thefilmarchive.org DVD: www.amazon.com December 25, 1963 A television, a boat, and a chimpanzee are among the many gifts Mr. Drysdale gives to the Clampetts for Christmas. Max Baer Jr (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for playing Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies. The Beverly Hillbillies went off the air in 1971, and Baer made numerous guest appearances on television. However, he found himself typecast by his former role. He then concentrated on feature motion pictures. Baer wrote and produced the drama Macon County Line (1974), in which he played Deputy Reed Morgan. It was the highest-grossing movie per dollar invested at the time. Made for just US$110000, it earned almost US$25 million at the box office. This record would last until it was broken by The Blair Witch Project in 1999. Baer also wrote, produced, and directed the drama The Wild McCullochs (1975), in which he played Culver Robinson. He then got the idea of using the title of a popular song as a movie title, acquiring the rights to the Bobbie Gentry hit song and producing Ode to Billy Joe (1976). Made for US$1.1 million, it grossed US$27 million at the box office, plus earnings in excess of US$2.65 million in the foreign market, US$4.75 million from television, and US$2.5 million from video. The film starred Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor. Since the success of Ode to Billy Joe, the motion picture industry has capitalized on the idea
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