''Pancho Barnes'' is a 1988 American
made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
biographical film
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
about the pioneering female aviator, starring
Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Anne Bertinelli (born April 23, 1960) is an American actress. She first achieved recognition as a child actress, portraying Barbara Cooper Royer on the sitcom ''One Day at a Time (1975 TV series), One Day at a Time'' (1975–1984) for w ...
,
Ted Wass
Edward Wass (born October 27, 1952) is an American television director and former actor. He is best known for his roles as Danny Dallas on the series ''Soap'' (1977–1981) and as Nick Russo on the NBC sitcom ''Blossom'' (1991–1995). After ''B ...
,
James Stephens and
Cynthia Harris
Cynthia Lee Harris (August 9, 1934 – October 3, 2021) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series '' Edward & Mrs. Simpson'' and the sitcom ''Mad About You''.
Life and career
C ...
. The film was directed by
Richard T. Heffron
Richard T. Heffron (October 6, 1930 – August 27, 2007) was an American film director.
He worked on many television series such as ''The Rockford Files'' and films including '' I Will Fight No More Forever'' (1975), ''Futureworld'' (1976), ...
and premiered on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
on October 25, 1988.
Plot
Leaving an arranged marriage to Reverend Rankin Barnes (
James Stephens),
Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes (Bertinelli) takes an interest in flying light planes in the 1920s, and soon rivals
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...
(Nance Williamson), breaking world speed records.
Barnes is hired by
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
(David Kockinis) to do stunt flying for the film ''
Hell's Angels'', instigates the formation of the
Associated Motion Picture Pilots
Associated Motion Picture Pilots (AMPP) was a union of aviators who worked as stunt pilots in the Hollywood film industry. The group, one of the first unions in film work, was organized by Pancho Barnes in 1931Kelly, 2008, p. 8 and formally establ ...
, was a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Air Force Civilian Pilot Trainer, and establishes the
Happy Bottom Riding Club
The Happy Bottom Riding Club (1935–1953), was a dude ranch, restaurant, and hotel operated by aviator Florence "Pancho" Barnes near Edwards Air Force Base in the Antelope Valley of California's Mojave Desert. Barnes and her club were featu ...
as a mess hall for pilots and former servicemen.
Cast
*
Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Anne Bertinelli (born April 23, 1960) is an American actress. She first achieved recognition as a child actress, portraying Barbara Cooper Royer on the sitcom ''One Day at a Time (1975 TV series), One Day at a Time'' (1975–1984) for w ...
as Pancho Barnes
*
Ted Wass
Edward Wass (born October 27, 1952) is an American television director and former actor. He is best known for his roles as Danny Dallas on the series ''Soap'' (1977–1981) and as Nick Russo on the NBC sitcom ''Blossom'' (1991–1995). After ''B ...
as Frank Clarke
*
James Stephens as Rankin Barnes
*
Cynthia Harris
Cynthia Lee Harris (August 9, 1934 – October 3, 2021) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series '' Edward & Mrs. Simpson'' and the sitcom ''Mad About You''.
Life and career
C ...
as Mrs. Lowe
*
Geoffrey Lewis Geoffrey Lewis may refer to:
* Geoffrey Lewis (actor) (1935–2015), American character actor
* Geoffrey Lewis (scholar) (1920–2008), British professor of Turkish
* Geoffrey Lewis (philatelist), Australian philatelist
* Geoffrey W. Lewis (died ...
as Ben Catlin
*Todd Allen as Chuck Yeager
Reception
Don Shirley of the ''Los Angeles Times'' was critical, saying the film sanitized Barnes' life and persona.
Awards
At the 1989 Emmys, ''Pancho Barnes'' won Outstanding Achievement in Costuming for A Miniseries or A Special and was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for A Miniseries or A Special.
See also
* ''
The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club
''The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club'' is a 2009 American documentary film that chronicles the life of aviation pioneer Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes.
Production
''The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding ...
'', 2009 documentary
References
External links
*
1988 television films
1988 films
1980s biographical drama films
1980s adventure drama films
American adventure drama films
American biographical drama films
American aviation films
Films set in Texas
Films set in the 1920s
Films about aviators
Biographical television films
CBS network films
Films directed by Richard T. Heffron
Films with screenplays by John Michael Hayes
Orion Pictures films
American drama television films
1980s American films
1980s English-language films
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