James Best Filmography

Born:: July 26, 1926 in Powderly, KY
Occupation:: Actor
Birth name:: Jules Guy
Biography:: James Best started appearing on film in 1950 in such westerns as Winchester 73 and Kansas Raiders, he was touted as a bright new face on the cinematic scene. When Best showed up as a regular on the 1963 TV series Temple Houston, he was promoted as a "promising" performer. When co-starred in Jerry...Read More

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Moondance Alexander

Actors: Kay Panabaker, Don Johnson, Lori Loughlin, Sasha Cohen, James Best, Whitney Sloan

Synopsis: As the sun rises on yet another uneventful summer, a spirited teen named Moondance Alexander finds her life taking an unexpected turn thanks to the appearance of a pinto pony named Checkers that appears to have leapt clear over the walls of his paddock. Always keen to do the right thing, Moondance Read More

2007
Dottie Peoples: Churchin'

2002
The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood

Actors: Tom Wopat, John Schneider, Catherine Bach, James Best, Rick Hurst

Synopsis: The second of the Dukes of Hazzard "reunion" films (the first was broadcast in 1997), this one features five regulars from the original series: John Schneider and Tom Wopat as fast-driving Luke and Bo Duke, Catherine Bach as their leggy cousin Daisy Duke, and James Best as inept lawmen Rosco P. Read More

2000
Death Mask

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: James Best, Linnea Quigley

Synopsis: As children we're often warned to be careful what we wish for -- and when an embittered man's dreams of revenge begin coming true in this shocker from director Steve Latshaw, the results are a nightmarish physical manifestation of these caution-inducing words. As Wilbur Johnson (James Best) Read More

1998
The Dukes of Hazzard: Dead and Alive

Crew: Director

Synopsis: Bo (John Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat) chase a band of armored-truck robbers into the jurisdiction of Sheriff "Big" Ed Little (Don Pedro Colley), only to be accused of being the robbers themselves and locked up in Little's jail. The only witness who can clear the Duke boys is rustic painter Read More

1984
The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 07

Synopsis: The seventh and final season of Dukes of Hazzard finds the familiar cast back in harness, with the exception of Don Pedro Colley in the recurring role of Chickasaw County Sheriff Ed Little. Once again, hot-rodding cousins Luke and Bo Duke (Tom Wopat, John Schneider), aided and abetted by sexy Read More

1984
The Dukes of Hazzard: Go West, Young Dukes

Synopsis: Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) produces a document which "proves" that the Duke farm was deeded to his great-grandfather Thaddeus Hogg by Jesse's great-grandfather Jeremiah Duke way back in 1862. Investigating this surprising turn of events, the Dukes refer to a diary left behind by their great-grandma Read More

1984
The Dukes of Hazzard: Cale Yarborough Comes to Hazzard

Crew: Director

Synopsis: NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough makes a return visit to Hazzard county, this time to provide words of comfort to a seriously ill youngster who is about to undergo surgery. Unfortunately, Yarborough somehow gets involved with bank robbers, who manage to frame both him and the Duke cousins for a Read More

1984
The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 06

Synopsis: Season six of Dukes of Hazzard finds hot-rodding cousins Luke and Bo Duke returning to Hazzard County for good and all, cueing the exit of another set of Duke cousins, Coy and Vance. This is because series stars Tom Wopat and John Schneider, who'd ankled the series during season five in the midst Read More

1983
The Dukes of Hazzard: Too May Roscoes

Synopsis: James Best plays a dual role in this episode, as bumbling Sheriff Roscoe and a lookalike criminal named Woody. Having undergone plastic surgery to make himself Roscoe's exact double, Woody kidnaps the sheriff and takes his place. It's all part of a scheme to steal a million dollars from an armored Read More

1983
The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 05

Synopsis: There are many Dukes of Hazzard fans who would just as soon pretend that the series' fifth season never existed. Although perennial co-stars Catherine Bach, Denver Pyle, Sorrell Booke, and James Best are back, and Sonny Shroyer has returned in his familiar role as Deputy Enos Strate (after a brief Read More

1982
The Dukes of Hazzard: Diamonds in the Rough

Crew: Director

Synopsis: In a variation of the "D.B. Cooper" legend, a gang of crooks drops a cache of diamonds from a hijacked plane, hoping to pick up the loot later. The diamonds land on the Dukes' farm, whereupon Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) declares that the gems will remain on the property until he can find the Read More

1981
The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 04

Synopsis: The Dukes of Hazzard spends most of its fourth season entertainingly covering ground already traveled during the series' previous three seasons. Cousins Luke and Bo Duke (Tom Wopat, John Schneider) continue burning up the byways of Hazzard County in "The General Lee," their souped-up Dodge Read More

1981
The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 03

Synopsis: Season three of Dukes of Hazzard is substantially the same as season two, with cousins Luke and Bo Duke (Tom Wopat, John Schneider) manning their hopped up hot rod "The General Lee" in order to confound and confuse crooked county commissioner Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and dumb-bumb sheriff Roscoe Read More

1980
Carnival of Thrills

Synopsis: Carnival of Thrills is a 2 hour episode of the no-brainer TV series Dukes of Hazzard. Bo Duke (John Schneider) falls for beautiful carnival owner Robin Matson. Upon unraveling himself from her little finger, Bo agrees to perform a death-defying stunt. Matson convinces him to jump his beloved hot Read More

1980
The Dukes of Hazzard [TV Series]

Actors: Tom Wopat, John Schneider, Catherine Bach, Denver Pyle

Synopsis: Wildly popular during its six-season run on CBS, The Dukes of Hazzard focused on the ongoing adventures of Bo Duke (John Schneider) and Luke Duke (Tom Wopat), two cousins living in Hazzard County in the Deep South. Jefferson Davis Hogg (Sorrell Booke) is a corrupt local political bigwig who has Read More

1979
The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 01

Synopsis: Introduced as a mid-season replacement on CBS' Friday-night schedule, Dukes of Hazzard spends most of its first season establishing, reestablishing, and then re-reestablishing the ongoing battle of wills and wits between Hazzard County hot rodders (and cousins) Luke Duke (Tom Wopat) and Bo Duke (John Schneider Read More

1979
The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 02

Synopsis: So popular were the first 13 episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard that CBS ordered a full complement of 24 hour-long installments for the series' second season. Thematically, little changed from season one to season two: Hot-rodding cousins Luke and Bo Duke (Tom Wopat, John Schneider) continue manning Read More

1979
Centennial

Actors: William Atherton, Raymond Burr, Richard Chamberlain, Timothy Dalton, Alex Karras, Robert Conrad

Synopsis: The longest (26-1/2 hours), most expensive ($25 million) and most complicated (four directors, five producers, five cinematographers, almost 100 speaking parts, several hundred extras) project made for television up to that time, Centennial was shown in two- and three-hour installments over a Read More

1978
The End

Actors: Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Sally Field, Strother Martin, David Steinberg

Synopsis: At the beginning of The End, Wendell Sonny Lawson (Burt Reynolds) is informed by his doctor that he's dying from "the same thing Ali MacGraw had in Love Story." Lawson's first reaction is to cry uncontrollably, much to the discomfort of his fellow elevator passengers. He heads to a nearby church Read More

1978
Hooper

Actors: Burt Reynolds, Jan-Michael Vincent, Sally Field, Brian Keith, John Marley

Synopsis: Following the blockbuster success of Smokey and the Bandit, Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and director Hal Needham reunited to make the very similar Hooper, an action-laced comedy about a Hollywood stunt man who enters a dangerous rivalry with a younger stunt man. Hooper (Reynolds) and the younger Read More

1978
Rolling Thunder

Actors: William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes, Lisa Richards, Dabney Coleman

Synopsis: William Devane plays a rare sympathetic role in Rolling Thunder, though his behavior is just as cold-blooded and sharkish as in any of his villainous assignments. Devane is cast as Maj. Charles Rane, a recently released Vietnam POW who is given a hero's welcome in his Texas hometown. Things sour Read More

1977
Nickelodeon

Actors: Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, Tatum O'Neal, Brian Keith, Stella Stevens

Synopsis: Peter Bogdanovich's early career as a film writer stood him in good stead for this comedy drama about the early days of the motion-picture industry, based in part on his interviews with pioneering directors Raoul Walsh and Allan Dwan. Leo Harrigan (Ryan O'Neal) is a lawyer and Buck Greenway (Burt Reynolds Read More

1976
Ode to Billy Joe

Actors: Robby Benson, Glynnis O'Connor, Joan Hotchkis, Sandy McPeak, James Best

Synopsis: Bobbie Gentry's hauntingly enigmatic 1967 hit single served as the inspiration of this story of unrequited teenage love. In 1953, Bobbie Lee Hartley (Glynnis O'Connor) is 15 years old and in love with 18-year-old Billy Joe McAllister (Robbie Benson). Unfortunately, Bobbie's father (Sandy McPeak) Read More

1976
The Savage Bees

Actors: Ben Johnson

Synopsis: Having already overrun most of South America, a swarm of vicious African killer bees prepares to descend upon the United States. Almost as if rehearsed, the tiny menaces converge on New Orleans during Mardi Gras. With revellers dropping left and right, thanks to the fatal stings of the bees, it is Read More

1976
The Runaway Barge

Synopsis: In this feature-length pilot for an unsold TV series, Bo Hopkins, Tim Matheson and Jim Davis star as Ezel, Owens, and Buckshot, three men carving out a living as the owners of a Mississippi river tugboat. Balancing comedy with melodrama, the story manages to involve our heroes with a gang of Read More

1975
Savages

Synopsis: Andy Griffith goes from good guy to bad, in this thriller. He plays a murdering lawyer who chases his hunting guide across the desert because the guide witnessed him murder an old miner. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

1975
Mind Warp

Synopsis: Exploitation veteran Joy N. Houck, Jr. directed this confusing Mississippi-lensed science-fiction thriller. Gil Peterson and Barbara Burgess star as doctors working at a secret, government-funded underground laboratory. Paid volunteers are broken down mentally in a sadistic series of experiments Read More

1972
Sounder

Actors: Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Kevin Hooks, Carmen Mathews, Taj Mahal

Synopsis: Martin Ritt's big-screen adaptation of William H. Armstrong's Newberry Award winning novel, Sounder stars Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, and Kevin Hooks as a black family struggling through life in depression-era Louisiana. The Morgan family is poor, but close. Young son David (Hooks) enjoys hunting Read More

1972
Savage Run

Synopsis: Savage Run was originally telecast as Run Simon Run (after bearing the working title The Tradition of Simon Zuniga). Burt Reynolds stars in this made-for-TV movie as a Papago Indian, who returns to his people after serving a long sentence for a crime he didn't commit. To clear himself of the Read More

1970
Firecreek

Actors: James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Ed Begley, Sr., James Best, Brooke Bundy, Harry "Slim" Duncan, Jack Elam, Gary Lockwood

Synopsis: Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda headline this western in which an old lawman (Stewart) attempts to keep his town safe from a band of recent returnees from the Missouri range wars and their villainous leader (Fonda), who threaten to destroy it with their drunken revelry. The old sheriff usually Read More

1968
First to Fight

Actors: Chad Everett, Marilyn Devin, Claude Akins, Dean Jagger, Bobby Troup

Synopsis: In this WW II drama, a tough-as-steel Medal of Honor-winning Marine finds himself training recruits on a stateside base and waiting for his wife to bear their first child. Unfortunately, he feels bad about being home when so many other soldiers are dying in the Pacific Theater and so asks to be Read More

1967
Perry Mason: The Case of the Unwelcome Well

Synopsis: This episode is a virtual dry-run for the 1970s series Dallas, except that the question posed is not "Who Shot J.R.?" but instead "Who Killed J.K.?" There is no shortage of suspects when nasty oil tycoon Jerome Klee (Wendell Corey) is murdered, but the police finally settle upon Klee's foreman Read More

1966
Three on a Couch

Actors: Jerry Lewis, Janet Leigh, Mary Ann Mobley, Gila Golan, Leslie Parrish

Synopsis: Artist Christopher Pride (Jerry Lewis) has just been commissioned to work in Paris. Wanting to kill two birds with one stone, he plans to bring his soon-to-be bride along to celebrate their honeymoon. Unfortunately, his girlfriend (Janet Leigh) is a psychiatrist trying to contend with a trio of Read More

1966
Shenandoah

Actors: James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, Rosemary Forsyth

Synopsis: The year is 1863. Wealthy Virginia landowner Charlie Anderson (James Stewart), a man of peace despite his autocratic behavior, steadfastly refuses to take sides in the Civil War. Bit by bit, Anderson's isolationism--and his way of living--is torn apart.
Charlie's daughter, Jannie Anderson (Rosemary Forsyth Read More

1965
Black Spurs

Actors: Rory Calhoun, Linda Darnell, Scott Brady, Lon Chaney, Jr., Bruce Cabot

Synopsis: In this western, a world-weary bounty hunter begins working for an avaricious crook who wants to destroy the good name of a little town so that the railroad will be built across his land. To enact his plan he brings a notorious gambler to town. He also establishes a brothel in the saloon. The Read More

1965
Combat!: Mail Call

Synopsis: Saunders (Vic Morrow) is none too satisfied with Pvt. Trenton (a pre-Dukes of Hazzard James Best), the new man in his outfit. Trenton has suffered too many convenient "accidents", suggesting that he is nothing more than a malingerer. But Trenton proves to be the least of Saunders' problems when he Read More

1964
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: The Jar

Actors: Pat Buttram, Collin Wilcox, James Best, Slim Pickens, William Marshall

Synopsis: Pat Buttram (he was Mr. Haney on Green Acres) brings a macabre twist to his standard country-bumpkin characterization in this bone-chilling episode. Visiting a traveling carnival, farmer Charlie Hill (Buttram) is fascinated by one of the exhibits: a huge jar, filled with water and mysterious Read More

1964
The Quick Gun

Actors: Audie Murphy, Merry Anders, James Best, Ted de Corsia, Walter Sande

Synopsis: In this western, a cowboy finally returns to his home after a long absence precipitated by his killing a wicked rancher's son in a forced duel. The cowboy wants to live peacefully on his daddy's ranch and be with the woman that he loves. While on the trail home, he encounters a ruthless outlaw Read More

1964
Bonanza: The Legacy

Actors: Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Robert H. Harris

Synopsis: While tracking down a gang of poachers, Ben Cartwright is shot and left for dead. Convinced that Ben is dead, his griefstricken sons head off in three different directions to bring their father's "murderer" to justice. Meanwhile, Ben recovers from his wounds and makes his way back to the Read More

1963
Shock Corridor

Actors: Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans, James Best, Hari (Harry) Rhodes

Synopsis: Shock Corridor represents filmmaker Samuel Fuller at his most excessive, but few would have it otherwise. Peter Breck plays a ruthless journalist who believes that the quickest way to a Pulitzer Prize is to uncover the facts behind a murder at a mental hospital. To glean first-hand information, Breck Read More

1963
The Twilight Zone: Jess-Belle

Actors: Anne Francis, James Best, Laura Devon, Jeanette Nolan, Virginia Gregg

Synopsis: A haunting folk song written by Van Cleave serves as a framing device for this macabre hour-long Twilight Zone episode. Anne Francis plays the title character, a spiteful mountain girl who despairs when her boyfriend Billy-Ben Turner (James Best) dumps her in favor a Ellwyn Glover (Laura Devon). Read More

1963
The Fugitive: Terror at High Point

Synopsis: While working on a construction crew under the alias "Paul Beaumont", Kimble (David Janssen) befriends Jamie (Buck Taylor), a mentally challenged youth who has been hired for a menial job by crew boss Buck Harmon (Jack Klugman). Defending Jamie against the cruel taunts of his fellow workers Read More

1963
Black Gold

Actors: Philip Carey, Diane McBain, James Best, Fay Spain, Claude Akins

Synopsis: A group of wildcatting oil drillers battle an Oklahoma oil baron for the rights of a potentially high yield field. The roughnecks fight on the job and in the saloons while hoping for the big gusher that will make them all rich. A catastrophic accident threatens to wipe out the hard work of the Read More

1963
Perry Mason: The Case of the Surplus Suitor

Synopsis: This is the last of four consecutive episodes in which Perry Mason appears only briefly, while a "guest" lawyer handles the case at hand (Raymond Burr was at the time recovering from minor surgery). Walter Pigeon stars as corporation lawyer Sherman Hatfield, who in Perry's absence tackles his Read More

1963
The Twilight Zone: The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank

Actors: James Best, Sherry Jackson, Edgar Buchanan, Lance Fuller, Dub Taylor

Synopsis: Writer-director Montgomery Pittman's final Twilight Zone offering was the bucolic comedy "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank." As the youthful title character (James Best) lies in his coffin during his funeral, the assembled mourners listen to the droning words of the local pastor (William Fawcett) Read More

1962
Have Gun, Will Travel: A Quiet Night in Town, Part 1

Synopsis: In the first episode of the series' only two-parter, Paladin (Richard Boone) arrives in a Texas border town with his prisoner, murder suspect Joselito Kincaid (Robert Carricart). Unfortunately, Kincaid is a sheepherder, and the men of the town trade in cattle. Thus Paladin's task becomes twofold Read More

1961
The Twilight Zone: The Grave

Actors: Lee Marvin, Strother Martin, James Best, Lee Van Cleef, Stafford Repp

Synopsis: Originally filmed for Twilight Zone's second season, writer-director Montgomery Pittman's "The Grave" was not telecast until Season Three -- to be exact, October 27, 1961. Lee Marvin stars as western gunslinger Conny Miller, who upon arriving in a flea-bitten town for a showdown with outlaw Pinto Read More

1961
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Make My Death Bed

Synopsis: A round robin of betrayal and murder takes up most of the running time in this episode. First off, Elise Taylor (Diana Van Der Vlis) falls in love with Bish Darby (James Best), who is married to a woman named Jackie (Madeleine Sherwood), who in turn makes arrangements for Bish to die and for Elise Read More

1961
Have Gun, Will Travel: A Quiet Night in Town, Part 2

Synopsis: In the concluding episode of the series' only two-parter, future director Sydney Pollack guest stars as Joe Culp, a sadistic cattleman bent upon lynching murder suspect (and sheepherder) Joselito Kincaid (Robert Carricart) just for the fun of it. Hired to bring Kincaid to trial, Paladin (Richard Read More

1961
Bonanza: The Fugitive

Actors: Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Frank Silvera

Synopsis: When Carl (James Best), the son of former Ponderosa foreman Will Reagan (Will Wright), is reported killed, Adam Cartwright decides to investigate. Riding to the border town of Plata, Mexico, Adam has ostensibly arrived to claim the body, but is actually seeking out the reasons for Carl's sudden Read More

1961
The Andy Griffith Show: The Guitar Player Returns

Actors: Elinor Donahue

Synopsis: Jim Lindsey (James Best), the wandering troubadour introduced in the 1960 episode "The Guitar Player," pays a return visit to Mayberry. The townsfolk are impressed by Jim's stories of his newfound fame and fortune-stories that seem to be backed up by the guitarist's fancy new Mercedes Benz. Read More

1961
The Andy Griffith Show: The Guitar Player

Actors: James Best

Synopsis: James Best makes the first of two Andy Griffith Show appearances as itinerant guitarist Jim Lindsey. Tossed in the Mayberry jail, Jim is afforded an opportunity to crack the Big Time when Sheriff Andy Taylor "coincidentally" places the members of the Bobby Fleet Band-including Bobby (Henry Slate) Read More

1960
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Cell 227

Synopsis: Condemned for a murder he didn't commit, embittered death-row inmate Prof. Herbert Morrison (Brian Keith) has not only given up all hopes of a reprieve, but has informed his lawyer not to even bother getting him released. As his last hours tick away, Morrison is more annoyed than usual by the Read More

1960
The Mountain Road

Actors: James Stewart, Lisa Lu, Glenn Corbett, Henry "Harry" Morgan, Frank Silvera

Synopsis: In this wartime drama set during WW II, a US Army major is assigned to travel to China with an eight-man demolition team and destroy all bridges and roads needed by the Japanese. They are assisted by two Chinese fellows. At one point the major blows of a mountain bridge that leaves thousands Read More

1960
Verboten!

Actors: James Best, Susan Cummings, Thomas Pittman, Paul Dubov, Harold Daye

Synopsis: Director Samuel Fuller skillfully intercuts footage of the German death camps with scenes from this thought-provoking drama about a forbidden, post-war love affair. David (James Best) is a G.I. stationed in Germany with the American Military Government. He falls in love with Helga (Susan Read More

1959
Ride Lonesome

Actors: Randolph Scott, Karen Steele, Pernell Roberts, James Best, Lee Van Cleef

Synopsis: This is one of several solid B-grade Westerns produced at the height of the genre's popularity in the '50s by the partnership of director Budd Boetticher, star Randolph Scott, and writer Burt Kennedy. Scott stars as Ben Brigade, a taciturn bounty hunter who captures wanted murderer Billy John (James Best Read More

1959
Cast a Long Shadow

Actors: Audie Murphy, Terry Moore, John Dehner

Synopsis: A troubled saddletramp with a penchant for drinking away his pain inherits a ranch from the man who may have been his father. This western follows the young rider's attempts to reform. His efforts are ultimately challenged when his old rivals come to town. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

1959
The Killer Shrews

Actors: James Best, Ingrid Goude, Baruch Lumet, Ken Curtis, Gordon McLendon

Synopsis: Ken Curtis, former singing cowboy and Gunsmoke's Festus, joined right-wing radio's Gordon McLendon in producing this hilariously bad monster movie about a horde of outsized rodents run amok on an isolated island. The creation of mad scientist Baruch Lumet (father of acclaimed director Sidney Read More

1959
Cole Younger, Gunfighter

Actors: Frank Lovejoy, James Best, Jan Merlin, Douglas Spencer

Synopsis: Frank Lovejoy plays the title role in Cole Younger, Gunfighter. The scene is post-Civil War Texas, when the state was under the despotic control of the "bluebellies"-corrupt law enforcement officials, answerable only to carpetbagger-governer E. J. Davis. Persecuting Texans in general and Rebel Read More

1958
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Death Sentence

Synopsis: Worrywart Norman Frayne (James Best) is so wrapped up with his own problems that he is neglecting his wife, Paula (Katherine Bard). All this changes when Norman's old pal, handsome Al Revenel (Steve Brodie), comes to town. Now Norman has something new to worry about -- namely, that Al is poised to Read More

1958
The Naked and the Dead

Actors: Aldo Ray, Cliff Robertson, Raymond Massey, Barbara Nichols

Synopsis: Despite an ad campaign wherein RKO Radio congratulated itself for its "guts", this long-delayed film version of Norman Mailer's bestselling WW2 novel The Naked and the Dead still had to pull most of its punches (especially when it came to four-letter words). Aldo Ray heads the cast as sadistic Read More

1958
The Left-Handed Gun

Actors: Paul Newman, Lita Milan, Hurd Hatfield, James Congdon, James Best

Synopsis: The Left Handed Gun was adapted by Gore Vidal from his own TV play, The Death of Billy the Kid. 33-year-old Paul Newman stars as 21-year-old William Bonney, the hotheaded gunslinger known as Billy the Kid. Avoiding the usual Hollywood glamourization of this controversial character, Newman portays Rea