Prancer

I happened to catch what most classic movie fans would call a modern Christmas movie.  Prancer was released in 1989.  Modern is relative, this movie is 21 years old.  Perhaps some younger readers remember it as a classic.

Prancer has quite a good cast.  Sam Elliott (b. 1944) brings his deep voice and gruff character acting to bear as a down-on-his-luck apple farmer.  Cloris Leachman (b. 1926) is the mean old lady who hates kids and loves her plants.  And then there is Elliott's daughter who is about to be sent to live with her aunt because her mother died and her father has too much to worry about...

Well, I guess you can see how this story will end.  I didn't even get to the reindeer!  I didn't have to, it's a Christmas movie.

The daughter is played by newcomer Rebecca Harrell (b. 1980) in her first movie.  It's a big part for an eight year old, and her reviews were very complimentary.  Harrell has only made nine appearances in movies and TV, and is now a producer, mostly of environmental documentaries.

Harrell's friend in the movie is young Ariana Richards (b. 1979) who was already a veteran actress.  Prancer was her seventh role and third movie.  Richards' next movie was Tremors (1990) and then she went on to play Lex in Jurassic Park in 1993 and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) the first sequel, in a much smaller role.  Richards is now a talented painter.  Visit her web site, Gallery Ariana.

Two other actors in Prancer had smaller roles, but are quite well known.  Abe Vigoda (b. 1921) has 92 titles on IMDb.  At almost 90 years old, he is still working. 

We also see Michael Constantine (b. 1927).  Constantine is famous for My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), but he has 171 titles listed so far.  How many of you remember him as the principal on "Room 222" in the late 1960s?  Both of these guys are top notch Bit Actors.

Prancer may not be a blockbuster, but it is a well made, family movie that some call a classic.  The performance by Rebecca Harrell is excellent, and it is easy to see why she was cast.  Somehow I doubt that she did much acting in Prancer, it just came naturally.

Oh, by the way, the title role was played by a reindeer named Boo.

Jurassic Park (1993)

Jurassic Park in 1993 was a very popular movie.  It spawned two sequels, that were not quite as good.  I am sure it helped a lot of careers along the way.

The principal actors need not be covered here.  Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sir Richard Attenborough don't need me to write about them.  Although, Laura Dern is the daughter of Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, for those of you who read yesterday's post.  (Bruce Dern shot John Wayne in the back in The Cowboys from 1972.)

Joseph Mazzello (b. 1983) played Tim Murphy, Attenborough's grandson.  J.P. was his sixth acting role.  He started at age seven.  His acting career is going well, and he is a talented performer.  He recently appeared in a TV mini series called "The Pacific" about our involvement in that front of WWII.  It was a very good series, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.  Don't miss it!

Ariana Richards (b. 1979) played his sister, Lex.  She had 25 roles pre-J.P. and about ten after.  She was the little girl in Tremors (1990) who always jumped on her pogo stick.  She also appeared in Prancer (1989).  After completing college, she became an artist.  Way to go, Ariana!  Get out of this crazy business!

Mazello and Richards both appeared in the first sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997.

Can you qualify Wayne Knight (b. 1955) as a Bit Actor?  He played Dennis Nedry, the computer programmer.  He has appeared 81 times in movies and on TV.  I don't even remember him in Dirty Dancing (1987).  J.P. came after he was in Everybody's All-American (1988); Born on the Fourth of July (1989); V.I. Warshawski, Dead Again and JFK, all in 1991; and Basic Instinct (1992).  He was a riot in Basic Instinct, watching Sharon Stone uncrossing her legs and trying to stay cool.  Knight has made a place for himself on TV series' and also doing voices.

There was also Bob Peck (1945 - 1999) who played the hunter/security chief Robert Muldoon.  He has 44 roles to his credit.  And don't forget Martin Ferrero (b. 1947) as the scum-sucking lawyer Donald Gennaro.  Ferrero also has 44 roles in his list, including Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1993) and Get Shorty (1995).

I think Jurassic Park has a place on the must see list.  The special effects alone make it a blockbuster.  It was ranked #1 in 1993, grossing over $357,000,000, and won three Oscars for effects and sound.