Dixie Seatle Movies

Gene Wilder wrote and starred in this detective story produced for the A&E cable television network. Set in 1938, Wilder plays Larry "Cash" Carter, a one-time Broadway theatrical director who has moved to a quiet Connecticut town, where he oversees a community theater group and works as a private investigator. When a local philanthropist with strong anti-Nazi sentiments is murdered, the police ask Cash to help them track down the killer. Cash discovers his little town isn't as quiet as he imagined, with nefarious servants, devious relatives, and an Axis agent all figuring into the deadly puzzle before he can determine the killer's identity. The Lady in Question was the second in a projected series of made-for-cable "Cash" Carter mysteries written by Wilder; the character was introduced in the first film, 1999's Murder in a Small Town. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Writer/director Peter Wellington's Joe's So Mean to Josephine tracks the slow unraveling of a dysfunctional relationship. Josephine (Sarah Polley from Go), a smart but immature college girl living in Toronto, is out drinking with some friends when she sees Joe (Eric Thal) sitting at the bar. Joe is cute, wears a leather jacket, and seems quite unfriendly. Josephine is intrigued enough to smile at Joe as he leaves the bar. Joe ignores her. The next morning, Josephine wakes up to find Joe in her kitchen, arguing with her mother (Dixie Seatle). It turns out that when Joe's not earning an extra dollar illegally wiretapping phone lines, he works as a telephone repairman. Josephine approaches him and introduces herself. He doesn't seem particularly interested. Later, Josephine steps out of a bar and sees Joe waiting for his hapless partner-in-crime, Mike (Canadian indie superstar Don McKellar). Joe is pretty cold to her, but this time, he invites her out to eat. She's nervous, but delighted, and ends up going home with him. After their tryst, she shows up at his job, and then at his apartment, and she buys a goldfish for his empty aquarium. He seems sick of her, and treats her rudely. She tells him off and leaves, which he likes. When she returns later, he's nicer to her, and they start dating again. But when they run into some of her friends from the newspaper where she works, Joe's rude to them, and the two argue. Eventually, Josephine moves out of her parents' house, and in with her friend, Mona (Waneta Storms). Her budding writing career starts coming together, and Joe feels threatened by her success. She tries to break up with him, but finds he's not so easy to get rid of. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Produced for HBO, The Glitter Dome is based on the crime novel by Joseph Wambaugh. Manhattan detectives Al Mackey (James Garner) is forced to wade his way through the glamorous cesspool known as Hollywood. Mackey's quarry is the unknown person who brutally murdered studio mogul Malcolm Sinclair (Alistair MacDuff). Providing a brief diversion for the diligent Mackey is Margot Kidder as eccentric young actress Willie. Also on hand is James Garner's Rockford Files cohort Stuart Margolin, who, in addition to directing the film, plays the murder victim's smarmy nephew. When first telecast on November 11, 1984, The Glitter Dome was criticized for a brief bondage sequence involving Margot Kidder: in retrospect, however, the scene serves to affirm the integrity and decency of the character played by Garner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "Moonie" cult of the 1970s and '80s has been cited as the principal inspiration for the 1981 Canadian production Ticket to Heaven. Nick Mancuso plays impressionable youth David Kappel, who, after breaking up with his girlfriend, tries to find an emotional balm by joining a religious sect. The first portion of the film details David's indoctrination into the group. The remaining portion concerns the efforts made by his parents to locate their thoroughly brainwashed son. R.H. Thomson dominates the final scenes as a "deprogrammer" hired to shake David out of his religious euphoria. Ticket to Heaven was based on Moonwebs, a novel by Josh Freed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Created by Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent as a potential TV vehicle for himself, A Gift to Last first aired as a one-off CBC special in 1976. Narrated by Melvyn Douglas, the program chronicled the lives and times of the Sturgess family, who lived in Tamarack, Ontario, at the turn of the century. On January 22, 1978, the weekly, one-hour series proper was launched. Covering the period between 1899 to 1905, A Gift to Last was told from the viewpoint of young Clement Sturgess (Mark Polley), whose widowed mother Clara (Janet Amos) did her best to raise Clement and his sister Jane (Kate Parr) in a fatherless household (Clement's father Harrison, a key character in the 1976 special, was killed off in the first episode). Aiding Clara was her mother-in-law Lizzy (Ruth Springfield) and her late husband's two brothers: James (Gerard Parkes), a mild-mannered businessman, and Edgar (Gordon Pinsent), a bombastic, globe-trotting sergeant in the Royal Canadian Regiment. Clement idolized his Uncle Edgar, even though the boastful career soldier had a habit of getting involved in shady and sometimes downright dishonest financial transactions, and despite the fact that virtually all of Edgar's grandiose dreams were doomed to spectacular failure. As the series progressed, Clara Sturgess was squired by grocer John Trevalyen (John Evans), whom she eventually married and with whom she had a child; James Sturgess entered politics, and was elected town mayor; and Edgar ended up wedding the Sturgess family maid, Sheila, in an award-winning episode. By the time the 21st and final hour-long episode rolled around, Clara had passed away and Edgar had settled down with the local militia. Sometimes described as the Canadian counterpart to The Waltons (though it was much, much more than that), A Gift to Last was syndicated internationally with great financial success; still, a "rediscovery" of the series in the United States is long overdue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide