, Alabama, USA and it was a good hit when it was released. The cast of the movie is rather unknown except for Bruce Dern who played Douglas Osborne in the movie. Bruce Dern has won many prices for best actor and in this movie he shows us exactly why he won those prices. However the main roles are played by Betty Buckley as Ella and Mary Conley as Hostess.

The story happens in a small town in Alabama called Appalachia. Autumn’s husband got killed in a mysterious mine explosion she blames Douglas Osborne for this since he is the owner of the mine and dedicates her life to destroy his. She fails to ruin Douglas Osborne’s business and ends up marrying him but certainly not for the right reasons like love.

Bruce Dern offers a great screenplay is this movie and he really takes the movie to another level. The movie is like a very long soap opera but it is still worth to check it out as Bruce Dern shows his acting skills.

Shadow Waltz filmed in Alabama

Add comment December 23rd, 2007

Shadow Waltz

Shadow Watlz was released in November 1985 and directed by Milton Bagby. The cast and the director are unfamiliar the only star in this movie was Jamie Rose as Columbine Cromwell and the lesser known Thom Gossom Jr as Pompeii (a slave). The movie plot is about the American Civil War in the 1860s. A lonely Indiana farm widow finds love when she takes in an injured traveling salesman (Terence Knox), only to learn he is a Confederate spy on the run from Yankee patrols. The story then evolves from being just a simple drama film to something more. The movie actually covers many important elements, this was however not enough to impress Hollywood who slaughtered the movie.

The movie was filmed in Bessemer, Alabama, USA and features beautiful environment. The director Milton Bagby was fresh in the game when I made this movie it became his first and his last film. The movie contains plenty of drama, a lot of romance and some good war scenes. However, Shadow Waltz also known as Revel Love never made it big. My guess was that the Director was simply not experienced enough and a bad selection of actors made it even worse.

Rascals and Robbers The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn

Add comment December 18th, 2007

This film was directed by the awarding winning Dick Lowry. The film was released on 27 February 1982 and got nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys but unfortunately didn’t win. The star of the movie is Anthony Michael Hall as Huck Finn and the rather unknown Patrick Creadon as Tom Sawyer. The movie was filmed in Alabama and it was a great success when it came out maybe the best made film in Alabama so far, at least for the children.

The movie is targeted for a young audience, mostly children and teens. The story of the movie is great and the screenplay is also quite good. This is also Anthony Michael Hall’s first film to star in, and he does an excellent job to fill out his role as Huck Finn. The movie shows the friendship between Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer how they lived together and helped each other out as best as they could. The movie shows when they traveled the Mississippi River and got into a lot of trouble. However, the movie has a good moral to it and even though it is almost 30 years old I would say it is a perfect adventure film for the youngest generation.

Kent State filmed in Alabama

Add comment December 5th, 2007

This is a great movie from director James Goldstone which was filmed in Gadsden, Alabama, USA and won the Won Primetime Emmy award. Kent State was released on 8 February 1981 and it was maybe Goldstones best movie in his career. The actors in the movie are unfamiliar to me except for Charley Lang who played in series like NYPD Blue and other new series.

What I like about this movie is the fact that this film is based on a true story about the student protests at Kent University in Ohio. It is quite noticeable to see that the actors are not experienced but it does not matter if the actors don’t offer Oscar performance here, the thing which is really important in this movie is the fact that it is based on a true story how 4 students got killed by National Guardsmen. It is important to watch this movie to learn about American history and the reason behind this tragedy. Joseph Kelner also wrote a book about this movie which is based on this traffic accident. I suggest that you check them both out, especially of are an American and you haven’t seen this movie yet or read the book.

Christina Applegate debut in Jaws of Satan

Add comment December 1st, 2007

Jaws of Satan
This is a good movie directed by the rather unknown Bob Cleaver. This was also Christina Applegate’s film debut. Except from Christina Applegate the rest of the screen play is unfamiliar. The movie was filmed in Alabama and the plot is simply about a small town in Alabama getting overrun by snakes.

The story is about a carnival train lets loose some snakes near a small town in Alabama. Strange things starts to happen, people die and the place gets infected with snakes. The priest in the small town blames Satan for the snakes while Dr. Maggie Sheridan (Gretchen Korbett) tries to get the whole placed nuked. This is a very exciting movie with other words. The movie is also known as King Cobra and it is actually a horror movie but the low budget makes the whole movie rather funny to watch than scary. However, this is still a good movie from Alabama that is worth you time. For example Cinematographer Dean Cundey finds a number of beautiful symbolic shots and the movie offers some good scenes. There is however a reason why Gerry Holland (writer) and James Callaway (story) was hired for this movie, than never hired again.