Joan Hackett

Joan Hackett started he carrer as an actress with the role of Gail Prentiss in the TV series Young Doctor Malone in 1959. In 1961 she won a Theatre World Award, an Obie Award, and a Drama Desk Award for her performance of Chris in a play Call Me By My Rightful Name. She performed a recurring role in a legal drama The Defenders (1961-1965). She had a leading role in The Twilight Zone episode "A Piano in the House" (1962). In the 1963-1964 season, she guest starred on the ABC drama about college life, Channing . She had one of the starring roles in the 1966 Sidney Lumet film The Group. One of her best known performances was in a Western Will Penny(1968), with Charlton Heston. Hackett also had notable parts in the classic Western comedy Support Your Local Sheriff!(1969), with James Garner, and the 1973 murder mystery The Last of Sheila. Hackett won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1981 movie Only When I Laugh, the last movie she made before her death. She could also be seen in the film One Trick Pony.

List of some of Joan Hackett films

1966: The Group
1968: Will Penny
1968: Assignment to Kill
1969: Support Your Local Sheriff!
1970: The Other Man
1970: The Young Country
1970: How Awful About Allan
1971: Five Desperate Women
1972: Lights Out
1973: The Last of Sheila
1974: Reflections of Murder
1974: The Terminal Man
1975: Mackintosh & T.J.
1977: Dead of Night
1980: Harnessing the Sun
1981: Only When I Laugh

Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)

Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969). Comedy/ western. Cast: James Garner, Joan Hackett and Jack Elam. Director: Burt Kennedy. Written William Bowers.

While burying an stranger in the small western town of Calendar Colorado, Prudy Perkins, the daughter of the towns mayor, spots gold in the open grave, leaps in and turns the funeral into a riot. Since the only road in or out of town is blocked by a ranch belonging to old Pa Danby, he demands 20 percent of every gold shipment that passes through. After three sheriffs have been killed off by the Danbys, an easy-going handsome stranger, Jason McCullough, rides through town on his way to Australia. Jason agrees to accept the job as sheriff to help pay his way. His first job as sheriff is breaking up a street brawl by hosing down the men, Jason makes Jake, the town drunk, his deputy and arrests Joe Danby for murder and throws him jail with no bars. When Pa Danby schemes fail to get Joe out of jail. Pa then calls all the Danbys in the territory to help get rid of the new Sheriff in town.. When they arrive, Jason tricks them into holding their fire until he has had time to tie Joe across the town's Civil War cannon. Will The Danbys drop their weapons?

I thought the the whole cast is perfect. Even though James Garner is funny he's still the straight man to to all the town's quirky characters.. Bruce Dern and Jack Elam are also hilarious. Harry Morgan is as funny as he's ever been. Walter Brennan is wonderful as the grumpy head of the bad guy's.

WILL PENNY (1968)

Will Penny (1968). Western. Director: Tom Gries. Cast: Charlton Heston and Donald Pleasence. Based on an episode of the 1960 Sam Peckinpah television series The Westerner called "Line Camp," which was also written and directed by Tom Gries. Heston mentioned that this was his favorite film in which he appeared.

Will Penny (1968). Movie Trailer.