Richard Widmark

Best friends from law school to election night, their friendship is sorely tested when one learns of another's betrayal. Peter and Tim are both law students looking to get into the battleground of politics in Washington, but they both have different ideals and ethics. Tim wants to pursue a career in justice, but Peter is determined to be a big political power broker any way he can, even if that means bending the rules. As their careers push them towards political opposites, their friendship must constantly adapt to the new situation. —Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au> Peter Burton and Tim Garrity both meet when they go to law school. Tim comes from an affluent family, while Peter comes from the working class, which he is a bit ashamed of. Tim's a noble person who wants to do what is right, while Peter's willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead. And that includes blackmail and intimidation. And when his latest scheme burns Tim, Tim decides to find out if Peter deliberately betrayed him or if the man he works, John Palmeri made him do it and if so to make them answer for it. —rcs0411@yahoo.com

A gangster hires an ex-football player to find his girlfriend. When he finds her, they fall in love, but soon get caught in a complex web of corruption, betrayal and murder.

Completely innocent man, Michael Jordon, is drawn into a web of government secrets when a girl carrying a mysterious package gets into a taxi with him. When she's later murdered, Michael becomes the chief suspect and goes on the run. Michael Jordon, a Chicago architect, is New York on business. A beautiful stranger identifying herself as Janet Dunn, runs into the taxi cab he's using. He volunteers to put a package into the mailbox for her after she hastily addresses the envelope. Infatuated with her goes to see her at her hotel. She brushes him off and closes the door in his face. He is about to leave when he hears a shot. Janet opens the door and falls into his arms dead. Now everyone believes that he's the killer. A mysterious group that's after the package is now after him. His only ally is Kate Hellman, who has secrets of her own. To clear his name they have to find out what was in the package, who wants it and why. —eayala8 Mild mannered Chicago architect Michael Jordon, in New York on what is arguably the biggest contract of his career, is thrown into the world of espionage in sharing a taxi with a young woman, Janet Dunn. Janet does not divulge to Michael the trouble she is in, she knowing that "they" are after her. In his encounters with Janet, Michael not only becomes a target of the men who are after Janet, but is also being chased by the police, he the suspect in a murder. As Michael tries to elude the thugs and the police, he gets little help except from a young woman named Kate Hellman, who has her own ulterior motives in providing that assistance despite the inherent danger in joining forces with him. Believing they have to find out what's going on on their own, Michael and Kate eventually learn that it has to do with stolen military secrets, Hiram Calder with the military brass whose main goal is not to protect Michael and Kate, but to find the mole in his operation, he who figures that he can use Michael and Kate to his advantage. —Huggo

When Dr. Susan Wheeler`s friend slips into a permanent coma, she discovers that healthy people are falling into comas during minor surgeries at her hospital - with no recovery.

In 1843, a former U.S. Senator leads a wagon train of settlers to Oregon, but his megalomania leads to growing dissatisfaction with his leadership. In the mid nineteenth century, Senator William J. Tadlock leads a group of settlers overland in a quest to start a new settlement in the Western U.S. Tadlock is a highly principled and demanding taskmaster who is as hard on himself as he is on those who have joined his wagon train. He clashes with one of the new settlers, Lije Evans, who doesn't quite appreciate Tadlock's ways. Along the way, the families must face death and heartbreak and a sampling of frontier justice when one of them accidentally kills a young Indian boy. —garykmcd Strongly motivated by the beautiful utopia he has been nurturing for so long, the autocratic U.S. Senator, William Tadlock, leaves the Congress to lead a wagon train of audacious pioneers from Missouri to the promised land of Oregon, in 1843. With the help of the experienced scout, Dick Summers, the slow and almost defenceless caravan of impatient settlers ventures into the long and rugged Oregon Trail, as martinet Tadlock's sacred rules and heightening self-involvement threaten to jeopardise the entire expedition. However, as leadership and conflict go hand-in-hand, the stern senator's leadership skills will be put to the test, when the horrid death of the Great Sioux Chief's young son demands justice. Can the visionary William Tadlock carry out the mission successfully? —Nick Riganas Missouri 1843: Former U.S. Senator Tadlock and scout Summers lead a trek of settlers to Oregon, through more than one thousand five hundred fifty miles of mostly Indian territory. Tadlock drives his people mercilessly. When his ambition costs some people's lives, his ability is questioned. —Tom Zoerner <Tom.Zoerner@informatik.uni-erlangen.de>

During the Civil War, Mexican cattleman Alvarez Kelly supplies the Union with cattle until Confederate Colonel Tom Rossiter's hungry men force Kelly to change his customers. Suave former Texan cattleman Alvarez Kelly now living in Mexico has little interest in the Civil War except to make some money. But after a long drive to deliver cattle to the Union he finds himself kidnapped by Confederate Colonel Tom Rossiter. With the hungry troops and civilians surrounded in Richmond by the Union army the Colonel intends, one way or the other, to persuade Kelly to help steal the herd and move it into town. Confederate money has no appeal so the Colonel resorts to other means with unexpected results. —Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Captain Eric Finlander (Richard Widmark) is a hardened cold-warrior and captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford. Ben Munceford (Sidney Poitier) is a reporter given permission to interview the captain during a routine patrol. Munceford is delivered to the Bedford via a helicopter sortie, along with the ship's new MD, Potter. The Bedford is positioned in the Denmark strait, midway between Greenland and Iceland. Bedford can cause more damage in 10 minutes than the entire US Navy in WW II. Eric says that waters are frequently visited by Russian submarines who are looking for the right spots to launch their ballistic missiles at the US and NATO. Munceford knows that Eric is very results oriented and forced a Russian submarine to surface off the coast of Cuba. He and his crew got commendations for the achievement. Munceford is on board in order to write an article of life on a navy destroyer, but his real interest is Captain Finlander who was recently passed over for promotion to rear admiral. Munceford is curious as to why. Eric was one of only a few military officials to publicly state that the United States should have used greater force during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Potter's staff on the ship includes Chief Hospitalman McKinley (Sick Bay) (Phil Brown) and Hospitalman Nerney (Sick Bay) (Donald Sutherland). Finlander uses the ship's medical staff to sift through garbage possibly dumped by a Russian submarine. The medical staff detects the presence of Hydrogenated oils in seaweed, indicating kitchen waste from a ship or submarine dumped into the ocean. Analysis of the thickness of the potato peels indicate that the submarine has been in the water for around 36 hours. In his first meeting Eric tells Potter that he did not want a doctor to be assigned to the ship. Potter is bemused to learn that on a ship of 300 men, nobody ever reports sick. The American destroyer USS Bedford (DLG-113) detects the mother ship through its peculiar radio transmissions. Following the mother ship, Eric detects a Soviet submarine in the GIUK gap near the Greenland coast. Eric designates the contact Big Red and believes that any of the 5 Russian trawlers in the area might be acting as its mother ship. Though they are not at war, Captain Eric Finlander harries his prey mercilessly, while civilian reporter Ben Munceford and NATO naval technical advisor, Commodore (and ex-World War II U-boat captain) Wolfgang Schrepke (Eric Portman), look on with mounting alarm. Wolfgang was an ace U-boat commander in his day and sank over 200,000 tons of allied shipping and supplies. Other staff on the ship include Commander Allison, Executive Officer (Bridge) (Michael Kane), Lieutenant Bascombe (C.I.C.) (Gary Cockrell), Lieutenant Beckman (Communications) (Brian Davies), Lieutenant Hacker (Communications) (Edward Bishop), Lieutenant Berger (C.I.C.) (George Roubicek) and others. Because the submarine is not powered by a nuclear reactor, its submerged endurance is limited. Eric plays a waiting game after losing sonar contact in a field of icebergs, knowing the diesel-powered sub will have to surface within 24 hours to replenish its air and recharge its batteries. The crew never complains, but Lieutenant Commander Chester Potter, M.D. (Martin Balsam) is concerned that maintaining this level of vigilance is dangerous and suggests modifications, all of which Finlander dismisses out of hand. The Russian submarine's situation gives Finlander an advantage, but also means the Russians will be more desperate. Also joining the ship are Ensign Ralston (James MacArthur), an inexperienced young officer constantly being criticized by his captain for small errors, and Lieutenant Commander Chester Potter, USNR (Martin Balsam), the ship's new doctor who is a reservist recently recalled to active duty. When Eric orders a coastal patrol, Ralston suggests not going too close to the coast. Eric chews him out publicly as Ralston knew that a submarine commander would hide under the ice caps close to the coast and to detect it, the Bedford would need to be within a 1000 meters of the coast, and running unpredictable sonar patterns. Munceford is treated with mounting hostility by the captain because he is seen as a civilian putting his nose where it does not belong and because he disagrees with Finlander's decision to continue with an unnecessary and dangerous confrontation. Finlander treats as unwanted anyone who isn't involved in the hunt for the Russian submarine - including the doctor. He says he would go "all the way" to save his country, but, after calming down, insists his current action is just a deterrent. The Soviet submarine is spotted by the Bedford's radar when it finally pokes its snorkel above the surface. It was not seen first by the sonar-man because he is having exhaustion-induced delusions. Schrepke reminds Finlander that his orders are just to escort the sub out of Greenland's waters, but Finlander sends a message ordering the sub to fully surface and identify itself. When the order is ignored, Finlander runs over the snorkel. Captain Finlander orders Bedford to withdraw to a safe distance. Munceford and Schrepke protest that Finlander is forcing the sub to fight, and Finlander orders Ralston to arm an anti-submarine rocket. He reassures Munceford and Schrepke that he is in command of the situation and that he won't fire first, but that "If he fires one, I'll fire one." Ensign Ralston, clearly on edge due to the ordeal, mistakes Finlander's boast as an order to fire, and launches one of Bedford's anti-submarine rockets (ASROC) at the sub. The crew can only watch helplessly as the ASROC destroys the Russian submarine. The crew of Bedford have little opportunity for regret before their sonar detects a salvo of four torpedoes coming at the destroyer, apparently fired by the Russian when he detected the ASROC. Finlander orders evasive maneuvering and the use of countermeasures but realization has already dawned on everyone, except Munceford, that the approaching torpedoes will be nuclear. Finlander, in shock, leaves the bridge, trailed by a panicking Munceford. The battle ends with still shots of various crewmen "melting" as Bedford and her crew are vaporized. The last image is an iconic, towering mushroom cloud from the torpedo detonations.

A vagabond Viking adventurer and a Moor both compete to find "The Mother of All Voices", a legendary golden bell near the Pillars of Hercules. There is a legend about a great bell called "The Mother of Voices," made of pure gold, three times the size of a man, made by monks many years ago... This is the story told in the marketplace by a Viking called Rolfe. This information finds its way to the Islamic ruler Aly Manush, who is obsessed with finding the bell. But Rolfe claims not to know where the bell is, and escapes back to his homeland, to convince his father and brother to give him a ship and crew to replace the one he lost--or to help him steal the Death Ship which belongs to the king--because he does know where the bell is.

A corrupt marshal is pressured by his army friend into negotiating the release of white captives of the Comanches, but finds that their reintegration into society has its consequences. The US Army is under pressure from the desperate relatives of white prisoners of the Comanches to secure their rescue. A cynical and corrupt marshal, Guthrie McCabe, is persuaded by an army lieutenant to assist in the negotiations with the Comanches; however, just two captives are released, and their reintegration into white society proves highly problematic. —David Levene <D.S.Levene@durham.ac.uk> The cynical and corrupt Marshal Guthrie McCabe has a comfortable life in Tascosa, receiving percentages of deals. His lover Belle Aragon owns a saloon with a brothel and has just proposed to marry him; however, Guthrie is summoned by US Army Major Frazer, who sends a troop commanded by his friend First Lt. Jim Gary to bring him to Fort Grant. When Guthrie meets Major Frazer, he explains that the relatives of prisoners of the Comanche tribe are pressing the army to bring them back home, but the soldiers cannot trespass on Indian lands due to a treaty with the Comanche. The mercenary Guthrie demands a large amount to negotiate with Chief Quanah Parker for the freedom of the white captives. Guthrie travels with Lt. Jim Gary and they rescue the two last captives: a teenager who has been raised by the Comanche, and a young woman, Elena de la Madriaga, who has been the wife of Stone Calf, the leader of the Buffalo Shields, for five years. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Pressed into service by his superior, the immoral marshal of the 1880s Tascosa, Guthrie McCabe, resentfully accepts to negotiate and retrieve a small group of white captives taken years earlier by the Comanches' formidable chief, Quanah Parker. Accompanied by the old friend and honourable U.S. Cavalry Lieutenant, Jim Gary, McCabe who is in it for the money rather than justice, will soon find himself deep into one of the most shielded Indian territories, only to face troublesome and unanticipated complications. What happens when the prisoners refuse to be freed? —Nick Riganas

In February 1836, Texas is part of Mexico, and most of the English and Spanish speaking settlers of that region are discontent with the tyrannical rule of Gen. Santa Anna. General Sam Houston (Richard Boone) arrives in a small town with several men where he hastens to assemble a Texan army. At the same time, Santa Anna is heading north with several thousand soldiers to defeat the rebellion. To gain more time, Houston orders Col. William Barret Travis (Laurence Harvey) to take command of the Alamo, a fort in a crumbling mission near the village of San Antonio de Bexar, through which Santa Anna's men must pass. Houston hopes that Travis and his 27 "regular" army men will stall the enemy for as long as possible with the assistance of rancher Col. James Bowie (Richard Widmark) and his 100 Texas volunteers. The hard-drinking and independent Bowie, who has extensive landholdings to protect, and the aristocratic and arrogant Travis are a poorly matched team and antagonism between the two officers quickly grows. Although Juan Seguin (Joseph Calleia), a respected community leader, reports that Santa Anna is closer than they realize, Travis refutes the information and repeatedly lies to the men about the danger of their situation. Believing that most men have no capacity to act for reasons of honor, Travis tells his confidant, Capt. Almeron Dickinson (Ken Curtis), that the men would desert their posts if they knew the truth. Meanwhile, Colonel David Crockett (John Wayne), a former U.S. Senator, and his rowdy, but loyal 32-strong Tennessee backwoods sharpshooters, arrive in Bexar and head straight for the cantina. Travis seeks out "Davy", and is surprised to learn that the reputed "illiterate country bumpkin" is an eloquent, deep thinker and is sensitive to the Texans' plight. Aware that Santa Anna's regime forbids Texans economic rights, Davy has also guessed the unpublicized plans to create a Republic of Texas. Unknown to his men, who think they are out for adventure, Davy has brought them to Bexar to investigate the situation and possibly convince them to join the fight. Crockett soon falls in love with Flaca (Linda Cristal), a young Mexican woman whose family was killed by Santa Anna and who is being pressured to marry Emil Sande (Wesley Lau), a local merchant who has curried favor with the Mexican general. Although she refuses Davy Crockett's gallant offer of help, she tells him about the cache of ammunition Emil has hidden for Santa Anna in the basement of the village church. During the night Crockett, Bowie and their men find the supplies. When Emil discovers Davy and the others and tries to kill them, Davy throws Bowie's knife at Emil, killing him. Crockett and Flaca enjoy a brief romance, but he soon sends her north to safety, realizing they may never see each other again. Travis keeps up the morale in the fort by reporting that Captain Jim Fannin is on his way to the Alamo with more soldiers. Believing that staying cornered inside the fort is suicide, Bowie unsuccessfully tries to convince both Travis and, later, Davy that the best way to defend the Alamo is by a "cut, slash and run" approach out in the open. Davy Crockett convinces his men to fight for the Alamo by reading them a letter, purportedly written by Santa Anna, ordering the Tennesseeans to leave. Offended, the men stubbornly refuse to take orders from the Mexican general and vow to stay, after which Davy admits that he wrote the letter himself, but it is what Santa Anna would want. A detachment of Mexican soldiers arrive at San Antonio and a courier from Santa Anna arrives outside the Alamo fort, and from there, proclaims a message ordering the "occupiers" of the fort to relinquish all ammunition and leave. Before the courier can finish the message, Travis uses his glowing cigar to light the cannon. Startled by the cannon fire, the Mexican halts his reading and retreats in a dignified manner. Dryly, Bowie comments to Davy that Travis "knows the short way to start a war." Over the next few days, Mexican soldiers are taking positions in front of the fort. Travis predicts that fighting will not begin until Santa Anna himself, the Mexican heavy artillery and food wagons arrive, which will take several days. Believing the situation is hopeless, Bowie decides to leave with his men. However, when Captain James Butler Bonham (Patrick Wayne) arrives from another camp, reporting that Fannin is coming with one thousand men, Bowie decides to stay, unaware that Bonham has been ordered by Travis to lie about the number of men accompanying Fannin. In private, Bonham reports to Travis that only less then 500 men are expected. A quarrel between Bowie and Travis escalates into plans for a duel after Bowie takes his men out on patrol without Travis' permission, but Crockett convinces them to postpone their confrontation until after the war. Confronted by Crockett, Travis admits that his orders are simply to buy time for Houston. Believing that the mission is worthwhile and knowing that Bowie plans to leave with his men in the morning, Davy gets him drunk, causing him to sleep late. The next day, Seguin sneaks into the fort with a few dozen more men, bolstering morale and boosting the Alamo garrison from 150 to 185 men. One night, when a message is delivered directly to Bowie, bypassing Travis, the commander accuses Bowie of more insubordination. However, Travis apologizes after he learns that the message reports the death of Bowie's wife. When the doctor reports low rations and an outbreak of dysentery caused by tainted water, Travis orders a night-time raid of the Mexicans, from whom they rustle several steer. They also steal a good horse for a young teenage soldier, Smitty (Frankie Avalon), one of Crockett's men, to ride to Houston's encampment to report their situation. On Day 10 of the siege, Santa Anna arrives with the main body of his army (numbering at least 2,000 men), he sends his messenger forward to allow the evacuation of the women and children. Most of the women and children leave, but Mrs. Dickinson (Aissa Wayne) insists that she and her young child will stay. After the rest of the noncombatants are safely away, the shooting commences. The Mexicans launch a full frontal assault on the south side of the Alamo. During the battle, the first Alamo casualty is Davy's friend Parson (Hank Worden), who is wounded by artillery fire. Before he dies, he inspires Davy Crockett to pray that his men are successful, and if not, will be remembered as good men. In the face of devastating fire, Santa Anna orders a retreat. At the end of the battle, the Alamo men have shot many of the Mexicans leaving hundreds of casualties in front of the fortress, but they suffer 50 casualties, twenty-eight of whom are dead. Bowie is wounded in his right leg by shellfire, but he still can fight. After the battle, men also receive news from Captain Bonham that Fannin's company was ambushed and routed, and consequently no further help will be coming. When Crockett expresses a desire to leave, Travis speaks truthfully to the men, telling them that they will not be able to hold the fort for long, but they have given Houston 10 extra days to prepare for Santa Anna. Giving his blessing, Travis opens the gate and claims there is no dishonor in leaving. Crockett and Bowie begin to lead their men out, but then Bowie gets off his horse and stands next to Travis. The others follow suit and soon all decide to persevere. The next day, Smitty delivers his written message to Houston at his camp and immediately rides away, anxious to return to his comrades, refuses both food and sleep. Upon reading the message, Houston, who is helpless to assist Travis, hopes that their sacrifice will be remembered. At the Alamo, the sleepless men talk about their belief in the hereafter. Bowie frees his aged slave Jethro (Jester Hairson) and urges him to sneak out and make his way north, but Jethro chooses to stay. On the morning of Day 13 of the siege, the entire Mexican army surrounds the Alamo for a determined final assault. Santa Anna and his staff officers take position atop a small hill to observe the battle as the entire 2,000-strong Mexican army attacks from all sides. The Texans fire back and inflict many more casualties on the attacking Mexican soldiers. During the final battle, Bowie is shot in his right leg again and taken to the infirmary, while Crockett and his men hold the south side of the fortress. Just then, Mexican artillery begins to take its toll among the defenders and cannon fire breaches the north wall, allowing hundreds of Mexican soldiers to enter the fortress. Travis takes on several Mexican troops until he his shot and killed. As Mexican soldiers and engineers breach the west wall with ladders, they manage to push the Texans back despite suffering horrendous casualties. The Mexicans also use captured Texan cannons to breach each position of the Texans one by one, sparing none of them. Seeing the breach in the north wall and despite the futility of the defense, Crockett orders a barricade thrown up in front of the Alamo church itself as he and the few surviving defenders are forced back. The Mexicans quickly overwhelm the Texans with their sheer numbers and breach all barricades. The Alamo defenders fight to the last man, with the Mexicans taking no prisoners. Davy Crockett is fatally stabbed with a Mexican lance by the dismounted soldier, whom he manages to kill. Before dying, Crockett sets fire to the ammunition to prevent the Mexicans from taking it. Near the end of the battle, Mexican soldiers entering the infirmary are shot by Bowie as he fires guns with both hands. Jethro throws himself over his former master to protect him, but both are slaughtered. Only Mrs. Dickinson, her child and a young black boy survive. In the final scene, the Mexicans have won the battle. Mrs. Dickinson, her young daughter and the slave boy are given a burro and allowed to leave without harm by Santa Anna. Smitty arrives, but from a distance he sees that he is too late to help. As Mrs. Dickinson walks away, Santa Anna orders his buglers to single a rise to call as all the Mexican soldiers stand at attention to salute the fallen Alamo defenders and allow Mrs. Dickinson to walk away. She soon joins Smitty in the distance and they walk away from the battle to tell the tale of the Alamo. The End

In a remote Californian desert town, a lawyer arranges for a wanted mobster to skip the country via a small airstrip but the local sheriff and his deputy could pose a problem. Lawyer Ralph Anderson arrives in Tula, an amazingly remote town in the desert, as a reluctant emissary of mob chief Victor Massonetti, who wants the airstrip clear for his unofficial exit from the country. Ralph's arrival has a profound effect on his estranged father, the Sheriff; his brother Tip, an alcoholic Deputy; and his ex-sweetheart Linda, now married to Tip. Tension builds as a small army of gangsters takes over the town. Then the situation abruptly changes. —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>