Richard Venture

A student is hired to look after a blind, retired Army officer while his family is away, but he is unaware that the colonel has an agenda of his own for the weekend.

An ice hockey star is accosted by a youth gang who attempt to rob him; after he chases them off he catches the youngest member and gives him a ride home, where he meets the boy's mother. A romantic plot ensues, as well as a confrontation with the gang leaders. —Michael C. Berch <mcb@postmodern.com>

When an idealistic American writer disappears during the Chilean coup d'état in September 1973, his wife and father try to find him. In September1973, in Chile, the American journalist Charles Horman arrives in Valparaiso with his friend Terry Simon to meet his wife Beth and bring her back to New York with him. However, they are surprised by the military coup d'état sponsored by the US Government to replace President Salvador Allende and Charles is arrested by the military force. His father Ed Horman, a conservative businessman from New York, arrives in Chile to seek out his missing son with Beth. He goes to the American Consulate to meet the Consul that promises the best efforts to find Charles while the skeptical Beth does not trust on the word of the American authorities. The nationalism and confidence of Ed in his government changes when he finds the truth about what happened with his beloved son. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil September, 1973. Liberal minded young American couple Charles and Beth Horman - he a writer and translator - live in Santiago, Chile, they who chose Chile because of the comfort they felt in a country matching their own values. Charlie's father back in New York, Ed Horman, a conservative devout Christian Scientist, sees his son, and thus by association Beth, as flaky, directionless and irresponsible. Charlie and Beth's American friend Terry Simon, in the country solely for a visit, and Charlie are caught in Viña del Mar the day the right wing military overthrows the elected left wing government in a coup. At the hotel where Charlie and Terry end up for the night, they encounter US military and government officials. Because of the coup, Charlie and Terry decide to take notes of what they see, including that of the "unofficial" American presence in Viña. The day after the start of the coup, Charlie is taking Terry to the airport so that she can get out of the country, when they, learning that the airport is closed, are advised by American freelance reporter Kate Newman to take refuge at a large, American friendly hotel with lots of public visibility because of word that the military is taking away anyone for any reason, many of those who will end up missing never to be seen again, largely nationals but sometimes foreigners. Charlie leaves Terry at a hotel so that he can go home to retrieve Beth. Beth, however, is caught stranded away from home after curfew, and when she is able to get home the following morning, she learns from a neighbor that the soldiers had been to their house, with eyewitnesses later telling Beth that they saw Charlie being taken away. Two weeks later, Ed makes his way to Santiago to help Beth locate Charlie, Ed who had contacted his local politicians for diplomatic assistance in the matter. In Santiago, Charlie's case is largely handled by US Consul Phil Putnam, and US Naval officer Captain Ray Tower. Ed and Beth are often at odds with each other despite their common goal of finding what happened to Charlie: Ed wants Putnam, Tower and any other US official to use whatever clout they may have to assist him, Beth and Charlie - US citizens - while Beth doesn't trust them, especially Tower, for good reason. In the process of the Hormans' investigation, Ed may get a clearer picture of his son, who he would admit he really did not know. As Ed and Beth increasingly seem to be getting the runaround by those who are purportedly trying to help them, they may, with the assistance of others, get closer and closer to the truth, which may turn the world of patriotic Ed on its head forever. —Huggo In 1973, U.S. businessman Ed Horman arrives in Chile to look for his son, Charles, a politically left-leaning journalist who disappeared during a military coup. Charles' wife, Beth, has been looking for some time, but her requests for help from the U.S. consulate have thus far produced few results. As Ed and Beth try to figure out what really happened to Charles, Ed realizes that the American officials may know more than they're telling. —Jwelch5742 Based on the real-life experiences of Ed Horman, this is the story of an American father of conservative background who comes to a South American country to search for his missing son, a journalist. Ed joins with his daughter-in-law Beth, who like her husband is politically polarized from the father, in prying through the bureaucracy and dangerous political intrigue in search of their son and husband. Little by little, the father comes to realize that his own beloved government is not telling him the truth. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Ralph "Papa" Thorson (Steve McQueen) is a modern day bounty hunter who hunts down and captures criminals who have skipped on their bail to bring them back for a 20% of the reward to his bailbondsman employer. It is revealed in the opening text that Thorson has has apprehended more than 5,000 criminals and bail jumpers and life is just getting complicated for him. In the opening scene, Thorson arrives in a small, African American town in Texas where despite being a terrible driver of cars (a running joke used throughout the film), he captures fugitive Tommy Price (LaVar Burton) for fleeing on his bail. Next, Thorson drives to another small Texas town where he is to bring in a dangerous punk, named Billie Joe, whose kinfolk include Sheriff Strong, a redneck lawman who warns Thorson not to get involved. Papa ignores him and ends up in a violent fight with the fugitive, who is so huge, even a Taser barely stops him. Thorson drives both Tommy Price and Billie Joe back to Los Angeles where he collect his $1,800 reward for bringing them back. However, Thorson vouches for Price, and thus soon after becomes one of his many acquaintances who hang out at Thorson's house. At home, Thorson is revealed to be an old-fashioned guy who has a love of antiques and classical music, drives a 1950s convertible and keeps an antique gasoline pump in his house. His schoolteacher girlfriend Dotty (Kathryn Harrold) is pregnant and would like "Papa" to be there for her when the baby is born, but his work continually keeps him on the road. Thorson works for elderly and veteran bailbondsman Ritchie Blumenthal (Eli Wallace) who sends him out on dangerous assignments to chase down fugitives in all parts of the USA. However, Throson himself is pursued by a psychotic killer who was one of Thorson's former convicts, Rocco Mason (Tracey Walter) who begins stalking Thorson at his home and begins following Dotty around as well. Thorson's adventures continue when he is sent to rural Nebraska to bring back two fugitives, called the Branch Brothers. He flies out to Nebraska, rents a fancy 1979 Pontiac Trans Am car and drives to the Branch farmhouse where the two psycho brothers steal his car and try to kill him with dynamite. Thorson commandeers a crop cutter machine and chases after the two Branch Brothers through a cornfield which ends when a stick of dynamite dropped by them blows up their car, but they both survives. Thorson arrives back at the local airport to deliver back the destroyed Trans Am and bring the Branch Brothers on the plane back to L.A. Meanwhile, Rocco Mason begins terrorizing Dotty at her workplace which leads Thorson to try to protect her, but she instead tries to make him give up his bounty hunter way of life and to take her to a Lamaze class. Thorson grows tired of it and Dotty threatens to leave him due to his uncertain feelings towards being there for her. When Thorson's police friend Captain Spota (Richard Venture) commits suicide after he is investigated for illegal use of police funds and embezzlement, Thorson goes into a further decline. Blumenthal next sends Thorson to Chicago to pick up fugitive Bernardo (Tom Rosales) a dangerous ex-con which leads to a long chase sequence as Thorson and Bernardo exchange gunfire with each other at an apartment building. Thorson chases Bernardo on foot through the streets and to an elevated train where Thorson is forced to climb on the roof of the train to avoid getting shot at. The chase leads to a high-rise tower where the both steal cars and chase each other to the top level the parking garage, where the psychotic fugitive drives off the edge and plunges several stories into a river to his apparent doom. After returning to Los Angeles that evening, Thorson learns from Price that Dotty has been kidnapped by Rocco Mason and is holding her at the high school where she teaches. Thorson arrives when Mason attempts to kill him with an M-16 assault rifle. Unarmed after being deprived of his weapon, Thorson lures Mason into one classroom where he floods the room with flammable gas where once Mason opens fire, the sparks ignites the gas and blows up the room with Mason in it. Having delt with Mason, Thorson immediately needs to rush Dotty to the hospital when she begins to go into labor. Despite being a terrible driver, he manages to get to the hospital where he collapses exhausted in the lobby area. He comes to in the final scene to walk back outside where Dotty has given birth and he holds his new baby.