Diana Hyland Movies
American actress Diana Hyland took private acting lessons as a high school student, debuting professionally at age 17 at the Rabbit Run Theatre of Madison, Ohio. Once in New York, she worked part time as the switchboard operator of her apartment building, hitting pay dirt actingwise with an important role on TV's Robert Montgomery Presents. More TV work followed, as did summer stock appearances with the likes of Claudette Colbert and a tour with the stage play Look Back in Anger; Diana capped the '50s with a Broadway appearance in Sweet Bird of Youth, costarring Paul Newman and Geraldine Page. Like most New York-based actresses of the era, Diana did a soap opera stint (Young Dr. Malone), but after her character was abruptly killed off she headed for the ostensibly greener pastures of Hollywood. Her first job there, supporting Robert Redford in an Alcoa Premiere drama, earned Diana an Emmy nomination, leading to prolific guest-star work on such series as Dr. Kildare, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Twilight Zone. Undeniably talented, Diana was best known in studio circles for her impatience and outspokenness, and in fact was reprimanded in print for this trait by columnist Hedda Hopper. Her film career was far less interesting than her TV work: The Chase (1966) is the only Diana Hyland performance seen on a regular basis on television these days, and it's hardly worthy of her or anyone else in the cast (which included Marlon Brando, Robert Redford and Jane Fonda). Except for a recurring role on Peyton Place in the mid '60s, Diana avoid regular primetime series work until 1976, when she signed to play Dick Van Patten's wife on Eight is Enough. That same year, she costarred in the TV movie Boy in the Plastic Bubble with John Travolta. Diana fell in love with Travolta, 17 years her junior, and the two moved in together. Thus 1977 should have been a professional and personal high water mark for Diana Hyland. But on March 27 of that year, Diana died of cancer, which devastated not only Travolta but the entire Eight is Enough cast. The five completed episodes starring Diana Hyland began telecasting on March 15, a scant twelve days before her death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1995
The Sweet Taste of Vengeance was originally broadcast in 1964 as an hour-long installment of TV's Kraft Suspense Theatre. Diana Hyland plays a divorcee who skips the country and heads to Brazil. Her ex-husband would normally be happy to see the back of her; unfortunately she took $2 million of his money before leaving. Private eye John Forsythe is hired to bring Hyland back. And just to keep Forsythe honest, a second private eye is engaged to bring him back. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In most respects, the extended-length pilot episode of Eight is Enough bears a close resemblance to the series that follows, with Sacramento columnist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) presiding over a rambunctious but loving brood of eight independent-minded children. Also, the series wastes no time plunging the Bradford clan into a maelstrom of crises: oldest son David has a fight with his father and moves out of the house, youngest son Nicholas needs his tonsils removed, and daughter Elizabeth is arrested on a drug-possession charge! Appearing in the pilot are Mark Hamill as 23-year-old David Bradford, Kimberly Beck as 18-year-old Nancy Bradford and Chris English as 14-year-old Tommy Bradford. But by the time the series' first season "officially" began one week after its debut, Grant Goodeve had taken over as David, Dianne Kay as Nancy and Willie Aames as Tommy. The rest of the series' younger actors were carried over from the pilot, including Lani O'Grady as 21-year-old Mary, Laurie Walters as 20-year-old Joannie, Susan Richardson as 19-year-old Susan, Connie Needham as 15-year-old Elizabeth and Adam Rich as 8-year-old Nicholas. Also retained from the pilot is Diana Hyland as the Bradford children's mother Joan. Tragically, Hyland died on March 27, 1977, after filming only four episodes; her last appearances in the episodes "Pieces of Eight" and "Turnabout" were telecast posthumously. To explain her absence from the remainder of the season, the writers contrived to have Joan "away" from the family on an extended visit; the character would not be officially declared deceased until the opening episode of Season Two. Among those showing up in guest roles during the first season of Eight is Enough are Janis Paige as Tom's freewheeling sister Vivian, an "Auntie Mame" clone; Adrienne Barbeau as an older woman with whom David Bradford becomes briefly infatuated; and Charlene Tilton as Tommy's "dream girl" Wendy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Patten, Diana Hyland, (more)
Welcome Back Kotter star John Travolta headlines the made-for-TV Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Douglas Day Stewart's fact-based teleplay casts Travolta as Tod Lubitsch, a teenager who was born without disease immunities. Tod is forced to live out his life in incubator conditions; whenever he vetnures into the outdoors, he must be encased in a huge plastic bubble. When he falls in love with Gina Biggs (Glynnis O'Connor), Tod must decide between staying safe and following his heart, which would mean facing near-certain death. Diana Hyland won an Emmy for her portrayal of Travolta's mother. Incidentally, Hyland and Travolta became real-life lovers, a relationship that was tragically terminated when the actress died of cancer. Boy in the Plastic Bubble was first telecast November 12, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Diana Hyland, (more)
- 1976
Things get personal for Lt. Kojak (Telly Savalas) when an undercover cop is found murdered, gangland style. Figuratively tossing the rule book out the window, Kojak sets his sights on bringing elusive crime boss Franco "Six Bits" Donatello (Harold J. Stone) to justice. Actress Diana Hyland, whose stellar career was tragically cut short by cancer one year after "A Grave Too Soon" first aired on March 7, 1976, plays a key role in this final episode of Kojak's third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Diana Hyland plays a woman whose marriage is on the verge of collapse. Wandering on the beach lost in thought, she finds herself in the middle of a raging storm. She takes refuge in the beach home of Joseph Campanella, a stranger who takes the time to listen to her troubles--as her husband never did. Things I Never Said was originally telecast October 31, 1973. It was one of a series of sporadically scheduled "ABC Afternoon Playbreak" specials. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Candidate for Murder stars Jimmy Stewart as folksy private detective Hawkins. Paul Burke costars as Hawkins' client, the campaign manager for a charismatic politician (John Ericson). A TV reporter who had threatened to release a damaging story about the politico has been murdered, and Burke is the Numero Uno suspect. Diana Hyland costars as the candidate's fiercely protective wife. Candidate for Murder originated as the March 5, 1974 episode of the Hawkins TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Diana Hyland guest stars as Pat Laner, the wife of hopeless drug addict Jim Laner (Roger Perry). To feed her husband's habit, Pat turns to theft, stealing securities from the brokerage firm where she works. Inasmuch as Pat's "customers" are members of the Mob--most prominently Phillip Derane, played by Robert Loggia--the beleagured woman falls under the scrutiny of the FBI operative Lew Erskine Efrem Zimbalist Jr.. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist goes undercover in Dallas to smash up a spy ring. At the same time, Lee Barrington (Steve Forrest), who is unhappily married to the daughter of a nuclear research plant owner, falls in love with Joanne Kinston (Diana Hyland). Little suspecting that Joanne is actually an enemy agent named Marie Roska, Lee tries to win her love by stealing nuclear secrets and selling them to the highest bidder--and Erskine may not be in time to stop him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Ironside (Raymond Burr) and his team are assigned to escort Soviet spy Hruska (Diana Hyland) to Mexico to exchange for an American scientist (John Archer) held by the Russians. En route, Ironside and Hruska a kidnapped by a gang of Mexican activists. As Ed (Don Galloway) struggles to stall the Russian officials, Ironside endeavors to formulate a plan of escape--all the while becoming increasingly fond of his beautiful prisoner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Ritual of Evil was a sequel to the earlier TV movie Fear No Evil; both were pilots for a never-realized Universal series, Bedevilled. Louis Jourdan stars as a psychiatrist investigating the suicide of one of his patients. He stumbles onto the realization that the death was tied in with the Supernatural, and that perhaps he shouldn't probe any deeper. Were he to stop at this point, the producers would had to have filled the remaining hours' worth of film with commercials or cartoons, so Jourdan forges ahead at the risk of his own life. This concept was eventually refined into Universal's short-lived series The Sixth Sense, which utilized much of the eerie William Goldenberg background music first heard in Ritual of Evil. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
In this thriller, Jonathan Fields (Bradford Dillman) awakens in a strange apartment and finds a dead woman floating in the bathtub after he suffered an LSD-flashback the night before. Finding blood upon his hand, he can only wonder how he is involved in the woman's death. He hires private detective Arthur Belding (Harry Guardino) who has him take another dose of LSD in order to see if he can remember what had happened. They learn that Fields' co-worker Lew Haley (Pat Hingle) had slipped acid into his coffee as part of a blackmail conspiracy. Haley was after his girlfriend and after his job in a government think tank. They also learn that his supervisor Dr. Arkroyd (Victor Jory) had been in a relationship with the deceased woman. She too was being blackmailed by Haley, who killed her when she threatened to call the cops. Dr. Arkroyd knew about it all and did nothing. Eventually Fields and Haley fight it out. The blackmailer ends up crashing through a high-rise window and falling to the unforgiving pavement below. Hope Lang, Susan Saint James, James Doohan and Michael J. Pollard also star in this psychedelic murder mystery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Guardino, Bradford Dillman, (more)
- 1967
Dale Robertson stars as Ben Calhoun, a cagey professional gambler in the west of the 1870s. After an unusually successful card game in Kansas City, Calhoun finds that his opponent has no ready cash. Instead, the gambler wins ownership of the Buffalo Pass, Scalplock and Defiance Railroad. Calhoun soons learns that his prize is no prize--the railroad is plagued by bandits, Indians, bad track, and rival railroad barons who'd like nothing better than to see Calhoun fail. First telecast on The ABC Sunday Night Movie on April 10, 1966, Scalplock was the pilot film for Dale Robertson's subsequent series The Iron Horse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dale Robertson, Robert Random, (more)
- 1967
The FBI's search for escaped confict Charles Nyack (Scott Marlowe) is stymied by a massive power blackout. Meanwhile, Nyack commits murder in his efforts to cover his tracks. Unless Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) can (literally!) shed light on the case, Nyack's next victim will be Virginia Lambeth (Diana Hyland), the woman who had originally turned him over to the authorities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Enemy agents Sava (Edward Mulhare), Karn (Diana Hyland) and Veltran (David Frankham) pool their efforts to kidnap prominent European statesman Anton Dieter (Anton Dieter). Their plan is to exchange Dieter for a Communist agent currently in Federal custody. Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) must locate the kidnappers in order to avert an embarrassing international incident and to plug up a potentially dangerous breach in national security. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
In Washington DC for a secret meeting with a journalist who believes in his innocence, Kimble (David Janssen) saves the life of African ambassador Unawa (Ivan Dixon). Out of gratitude, Unawa allows Kimble to hide out in his country's embassy building, where the fugitive is protected by diplomatic immunity. Unforunately, Unawa's wife Davala (Diana Sands) is planning to turn Kimble over to the cops in a desperarte efforts to improve relations between her country and the U.S. Brock Peters rather surprisingly shows up unbilled in the role of an embassy servant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Bruce Dern guest stars as Hutch, the vicious leader of a motorcycle gang known as The Devil's Disciples. Abducting Richard Kimble (David Janssen), Hutch plans to use the fugitive as a fall guy in a scheme to murder the old man who was indirectly responsible for the death of a gang member. Kimble's only hope for escape is in the hands of cyclist Don (Lou Antonio) and his girlfriend Penny (Diana Hyland), who are slightly less sociopathic than Hutch. In addition to its "Hell's Angels" trappings, this 1960s time capsule also manages to weave the Vietnam War into the storyline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
In this touching western horse story, a wandering cowboy and rodeo rider finds a beautiful wild stallion, captures him, and trains him into a fine horse. Unfortunately, the cowboy's wicked brother trades the horse so he can pay off some debts. Just as he is trying to take Smoky from his pen, something goes wrong and the horse ends up killing him. Later the horse and his beloved rider are separated after the cowboy joins the service. Smoky ends up on the rodeo circuit and is very nearly killed. When the cowboy at last is reunited with his equine friend, he is appalled to discover that Smoky has become a broken down cart horse. He ends up saving him. This is the third screen version of Will James' popular horse story. It contains the following songs: "Smoky" (Ernie Sheldon, Leith Stevens, sung by Hank Thompson), "Five Dollar Bill," "Smile As You Go By," "Trouble and Misery," "Queen of the Rockin' R" (Hoyt Axton, sung by Axton). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fess Parker, Diana Hyland, (more)
All hell breaks loose in a Texas town when an escaped convict heads home in Arthur Penn's Southern gothic melodrama. Appointed by local kingpin Val Rogers (E. G. Marshall), benevolent Sheriff Calder (Marlon Brando) manages to keep the peace in Tarl, but the situation starts to fester one Saturday when news filters in that wild child Bubber Reeves (Robert Redford) has jumped prison. Bubber's impending arrival arouses hostility among Tarl's citizens, such as Edwin Stewart (Robert Duvall), who believes that Bubber will come after him to settle an old score, and Damon Puller (Richard Bradford), who, between grope sessions with Edwin's wife Emily (Janice Rule), uses Bubber as an excuse to terrorize black residents. As the atmosphere heats up, Calder wants to keep Bubber alive, and he convinces Bubber's wife Anna (Jane Fonda) and her lover, Val's son Jake (James Fox), to find Bubber and coax him into surrender. Val's fear that Bubber will kill his son, however, sparks a long confrontation that leaves rational law and order pummeled into the ground by the town's ignorant cruelty. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, (more)
- 1965
George Savano (Edward Binns), an auto-parts dealer with mob connections, hires a new employee named Chris Benson--who, of course, is really fugitive Richard Kimble (David Janssen). When his sister Stella Savano (Diana Hyland) shows signs of being attracted to Kimble, the fiercely protective George warns Kimble to lay off or else. What George doesn't know is that Stella has already had a torrid affair with another employee, Jesse Strangl (Joseph Campanella), which resulted in an illegitimate baby. To prevent George from killing Jesse should he ever learn the truth, the delusional Stella convinces herself that Kimble is the father of her child. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
The special effects and cinematography are perhaps the most impressive attributes of this movie. Zeus' son, Hercules, takes on an angry sea monster to rescue fair maiden in distress. This was a pilot for a television series. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1964
A typical "wrinkle in time" drama from the pen of Richard Matheson, this episode opens as young heiress Anne Henderson (Diana Hyland), taking a horseback ride near her family estate, is suddenly pursued by a witch-like rider dressed in black. This terrifying experience has no effect on Anne's determination to defy her parents' wishes and elope with irresponsible David Mitchell (Robert Hogan). As it turns out, Anne would have been wise to regard the mysterious horsewoman as a portent of disaster. This extremely intense Twilight Zone episode was originally broadcast on February 21, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diana Hyland, Robert Hogan, (more)
- 1964
Eluding the local authorities, Richard Kimble (David Janssen)--aka "Peter Broderick"--hops a freight car containing three other passengers: A hobo named Preacher (Royal Dano), a woman named Carol (Diana Hyland), and a little baby. Carol claims to be the infant's mother, and further insists that she is searching for her husband. But it soon turns out that the woman has been mentally unbalanced since becoming a widow--and that she has kidnapped the baby. Kimble's efforts to help Carol and return the baby to its parents are complicated by the child's precarious health...to say nothing of the treacherous Preacher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Having been burned by a previous marriage to a callous fortune hunter, heiress Grace Renford (Diana Hyland) promises herself that she won't make the same mistake again. Thus, when she falls in love with handsome engineer Keith Holloway (Jeremy Slate), Grace does not tell him that she is fabulously wealthy. Nonetheless, Grace's surrogate mother, Minnie (Mildred Dunnock), is suspicious of the gregarious Holloway -- but this hardly seems to matter when an unexpected tragedy strikes, requiring the services of a spiritualist named Dr. Shankara (Abraham Sofaer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mildred Dunnock, Diana Hyland, (more)
- 1963
Moving into a new house, Bill and Janet Nelson (Bradford Dillman, Diana Hyland) try to make friends with their neighbors the Standers, only to be put off by the taciturn attitude of Jack Stander (Edward Asner) -- and especially the bizarre behavior of Jack's young son, Eddie (Mickey Sholdar). It soon becomes obvious that Eddie is emotionally disturbed -- in fact, he is on the verge of becoming a murderer. Only after the Nelsons nearly lose their lives thanks to the boy's sadistic pranks do they discover the reason behind Eddie's homicidal streak. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bradford Dillman, Diana Hyland, (more)
- 1963
From at least the 1930s on to the 1970s, the upbeat protestant minister, Reverend Norman Vincent Peale, ministered to the well-heeled and upwardly mobile of the United States from his pulpit at the Riverside church on Fifth Avenue in New York City. At least as positive-thinking as the similarly cheery Dale Carnegie (How To Win Friends and Influence People), his lift-yourself-by-your-bootstraps message of good cheer was perceived as unorthodox by many within the churches he grew up in. After many decades of preaching his message, summed up in his best-selling book The Power of Positive Thinking, he was enshrined as a sort of secular saint. His influence reached to Presidents and corporate heads, and his name became synonymous with a kind of extraverted wholesomeness which has long since vanished. This biopic traces his career in the most respectful possible manner. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Murray, Diana Hyland, (more)
