Jaclyn Smith, in her early "Charlie's Angels" days, gives a commendable, somewhat exaggerated or uneven performance as a young Mrs. tied down to the "little dictator" of a dirt-poor Texas county; she tries leaving him but, knowing too much about his shady financial dealings, is arrested without cause and thrown into jail. Made-for-TV feature doesn't look like much at first, yet director Steven Hilliard Stern has ambitions for the film to be more than just a television throwaway (he doesn't have the attentive nature needed to give the movie a suspenseful undercurrent, but his pacing and detail-work show sophistication). Michael Parks is very good as a State Ranger who helps Jaclyn out, and the film's best scene has him playing a little guitar for her in the jailhouse. Other performances are pushy and unpleasant, and the dusty, sweaty locations aren't used particularly well, yet this star-vehicle for the pretty Angel does hold the interest for much of its length.
Review of Escape from Bogen County
Escape from Bogen County
(1977 TV Movie)
Tyrannical politico prevents his ex-sweetheart from doin' the Texas two-step out of town...
10 March 2009