The Invasion of Johnson County (1976) (TV)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Jerry Jameson

Writer:

Nicholas E. Baehr (writer)

Release Date:

31 July 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

A free-spirited Bostonian recently arrived in the West teams up with a crusty Wyoming cowboy to stop a land baron's attempts to drive out a group of small ranchers and take over their property. |

Cast

Bill Bixby	...	Sam Lowell
Bo Hopkins	...	George Dunning
John Hillerman	...	Major Walcott
Billy Green Bush	...	Frank Canton
Stephen Elliott	...	Colonel Van Horn
Lee de Broux	...	Richard Allen
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Irvine
Mills Watson	...	Sheriff Angus
Alan Fudge	...	Teschmacher
Luke Askew	...	Deputy Sheriff Brooks
Edward Winter	...	Major Edward Fershay
David Donner
Ted Gehring

Also Known As:

Brahmin (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Public Art Films

I like it. Good fun and educational, plus we get some Bixby bar tricks! Can't get enuf Bixby!

Synopsis: Western style dramatized true story about big money cattle ranchers that put together a private army and march to exterminate small ranchers in Wyoming. Bixby plays a highly educated, decent, and sensible rambler that goes along so as to get a reporter's fee, ultimately interfering in the plan in an attempt to avoid bloodshed.

Lar-ry-view: A. I like it. It's 90% drama, 10% fun. Bill gets a buddy and they play the buddy act throughout the movie. He also does some bar tricks for us, reprising his "The Magician" persona. The movie starts out with Bill standing an egg on its end, then later he balances two forks on the end of a toothpick.

Just like with his Tony Blake character from "The Magician," and his Dr. David Banner character from "The Hulk," Bixby plays an intelligent, reasonable, decent man. I take this character as being similar to Bill's real personality. A leading man, as opposed to character actors, essentially play themselves in every role. Others have pointed out to me, however, that Bixby's talent allowed a large dramatic range as shown in some other presentations that were not Bixby starring vehicles. Sure, I can buy that. Anything he does is golden.

This movie is a stereotypical western: horses, saloons, sheriffs, trains, card games, gunfights and all. I could list a few places in which the script could have been better, but I won't bother. What matters is that this movie is entertaining, fun, and even contains educational history. You might want to invest your time and money in this movie if you: like Bixby, like bar tricks, like westerns, like buddy movies, or are interested in the historical events covered by the movie.