George Jay Nicholson Movies
Walter Matthau, Stephanie Zimbalist, and Harry Morgan star in this made-for-television drama, in which a judge in a small town discovers that the skeletons in his family closet are aired for all to see after he's named as a prime suspect in the murder of his son-in-law. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In this melodramatic made-for-television romance, a Singapore financier falls in love with the daughter of a powerful smuggler. The film is a remake of a popular "B" movie from the '30s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Barbara Hershey, (more)
- 1986
The made-for-television American Geisha was based on the published reminiscences of real-life anthropologist Liza Dalby. Pam Dawber stars as the Dalby counterpart, here renamed Gillian Burke. As part of the research for her Stanford University grad-school thesis, Gillian heads to the Japanese town of Kyoto, there to work as an authentic geisha girl. Richard Narita costars as the Japanese gentleman with whom Gillian falls in love. Less than a year before American Geisha's September 11, 1986 premiere, Narita essayed a similar role in the white-slavery melodrama Girls of the White Orchid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Faye Dunaway stars as a successful madam who is faced with difficulties from her "girls" in this made-for-TV movie. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This made-for-television film chronicles the life of 19th-century American showman P. T. Barnum. Using flashbacks (and flash forwards) the earliest efforts of his career are shown, through the formation of the "Greatest Show on Earth" with his partner Bailey, with many interesting things in between. ~ Forest Ray, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Hanna Schygulla, (more)
- 1985
This mammoth five-part, 13-hour CBS miniseries was based on the best-selling novel by James A. Michener. Covering the U.S.-Soviet "space race" from the end of WWII to the landing on the moon, the program stars James Garner as Norman Grant, a former war hero turned senator who tirelessly promotes the American space program despite almost insurmountable opposition. Other principal players include John Pope (Harry Hamlin), who matriculates from shavetail West Pointer to pioneering astronaut in the company of fellow space-traveler Randy Claggett (Beau Bridges); Leopold Strabismus (David Dukes), a hedonistic wheeler-dealer who hopes to capitalize on the 1947 UFO scare; German rocket scientist Dieter Kolff (Michael York), whose ideals (or lack thereof) are put to the test when he shifts his allegiance from the Nazis to the Americans; and Stanley Mott (Bruce Dern), an aeronautical engineer whose secret assignment is to make certain that men like Kolff aren't snatched up by the Soviets after the fall of Germany. The winner of three Emmy awards, James A. Michener's Space originally aired from April 14 through 18, 1985; in subsequent showings, the miniseries was cut from 13 to nine hours. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Harry Hamlin, (more)
- 1983
Choices of the Heart (aka In December the Roses Will Bloom Again) recounts the life and death of Irish lay missionary Jean Donovan. Together with three American nuns, the 27-year-old Donovan (here played by Melissa Gilbert) was murdered in El Salvador in 1980. Constructed in a complex flashback-flashforward style, the film shows how Donovan went from a selfish, materialistic girl to a champion of human rights. Martin Sheen plays the priest who is instrumental in Donovan's turnaround. The increasing demand for the US to withdraw its support of El Salvador's military-oriented government is a secondary but vital ingredient to the full dramatic impact of this made-for-TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Gilbert, Martin Sheen, (more)
- 1983
- Add The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. to QueueAdd The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. to top of Queue
Fifteen years after the cancellation of the tongue-in-cheek spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., stars Robert Vaughn and David McCallum were reunited in this made-for-TV movie. It all begins when Janus (Geoffrey Lewis), a former agent for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (aka U.N.C.L.E.) joins forces with the evil rival agency T.H.R.U.S.H. Stealing the new H975 atomic bomb, Janus threatens to detonate the device unless a 350-million-dollar ransom is paid. But there is another condition: The ransom money must be delivered in person by Janus' old enemy, retitled U.N.C.L.E. operative Napoleon Solo (Vaughn), now a big-business executive. Despite never having heard of Napoleon Solo, U.N.C.L.E.'s new top agent, Benjamin Kowalski (Tom Mason), offers Solo the job, which he accepts, if only because he needs some quick cash. Deciding that the combined forces of Janus and ex-T.H.R.U.S.H. leader Justin Sepheran (Anthony Zerbe) may be a bit much for him -- after all, he is 15 years older -- Solo asks for, and receives, the assistance of his former partner, Illya Kuryakin (McCallum), now a prominent dress designer. Also figuring into the plot is Andrea Markovich (Gayle Hunnicutt), a Russian ballerina who may or may not be one of the villains. Despite some cute in-jokes and bantering byplay, this TV movie bears less resemblance to Man From U.N.C.L.E. than it does to the James Bond films, perhaps because writer/executive producer Michael Sloan reportedly only watched a handful of the original series' episodes before embarking on this project. One nice touch is the casting of former Avengers star Patrick Macnee as Solo and Illya's new superior, Sir John Raleigh. Originally telecast April 5, 1983, on CBS, The Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E. (subtitled "The 15 Years Later Affair") failed to deliver sufficient ratings to warrant the planned revival of the series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Loretta Swit was still appearing on a weekly basis in MASH when she starred in the made-for-TV Games Mother Never Taught You. She plays Laura Bentells, the first female executive in a traditionally "good ole boy" office. Refusing to be patronized or disregarded, Laura quickly learns the ropes of corporate gamesmanship. Sam Waterston and Eileen Heckart co-star as, respectively, Laura's husband and mother. And that's an uncredited Madlyn Rhue as the wife of skirt-chasing executive David Spielberg. Based on the "from the front lines" book by Betty Lehan Harrigan, Games Mother Never Taught You first aired November 27, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Swit, Edward Grover, (more)
- 1982
Less than a week after the premiere telecast of the "surrogate mother" drama The Gift of Life, the similarly-themed Tomorrow's Child made its TV debut. Stephanie Zimbalist and her geneticist husband William Atherton agree to participate in a secret lab experiment. Under the aegis of doctors Ed Flanders and Salome Jens, the couple "has" a test-tube baby, a fetus brought to full term in a laboratory. Arthur Hill co-stars as Flanders' medical mentor, who casts grave doubts on the morality of the procedure. Since it first telecast on March 22, 1982, the speculative fiction of Tomorrow's Child has matriculated into fact--but the ethical debate goes on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
In this drama, an ex-hooker reluctantly accepts an undercover assignment for the cops and returns to her old stomping grounds. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
The life of country singer Tammy Wynette is chronicled in this television biopic. The story begins during her poverty-stricken childhood and ends with her on-again-off-again relationship with singer George Jones. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annette O'Toole, Cooper Huckabee, (more)
- 1980
- PG
Comedy falls as flat as a blowout in this film by Joseph Sargent about a down-to-earth trucker (Robert Blake) and the rich and looney witch (Dyan Cannon) he is forced to take on a haul from New York to L.A. Madie (Cannon) is running away from her money-grubbing husband who is conniving to get the most inexpensive divorce he can. Charlie (Blake) the trucker is under pressure from a ruthless creditor and is in desperate need of cash. As the mismatched duo continues in a stressful journey across country, sparks fly but fail to ignite much of anything along the way. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dyan Cannon, Robert Blake, (more)
- 1980
In this drama, a famous criminologist draws from his amazing bag of scientific and technical tricks to locate a psycho-killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1978
This heart-warming made-for-television drama chronicles a widowed father's struggle to keep his family intact. He has three sons, and one of them is mentally retarded. The boy has a gift for sports and his father enrolls him in the Special Olympics. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Elizabeth Christman's novel A Nice Italian Girl was the source for the TV-movie Black Market Baby. Desi Arnaz Jr. plays a slick lothario who is paid by an illicit adoption agency to impregnate impressionable college student Linda Purl. The racketeers stand to make $50,000 by selling the baby to an anxious middle-aged couple. When Arnaz falls in love with Purl and tries to help her keep her baby, the crooks take swift and violent action. Originally titled A Dangerous Love, Black Market Baby was released theatrically overseas as Don't Steal My Baby--a title more appropriate to the overall tawdriness of the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Purl, Desi Arnaz, Jr., (more)
Star Gregory Peck went into MacArthur disliking the title character that he was slated to play, but emerged from the experience with a deeper understanding and respect for this complex historical figure. The film is framed in flashback, with an octogenarian General
Douglas MacArthur (Peck) making his final address before his alma mater of West Point. We flash back to the fall of Corregidor in 1942, with MacArthur promising "I shall return" to the beleaguered (and eventually imprisoned) American and Filipino troops. The story follows MacArthur's subsequent victories in the South Pacific, occasionally pausing to show us the General's omnipresent sense of "showmanship" (e.g. his wading ashore on the beaches of the Philippines for the benefit of the newsreel cameras). The greater part of the film involves MacArthur's attempts to restore dignity to the defeated postwar Japan, and to keep the Russian Communists from overtaking the orient as they had Eastern Europe. MacArthur is eventually fired from his post by President Truman after the general defies orders during the Korean conflict. MacArthur was intended as Universal's "answer" to 20th Century-Fox's enormously successful Patton (1970), but box-office returns were disappointing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Douglas MacArthur (Peck) making his final address before his alma mater of West Point. We flash back to the fall of Corregidor in 1942, with MacArthur promising "I shall return" to the beleaguered (and eventually imprisoned) American and Filipino troops. The story follows MacArthur's subsequent victories in the South Pacific, occasionally pausing to show us the General's omnipresent sense of "showmanship" (e.g. his wading ashore on the beaches of the Philippines for the benefit of the newsreel cameras). The greater part of the film involves MacArthur's attempts to restore dignity to the defeated postwar Japan, and to keep the Russian Communists from overtaking the orient as they had Eastern Europe. MacArthur is eventually fired from his post by President Truman after the general defies orders during the Korean conflict. MacArthur was intended as Universal's "answer" to 20th Century-Fox's enormously successful Patton (1970), but box-office returns were disappointing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Ed Flanders, (more)
James Michener's Dynasty is aptly named. This TV movie is indeed based on a novel by Michener, which does indeed cover thirty five years (1820-1855) in the lives of a land-rich family. Harris Yulin and Stacy Keach play the Blackwood brothers, a pair of enterprising Ohio pioneers. The ongoing rivalry between the older Yulin and younger Keach is intensified when Yulin's wife Sarah Miles leaves her husband in favor of Keach. As the brothers try to outdo each other in business, the Blackwood land empire grows to epic proportions. Unfortunately, this TV movie does not; at 2 hours, there just isn't enough time to do justice to Michener's sprawling novel. James Michener's Dynasty is worth noting for the supporting-cast contributions of Amy Irving and Harrison Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stacy Keach, Harris Yulin, (more)
- 1975
Except for Me and Thee is the syndicated title of Friendly Persuasion, the pilot film for an unsold TV series based on the novel by Jessamyn West. Richard Kiley and Shirley Knight star as Quaker farmers Jess and Eliza Birdwell, whose pacificism is put to the test when the Civil War breaks out. In keeping with the humanitarian edicts of their religion, the Birdwells aid several slaves in their escape from the South. Brothers Michael and Kevin O'Keefe play the Birdwells' eldest sons (Michael continued acting into the 1990s).Friendly Persuasion was previously adapted into a popular film in 1956, starring Gary Cooper and Dorothy McGuire; Dmitri Tiomkin's theme music from that film was redeployed for Except for Me and Thee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Kiley, Shirley Knight, (more)
- 1974
This 1974 TV movie was based upon recent news stories about brainwashing techniques practiced by certain religious communes. Ellen (Kathy Cannon) is a confused teenager who falls in with a group of fanatics, who promise that they'll purge the "Devil" from her soul. Her anguished parents (Leslie Nielsen, Louise Fletcher) hire John Saxon to kidnap Ellen from the commune, and to exorcise the fanatics' influence from her psyche. This film was outdated within a year, but would come back in fashion during the height of the "Moonie" activity in the late 1970s. The original title of Can Ellen Be Saved?, understandably rejected by the network, was Children of God. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this acclaimed version of Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, Richard Thomas stars as a young Civil War soldier who runs away during his first big battle. Tortured by his seeming lack of bravery, he eventually learns that courage is just as dependent upon common sense as on bravado. He returns to battle and proves himself a hero in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Michael Brandon, (more)
- 1972
Rod Serling, a master of speculative scriptwriting, penned the screenplay of The Man. Set a few days into the future, the story contrives to kill off the President, the vice president, and virtually everyone in line of succession in a bizarre accident. This turn of events elevates African-American senator James Earl Jones directly into the Oval Office. Based on a novel by Irving Wallace, The Man was originally intended as TV movie, but released theatrically because most sponsors were afraid of its supposed controversial content. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, Martin Balsam, (more)
