Shout! Factory! gave us a decent DVD of the two CBS Captain America TV movies, and it is still available (and it is CHEAP), but the company's website lists the 1990 theatrical movie "Collector's Edition" as "Going out of print in 2020--Save while supplies last!"
Better act quick to get in on these massive savings--you can save a whopping ONE DOLLAR and get it for 13.98 instead of 14.98 right now. I might get 4 or 5 at that kind of discount!
Is it going OOP because someone else has licensed it for a new special edition or blu-ray? I don't know, but who is with me in saying we could use a Captain America/Captain America II Blu-Ray with extras? Original promos...making of documentary...Reb Brown and Connie Sellecca commentaries! Someone make it happen!
Showing posts with label Captain America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Captain America. Show all posts
Friday, July 3, 2020
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Retro Fan Magazine catches up with Reb Brown, TV's Captain America!
The current issue of RetroFan magazine gives the cover spotlight to BOTNS favorite. We talked about the 1979 CBS Captain America movies here, and we also found him in a Facts of Life episode. Of course he's been in all kinds of other roles in his career, but this interview focuses on his stint as the Sentinel of Liberty.
My biggest takeaway is that Brown seems like a great guy--humble, friendly, and thankful to the fans and for his experience as Cap. He keeps using the word "purity" to describe what compelled him to the character.
Here are some other items that strike me:
*He says the reason the movies didn't go to series was that Marvel jacked up its licensing fee and there would have been no budget left to do anything but show him riding his motorcycle in his living room. He adds that it broke his heart it didn't become a series.
*He was not asked to be in the 1980s Hulk movies on NBC but would have loved to have done them.
*Similarly, someone reached out to him about doing a cameo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he was game, but then they never got back to him. Boo!
*He got the part while under contract with Universal and getting a meeting with producer Allan Balter. They just clicked, and the part was his.
*Unfortunately, they didn't ask him about this:
It's a cool interview in another fine magazine from the folks at TwoMorrows Publishing.
My biggest takeaway is that Brown seems like a great guy--humble, friendly, and thankful to the fans and for his experience as Cap. He keeps using the word "purity" to describe what compelled him to the character.
Here are some other items that strike me:
*He says the reason the movies didn't go to series was that Marvel jacked up its licensing fee and there would have been no budget left to do anything but show him riding his motorcycle in his living room. He adds that it broke his heart it didn't become a series.
*He was not asked to be in the 1980s Hulk movies on NBC but would have loved to have done them.
*Similarly, someone reached out to him about doing a cameo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he was game, but then they never got back to him. Boo!
*He got the part while under contract with Universal and getting a meeting with producer Allan Balter. They just clicked, and the part was his.
*Unfortunately, they didn't ask him about this:
It's a cool interview in another fine magazine from the folks at TwoMorrows Publishing.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Great Moments in 70s and 80s TV History: You take the good, you take the Cap...
Reb Brown has had a long career filled with cult movies, but it's possible his TV career peaked with the two CBS Captain America movies we talked about in season 4..
As we discussed, there never was (but maybe could have been?) a weekly Cap series. Reb moved on to other projects.
It is weird to stumble upon the actor in the season two opener of...The Facts of Life?
It all starts when Jo (in her maiden Facts of Life adventure) and Blair procure fake IDs to go to this fine establishment:
Guess who is checking IDs? Someone who looks an awful lot like Reb Brown:
Not only is this whole appearance not treated as a big deal within the show (he doesn't get an audience WHOOOOOOO! when he appears, for one thing), but he barely gets billing, relegated to the scrolling end credits with an anonymous description instead of an actual name.
We have found a way to overlook this insult: Clearly this is not Reb Brown, actor, taking a bit part. It's CAPTAIN AMERICA going undercover at the Chugalug to expose...Commie spy ring? Hydra operation? Meatpacking fraud?
Whatever it is, it's clearly more than just checking IDs at a backwoods dive bar.
As we discussed, there never was (but maybe could have been?) a weekly Cap series. Reb moved on to other projects.
It is weird to stumble upon the actor in the season two opener of...The Facts of Life?
It all starts when Jo (in her maiden Facts of Life adventure) and Blair procure fake IDs to go to this fine establishment:
Guess who is checking IDs? Someone who looks an awful lot like Reb Brown:
If I didn't know any better, I'd say TV's Captain America was relegated to a minor role in a...let's just say not necessarily top-tier sitcom.
Later, when one of the only figures more iconic and inspiring than the Sentinel of Liberty himself appears--of course we're talking about Edna Garrett--look at poor Reb just sitting in the background like some scrub. I mean, he's the one who let them into the Chugalug, but he's hanging out in the corner while the proprietor gets a dose of Ednification.
Not only is this whole appearance not treated as a big deal within the show (he doesn't get an audience WHOOOOOOO! when he appears, for one thing), but he barely gets billing, relegated to the scrolling end credits with an anonymous description instead of an actual name.
We have found a way to overlook this insult: Clearly this is not Reb Brown, actor, taking a bit part. It's CAPTAIN AMERICA going undercover at the Chugalug to expose...Commie spy ring? Hydra operation? Meatpacking fraud?
Whatever it is, it's clearly more than just checking IDs at a backwoods dive bar.
Monday, April 29, 2019
Happy Birthday, Reb Brown!
We'd like to think of him as a friend of the show even if we weren't totally positive about his Captain America movies and maybe kind of minimized his football accomplishments at USC. Happy birthday, Reb!
Click here for our discussion of the 1979 Captain America TV movies!
Click here for our discussion of the 1979 Captain America TV movies!
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
The best thing about the 1990 Captain America movie
Say what you will about the Cap feature film, but it has one big thing the 1978 TV movies lack: a laugh-out-loud piece of political propaganda at the end of the credits. How often have you seen something like this in any movie, let alone a cheesy superhero movie?
We are not making any commentary for or against The Environmental Protection Act of 1990, but it is funny seeing it pop up at the end of a DVD, and it must have been a scream to see this in a theater, assuming you stuck around long enough.
We are not making any commentary for or against The Environmental Protection Act of 1990, but it is funny seeing it pop up at the end of a DVD, and it must have been a scream to see this in a theater, assuming you stuck around long enough.
Monday, October 8, 2018
Captain America 1990 vs. Captain America 1979
In our episode looking at the 1970s Captain America TV movies, we made a brief mention of the 1990 feature film starring Matt Salinger. I actually came across the DVD at the local library and watched it for comparison purposes. Allow me to borrow the "Tale of the Tape" gimmick used so well by Nick Bakay to compare the 1990 one with the 1979 versions (for simplicity, we'll combine the two 1970s TV movies since we talked about both on our podcast).
Star's life before playing Cap:
1979: Reb Brown played football at USC
1990: Matt Salinger played "Burke" in Revenge of the Nerds
Edge: 1979
Main villain:
1979: Christopher Lee being a bad-ass
1990: Red Skull in bad makeup
Edge: 1979
Directed by:
1979: The great Rod Holcomb and Ivan Nagy
1990: Albert Pyun
Edge: 1979
Setting:
1979: Sun-dappled 1970s West Coast America
1990: Europe and, of course, Cap's wartime hometown of...California?
Edge: 1979
Does it have Ned Beatty and Darren McGavin?
1979: No.
1990: Yes, it has both!
Edge: Finally one for the motion picture. Gotta give this to 1990.
Followed by:
1979: The Paper Chase, The Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas
1990: A drive back home from the theater made longer by the knowledge that you spent upwards of 20 bucks on tickets and concessions to see it.
Edge: 1979
When you break it down, it's clear that the original Cap movies are the best. However, there is one big edge (apart from McGavin and Beatty, natch) that the 1990 theatrical version has. We will talk about that one tomorrow because it deserves its own post.
Star's life before playing Cap:
1979: Reb Brown played football at USC
1990: Matt Salinger played "Burke" in Revenge of the Nerds
Edge: 1979
Main villain:
1979: Christopher Lee being a bad-ass
1990: Red Skull in bad makeup
Edge: 1979
Directed by:
1979: The great Rod Holcomb and Ivan Nagy
1990: Albert Pyun
Edge: 1979
Setting:
1979: Sun-dappled 1970s West Coast America
1990: Europe and, of course, Cap's wartime hometown of...California?
Edge: 1979
Does it have Ned Beatty and Darren McGavin?
1979: No.
1990: Yes, it has both!
Edge: Finally one for the motion picture. Gotta give this to 1990.
Followed by:
1979: The Paper Chase, The Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas
1990: A drive back home from the theater made longer by the knowledge that you spent upwards of 20 bucks on tickets and concessions to see it.
Edge: 1979
When you break it down, it's clear that the original Cap movies are the best. However, there is one big edge (apart from McGavin and Beatty, natch) that the 1990 theatrical version has. We will talk about that one tomorrow because it deserves its own post.
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Captain America in "Pugilism With a Side of Beef"
As mentioned on our episode about the Captain America TV movies, the first movie features an action scene in a meat packing plant where Steve Rogers actually uses the meat as weapons. To commemorate this momentous occasion, I've adapted it into a bronze-age style comics script. Fans of seventies and eighties action/crime shows might be happy to know that character actor Lance LeGault plays Harley.
Comic scripts serve as a blueprint for the artists who will draw, color, and letter it, and different writers write them in different formats and with varying degrees of detail. I like to give the artists some room to do their thing while still laying out as clear an idea as I can.
Captain America in "Pugilism With a Side of Beef"
Adapted from a scene in Captain America the TV Movie, written by Don Ingalls, directed by Rod Holcomb.
NOTE: THIS SCENE FEATURES FOUR CHARACTERS:
Comic scripts serve as a blueprint for the artists who will draw, color, and letter it, and different writers write them in different formats and with varying degrees of detail. I like to give the artists some room to do their thing while still laying out as clear an idea as I can.
Captain America in "Pugilism With a Side of Beef"
Adapted from a scene in Captain America the TV Movie, written by Don Ingalls, directed by Rod Holcomb.
NOTE: THIS SCENE FEATURES FOUR CHARACTERS:
STEVE ROGERS - MUSCULAR, BLOND. IN
THIS SCENE, HE WEARS A LIGHT BLUE TURTLENECK, DARK BLUE SWEATER VEST, GRAY
SLACKS, AND GRAY SHOES.
HARLEY - THE LEADER OF GROUP WHO'S
ABDUCTED STEVE. SURLY-LOOKING. HE WEARS A BEIGE BLAZER, DARK BROWN TIE, AND DARK BROWN SLACKS.
TOUGH 1 - A TOUGH GUY IN CASUAL CLOTHES. GRAYING HAIR. HIS MOST
NOTABLE FEATURE, A JEAN JACKET WITH A WOOL LINING.
TOUGH 2 - ANOTHER TOUGH GUY IN CASUAL CLOTHES. DARK
HAIR. WEARS A LEATHER JACKET.
PAGE
1
TEXT ALONG TOP: After a near-fatal
car accident, Steve Rogers received the FLAG serum his father invented. It
saved his life, but it also might have done more!
PANEL 1
NIGHTTIME. A SEDAN SITS OUTSIDE A
MEAT PACKING PLANT. HARLEY AND THE TOUGHS ARE LEADING STEVE ROGERS INSIDE. ROPES BIND
STEVE'S HANDS BEHIND HIS BACK.
SIGN
Pearson Bros. Meat Packers
NARRATOR
Like criminals since time immemorial,
Harley and his crew use the dead of night for their nefarious deeds.
PANEL 2
INSIDE THE MEAT PACKING PLANT, STEVE
(LEFT SIDE OF PANEL) AND HARLEY (RIGHT SIDE OF PANEL) STAND FACE TO FACE. THE
TOUGHS FLANK THEM (TOUGH TWO ON LEFT, TOUGH ONE ON RIGHT). ALONG THE RIGHT SIDE
OF THE ROOM, SIDES OF BEEF HANG FROM HOOKS ATTACHED TO A METAL TRACK.
STEVE
Guys from the gas station, right?
HARLEY
So we meet again. Fun,huh?
PANEL 3
CLOSE ON STEVE AND HIS STEELY (IF A LITTLE
CONFUSED) GAZE.
HARLEY (OFF PANEL)
I still need that film.
STEVE
I still don't know what you’re
talking about.
PANEL 4
HARLEY GLANCES SIDEWAYS.
NO TEXT
PANEL 5
TOUGH ONE GUT PUNCHING STEVE.
STEVE
Ugh!
PANEL 6
BACK TO EVERYONE. STEVE ON HIS
KNEES, HARLEY STANDING OVER HIM.
HARLEY
We've got as long as it takes, pal.
HARLEY (CONT)
Now let's try it again. Get him up.
PAGE
2
PANEL 1
SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS PANEL. TOUGH ONE
IS PULLING STEVE BACK TO A STANDING POSITION. HARLEY FACES THE CURTAIN OF MEAT.
HARLEY
Your friend Hayden took some very
important pictures for us.
HARLEY (CONT)
Then he got cute and hid the
pictures...
HARLEY (CONT)
and then he got dead.
HARLEY (CONT)
and then he got dead.
PANEL 2
FOCUSING ON HARLEY. HE'S TURNED
AROUND, SO MEAT FILLS THE BACKGROUND. HE LOOKS ANGRY.
HARLEY
Now we know he said something to you
that night.
HARLEY (CONT)
We need to know what.
PANEL 3
SIMILAR TO PANEL 2, BUT NOW HARLEY LOOKS CASUAL, KIND OF AN "AW SHUCKS" ATTITUDE.
HARLEY
Ain't that simple?
PANEL 4
STEVE AND HARLEY FACING EACH OTHER
AGAIN, HARLEY STILL CLOSER TO THE MEAT, HANDS ON HIS HIPS.
STEVE
What's in it for me?
HARLEY
You get to live a little longer.
HARLEY (CONT)
You want to live as long as
possible, don't you?
STEVE (LINKED)
Yeah. I guess so.
HARLEY (LINKED)
Fine. Where's the film?
PANEL 5
HARLEY HAS GOTTEN CLOSE TO STEVE AND
IS POKING HIS SHOULDER.
HARLEY
Once more, where's the film?
STEVE
I don't know.
PANEL 6
HARLEY GUT PUNCHING STEVE, WHO'S
DOUBLING OVER.
STEVE
Oof!
PAGE
3
PANEL 1
STEVE HUNCHING OVER. HARLEY, ARMS
SPREAD, COCKY, SMIRKING.
HARLEY
Well, Mr. Rogers?!
PANEL 2
TOUGH ONE AND TOUGH TWO GLARING.
NARRATOR
These hoods think they have the upper hand, but little do they know...
These hoods think they have the upper hand, but little do they know...
PANEL 3
CLOSE ON STEVE'S BOUND HANDS AS THE
ROPES BREAK.
NARRATOR
that in this moment of need, Steve
feels his mighty tendons tighten as if made of steel!
PANEL 4
STEVE THROWING TOUGH TWO AT HARLEY.
NARRATOR
He hurls his opponent as if throwing
a sack of garbage away!
PANEL 5
TOUGH TWO CRUMPLED ON TOP OF HARLEY.
NO TEXT
PANEL 6
STEVE SHOVING TOUGH ONE THROUGH A
TALL SWINGING DOOR.
TOUGH ONE
AAGH!
PAGE
4
PANEL 1
STEVE HOLDING ONTO A MEET HOOK AND
SLIDING PAST SIDES OF BEEF, HIS FEET DANGLING ABOVE THE FLOOR.
NARRATOR
Steve makes a strategic retreat as
he formulates a plan!
PANEL 2
HARLEY AND TOUGH TWO GETTING UP.
TOUGH TWO HAS A REVOLVER DRAWN.
HARLEY
Get him!
PANEL 3
NOW STANDING (AND FURIOUS), HARLEY
POINTS.
NO TEXT
PANEL 4
HOLDING A REVOLVER WITH A SILENCER
ON IT, HARLEY IS CROUCHING AND PEERING IN THE GAP BETWEEN THE MEAT AND THE
FLOOR.
NO TEXT
PANEL 5
TOUGH TWO BENDS OVER TO PEER UNDER A
SIMILAR GAP.
NO TEXT
PANEL 6
LOOKING AT CROUCHING HARLEY FROM THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM, MEAT BLOCKING MOST OF THE VIEW.
NO TEXT
NO TEXT
PAGE
5
PANEL 1
WITH ONE ARM STEVE HANGS FROM A
HOOK. HIS FEET REST ON SOME PIPES ATTACHED THE WALL.
STEVE (THOUGHT BALLOON)
They can't see me, but that means I
can't see them! Wait a second.
PANEL 2
LOOKING DOWN TWO ROWS OF MEAT. THEY
FORM A V-SHAPED TUNNEL, AND AT THE END OF IT, WE SEE TOUGH TWO STANDING NOW, HOLDING
HIS REVOLVER STRAIGHT UP.
NO TEXT
PANEL 3
GRINNING, STEVE LOOKS AT HIS BALLED
FIST.
NO TEXT
PANEL 4
ON THE GROUND NOW, STILL GRINNING, STEVE
IS SHOVING SIDES OF BEEF ON THEIR TRACK.
NARRATOR
With a powerful shove, Steve puts the
meat to work for him!
PANEL 5
TOUGH TWO HAS HIS BACK TO SOME MEAT,
AS THE MEAT STEVE PUSHED IS SLAMMING INTO HIM, SANDWICHING HIM BETWEEN THE TWO.
SFX
FLAM!
PANEL 6
TOUGH TWO LIES ON THE FLOOR UNDER
THE MEAT, HIS REVOLVER NEARBY.
NO TEXT
PAGE
6
PANEL 1
HARLEY SHOOTS AT STEVE DOWN A ROW OF
MEAT.
NO TEXT
PANEL 2
STEVE IS PULLING A BEEF LEG OFF A
HOOK.
NO TEXT
PANEL 3
STEVE FLINGING THE LEG ON THE FLOOR UNDER
THE ROWS OF MEAT.
SFX
ZING!
PANEL 4
STEVE SHOVING ANOTHER SIDE OF MEAT.
NO TEXT
PANEL 5
HARLEY'S JUMPING AS THE LEG OF MEAT HITS HIS
ANKLE.
NO TEXT
PANEL 6
HARLEY COWERING AS THE SIDE OF MEAT
SLAMS INTO HIM.
HARLEY
Noooo!
PAGE
7
PANEL 1
THE TOUGHS HANG FROM MEAT HOOKS, AND
HARLEY IS SLIDING ON ONE TOWARD THEM.
NARRATOR
Later...
PANEL 2
STEVE ON A TELEPHONE, CASUAL.
STEVE
Yes. I got a message for Agent
Barber.
PANEL 3
THE TOUGHS AND HARLEY HUDDLED
TOGETHER ON THEIR MEAT HOOKS.
STEVE (OFF PANEL)
Tell him there's three suspicious
characters down here at Pearson Bros. Meat Packing Plant...
STEVE (OFF PANEL) (CONT)
and they may know something about
Jeff Hayden's death.
PANEL 4
STEVE ON THE PHONE AGAIN.
STEVE
Oh, and, uh, tell him to hurry.
PANEL 5
SMIRKING, STEVE GLANCING SIDEWAYS
(IN THE DIRECTION OF THE TOUGHS AND HARLEY OFF PANEL).
NO TEXT.
PANEL 6
STEVE GLANCING FORWARD AGAIN, SERIOUS
AS HE LANDS HIS JOKE.
STEVE
I think they're getting a bad case
of frostbite.
Thursday, May 10, 2018
4-1: Captain America, the TV Movies
Season 4 begins with a star-spangled bang! Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America starred in not one but two TV movies! We talk about both but focus on "Captain America II: Death Too Soon." Cap (Reb Brown) must stop the mysterious rebel general Miguel (Christopher Lee) before his de-aging formula takes out Portland, Oregon!
Check out this episode!
Check out this episode!
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
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