Karen Grassle Movies

Directed by Lawrence Kasdan, this epic version of the legendary western sheriff-gunslinger's life story stars Kevin Costner as Earp, who lived from 1848 to 1929. Growing up on a farm in Iowa, Earp tries to run away to join the Union Army in the Civil War, but he is turned away because of his youth. Instead, he studies law and marries Urilla Sutherland (Annabeth Gish). But Urilla dies of typhoid fever before they can have children. Earp grows despondent and descends into drinking and petty thievery, but his father Nicholas (Gene Hackman) finds him, sobers him up, and sets him straight. Earp becomes a buffalo hunter and a close companion of Bat Masterson (Tom Sizemore) and his brother Ed (Bill Pullman). With his brothers, Virgil (Michael Madsen) and Morgan (Linden Ashby), Earp sets out to clean up the violence-plagued towns of the old West -- by using his own guns to settle scores. Earp takes up with Mattie Blaylock (Mare Winningham), a drug addict and prostitute, then discards her for actress Josie Marcus (Joanna Going). In Tombstone, Arizona, the Earp brothers and their comrade Doc Holliday (Dennis Quaid), who is plagued by tuberculosis and a compulsion for gambling, meet their match in a ruthless gang led by Ike Clanton (Jeff Fahey). ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

In the first of the series' "novel" episodes, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) invites the viewers to listen in as she narrates her latest mystery story, involving a group of very intelligent graduate students. One of the protagonists is aspiring composer Michael Prentiss (Paul Clemens), who is outraged when his new composition is plagiarized by his unscrupulous professor. When the prof is murdered, Michael is accused of the crime, and it is up to his best buddy, law student Chad Singer (Paul Clemens), to prove Michael's innocence. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Elizabeth Montgomery plays a woman who awakens from a 20-year coma. Her adjustment to the new world around her is made doubly difficult by the knowledge that her long-ago sweetheart has married her sister (Karen Grassle). Worse still, Montgomery learns that her reawakening may be temporary, and that she could lapse back into a coma at any time. Matching Elizabeth Montgomery in the noble-suffering sweepstakes is Dorothy McGuire, cast as Montgomery's mother. Lori Birdsong plays the younger version of Montgomery in the flashback sequences. The made-for-TV Between the Darkness and the Dawn was first networkcast December 23, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This made-for-TV message drama presents the dangers of cocaine addiction as it follows one man's descent from successful real estate salesman and father, to red-eyed, runny nosed, coke head. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In the first episode of a two-part story, James (Jason Bateman) heads to the Sleepy Eye bank to make a deposit. The bank is robbed and James is shot, leaving him comatose. Seething with grief and rage, James' adoptive father, Charles (Michael Landon), persuades his friend Mr. Edwards (Victor French) to help him track down the outlaws. As they set out on their mission, Charles and Edwards order Albert ( Matthew Laborteaux) to stay behind -- an order he disobeys. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It has been several months since Charles (Michael Landon) adopted the orphaned James (Jason Bateman) and Cassandra (Missy Francis), and the children are now fully and happily settled in the Ingalls household. This may soon change, however: The youngsters' grand-uncle Jed (E.J. Andre) suddenly materializes and demands custody of the two kids. Backed up by his new-found wealth, Jed may very well have the law on his side -- and, as expected, the ensuing court battle is not a pretty sight. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this special 90-minute episode, the first in a two-part story, the Wilders are beset by one calamity after another: A hailstorm destroys their crops, and Almanzo (Dean Butler) suffers a stroke that leaves him semi-paralyzed. Amidst all this strife, Laura (Melissa Gilbert) gives birth to her first child. Assessing the situation, Almanzo's sister, Eliza Jane (Lucy Lee Flippin), invites the young couple to move in with her -- but this hardly brings an end to their troubles. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Still grieving over the death of his son John, Mr. Edwards (Victor French) has begun drinking again. Ordered out of his own home by his long-suffering wife, Grace (played by Corinne Camacho, replacing former series regular Bonnie Bartlett), Edwards returns to Walnut Grove and his friends the Ingalls, hoping to start life anew. Alas, he is unable to give up the bottle, and while drunkenly making a delivery to Sleepy Eye, he causes an accident that seriously injures Albert Ingalls (Matthew Laborteaux). His best friends having all but given up on him, Edwards must regain his inner strength on his own -- though he still has some "special help" from a higher source. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A pregnant Laura (Melissa Gilbert) insists that she can take care of the Wilders' farm in the absence of her husband, Almanzo (Dean Butler). Unfortunately, the land is hit with a drought, and Laura is felled by a heat stroke. It's up to the local schoolchildren to save the crops -- not to mention Laura's own, carefully tended orchard. The title of this episode refers to the famous fable of the same name, used in the story as a means of instilling maturity in perennial classroom troublemaker Willie Oleson (Jonathan Gilbert). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Harry's War is a "feel good" movie--and you'd better feel good or else. Edward Herrmann plays an postman whose aunt (Geraldine Page) is victimized by the Internal Revenue Service. Uncle Sam has made an error on her return, insisting that the poor old pensioner must pay 190 grand in back taxes. Try as he might, Harry can't get anyone at the IRS to correct the booboo (the bureau is populated exclusively by movie stereotypes--one is amazed that Charles Lane and Franklin Pangborn don't show up). So he plots a delicious revenge on the government, on behalf of his aunt and all the other average joes of America. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season eight of Little House on the Prairie finds Mary Ingalls Kendall (Melissa Sue Anderson, formerly a series regular and now a "special guest star") moving to New York, where her husband, Adam (Linwood Boomer), has joined his father's law firm. Back in Walnut Grove, Mary's father, Charles (Michael Landon), has added orphans James and Cassandra Cooper (Jason Bateman, Missy Francis) to the Ingalls household. Meanwhile, the Ingalls' neighbors the Olesons, suffering from "empty nest syndrome" after the marriage of daughter Nellie (Alison Arngrim), decide to adopt a little girl named Nancy (Allison Balson) -- who turns out to be a terrifying clone of the nasty brat that the now-reformed Nellie had been in her youth. In more serious developments, Charles' daughter Laura (Melissa Gilbert) must cope with the anger and self-pity exhibited by her husband, Almanzo (Dean Butler), when he suffers a stroke -- and his bitterness also threatens to dampen the happiness experienced by Laura when she gives birth to her daughter, Rose. Elsewhere, Charles' old friend Isaiah Edwards (former series regular Victor French) suffers the death of his son, resumes his heavy drinking, and causes the breakup of his marriage; thus, by the time he returns to Walnut Grove, he is seriously contemplating suicide. And in the two-part season-eight finale, "He Was Only Twelve," Charles' adoptive son, James, is left comatose from gun wounds suffered in a bank holdup. Arguably the most fascinating of the season's episodes is "The Legacy," in which an auction taking place in the year 1982 unearths several valuable antiques: chairs designed and constructed by none other than Charles Ingalls. ~ Rovi

Nels Oleson (Richard Bull) is kidnapped by two dimwitted amateur crooks, who demand a 100-dollar ransom. When Nels' wife, Harriet (Katherine MacGregor), refuses to pay, the outraged Nels decides to become the leader of the crooks' "gang." Under Nels' less than expert leadership, the two bumblers abduct several other townsfolk, with hilarious results -- almost as hilarious as the scene in which Mr. Oleson pretends to "haunt" his recalcitrant wife. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

J. Brennan Smith is cast as Elmer, a chubby new student at the Walnut Grove school. Mercilessly ridiculed because of his weight, Elmer gravitates to the only person willing to be nice to him -- bratty Nancy Oleson (Allison Balson). In truth, however, Nancy doesn't care a fig about Elmer; she just hopes to use him to her advantage, and to that end she persuades the boy to "get even" with the other kids by becoming the class bully. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi