Second Chance (TV Movie 1972) Poster

(1972 TV Movie)

User Reviews

Review this title
3 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
2/10
Amazingly dopey...and I am not surprised it never became a TV series.
planktonrules7 March 2017
So, the story is about a successful stockbroker who is miserable and he buys a ghost town in Nevada and turns it into a community for folks deserving a second chance. Nope...doesn't sound the least bit ridiculous or contrived. No, wait, it sounds like a textbook example of ridiculous AND contrived!! Talk about starting off a movie with a huge strike against it!!! Is Brian Keith (the stockbroker) able to salvage a decent movie out of this mess of a story idea?

The town grows surprisingly fast (I'm not sure HOW) and it's peopled with a motley group of weirdos...such as a sex pervert therapist, an ex-football player, an ex-con, a crazed nut of a newspaper man and more. Most of these folks seem like caricatures instead of real people. This, combined with the embarrassing 'rap session' is reason enough to skip this dopey flick. Generally, I like installments of "The ABC Movie of the Week", but this one is really not worth your time unless you like terrible films.

Apparently someone thought this would be a great idea for a TV series. The fact that the series was never made certainly comes as no surprise to me or ANYONE who watched the film. I think the idea MIGHT have worked if it had been more serious and the characters been less annoying. But as is, it's pretty dippy.
2 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Welcome to fantasy ghost town.
mark.waltz28 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I'm wondering if the writers of this TV comedy and possible pilot for a series were pulling a Max Bielestock scheme of writing something so bad that they could make a profit off of being unable to pay back investors. A cast of familiar faces joins Brian Keith as he takes on the still owe taxes of an abandoned old western town and goes out of his way to find people to move there whom he feels deserves a second chance.

With names like Elizabeth Ashley, Juliet Prowse, Ann Morgan Guilbert, Kenneth Mars, William Windom, Avery Schreiber and Rosie Grier, this certainly has a diverse cast of characters, but it is so forced and so unrealistic that it becomes a plethora of laughable moments that continue to top each other just when you think that the script can't.

Okay, so women can give birth to babies long after most mothers stop, but the idea of Pat Carroll being expected is laughable from the start. Prowse, as a school teacher who must go out and find her own students gets a wrong note coming off of her Walnut Grove like church/school bell. Keith has a story involving a troubled marriage, and basically like most of the stories, it's a "who cares?" element that overruns this. Fortunately, it's just over 70 minutes, but even that can be painful with the ridiculousness of everything that happens here.
0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
31 Years After It Aired I Remember It Well
res07lla7 February 2003
I was suprised to stumble across this show. I remember when it was originally on, considering that I was only 9 years old at the time says a whole lot. The basic plot was that there was a town called second chance where people could move to who wanted a second shot in life. Racism was not allowed, and I remember there was an incident where one of the residents made a racist remark and another took umbrage. I remember that it was a little over my head at the time, but enjoyable all the same. I also remember at the time my family watched it because it had "colored people" on it.
11 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed