The Ballad of Andy Crocker (1969 TV Movie)
5/10
Coming home to the big valley after the worst if all unnecessary wars can turn any man into Rambo.
9 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
A great performance from Lee Majors aa Andy Crocker sets this anti-war T.V. movie into a return to being a civilian that shows it isn't the best years of their lives. It's not really a solid story, but a look at how war changes the face of destiny for everybody. Coming back and expecting to be the same, he finds that being a hero doesn't amount to a Hanoi Hilton to those who lead life as normal.

His business partner has basically stolen his shares out from under him and his girl has remarried. He is a hero to pop Pat Hingle until he fights against the injustices done towards him, and stands up to old girlfriend Joey Heatherton's mother (Agnes Moorehead in a terrific single scene cameo), beats up the cheating partner, then leads two cops on a merry chase that will have you cheering. It is bittersweet and honest, with a terrific anti war song sung over the credits and at the end.

Majors really shows that he could really act, and Moorehead goes into J.R. Ewing territory as a powerfully rich Texas woman who eats Andy up and spits him out, although there was obviously a sour aftertaste. I would rate this higher, but I wanted more of the story is which had the potential to be like a William Inge type play and a great possibility of a T.V. drama series that mixed the themes of "Peyton Place" and "Dallas".
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