Mary Crosby Movies
The youngest child of actor/singer Bing Crosby and his second wife Kathryn Grant, Mary Crosby made her first professional appearances in the company of her siblings in Bing's Christmas-season TV specials of the 1960s and 1970s. As an adult actress, Mary seemed determined, either by accident or design, to go against the grain of the "wholesome" image perpetrated by her father. As the whole world knows, it was Mary Crosby who, in the guise of "Kristin Shepard," shot J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) in that fateful 1980 episode of TV's Dallas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideThe made-for-TV Guide for the Married Woman was conceived by screenwriter Frank Tarloff as an "answer" to his frolicsome 1968 theatrical feature Guide for the Married Man. If the sequel isn't quite as much fun as the original, it may be because what was deemed "risque" in 1968 was kid's stuff in 1978. In her TV-movie debut, Cybill Shepherd plays a bored housewife who yearns for romance and excitement. With the help of a steady stream of celebrity guest stars, Shepherd is able to fantasize about extramarital hijinks to her heart's content. The supporting cast includes such luminaries as Peter Marshall, Eve Arden, John Beradino, John Byner, Bill Dana, Bonnie Franklin, George Gobel, Tom Poston, Barbara Feldon and Chuck Woolery (the guest-star list of the original Guide for the Married Man included Art Carney, Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Carl Reiner, Terry-Thomas, Joey Bishop and Jayne Mansfield: guess which film had the bigger budget?) Guide for the Married Woman originally aired October 13, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When a bodacious doctor assists a married sex researcher in the lab, they begin an affair that she seems to grow obsessed with. Before long, the regretful man realizes that he has snagged a psychopathic nymph who would rather kill him than give him up to his wife. If not already apparent: there is a bit of sexual content in this suspense film. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marc Singer, Lisa Pescia, (more)
This analytical video tells the story of a family that discovers a wall around their entire home and the new symbol that has appeared everywhere within. This covers the dramatics in the development of child's play. ~ All Movie Guide
Robert Conrad plays a long-married husband suffering from perceived boredom. In traditional male-menopause fashion, Conrad walks out on his family in search of greener pastures. Before waking up and smelling the coffee, he has a brief affair with the much-younger Ann Dusenberry. Respectively cast as Conrad's wife and daughter, Jennifer Warren and Mary Crosby are a lot more understanding than our "hero" deserves. Produced by General Hospital mentor Gloria Monty, the made-for-TV Confessions of a Married Man premiered on January 31, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Two business rivals, a domineering careerwoman (Mary Crosby) and her rival (Peter Scolari), make life hard for each other while scratching their way to the top. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Scolari, Mary Crosby, (more)
Louie B. (Tim Brazzil) is an out-of-towner trying to get Los Angelenos to kiss for his tourist's video camera. He inadvertently runs afoul of a bank-robbing gang led by Stacey (Mary Crosby) and gets conked on the head, temporarily losing his sight. He is taken in hand by the madame of a whorehouse, and he takes it into his head to get the sex workers there (male and female) to talk about their lives. Since many of these stories are the genuine article, told by real-live L.A. sex workers, this part of the film qualifies as a kind of documentary. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daphna Kastner, Mary Crosby, (more)
Beware! Though the title may inspire thoughts of a cherubic being aiming arrows at would-be lovers, the subject matter of this low-budget psychological thriller is anything but romantic. Jennifer has recently left her lover and moved to L.A. to live with her wild sister Susan and work in a bookstore. There she meets the charming, handsome Eric and develops a big crush. They begin seeing each other and romance develops. Too bad, for Jennifer has no idea that beneath his wonderful exterior, Eric is an obsessive monster, one who has killed before and will surely kill again before the last reel unspools. Eric also has an equally deadly sister, one who would kill to resume her incestuous relationship with Eric. Fortunately for Jennifer, her old beau, Richard decides he wants her back. He doesn't think Eric is so wonderful and thus begins his own investigation. The coincidental (?) murder of Jennifer's sister, also sets Detective Thompson on the case. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zach Galligan, Ashley Laurence, (more)
A woman haunted by her mysterious past boards with a timid, isolated girl who opens her home after her father dies. ~ All Movie Guide
A young woman is being taught the subtle craft of murder by a crazed psychotic, and a local sheriff begins to suspect the truth. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
In this psycho thriller, Richard Sullivan is a mild-mannered, trusting ad-man who is tickled when his long lost cousin Harry suddenly shows up at his door. Harry is accompanied by Connie, his fiancee and the innocent Richard welcomes them into his happy home. Unfortunately, whereas Richard, his wife Kate and their son Alex live an idyllic existence, Harry and Connie's relationship is stormy and unstable. Connie constantly whines about wanting the perfect home, and both of them are intensely envious of the Sullivans. Their jealousy takes a darker turn when they try to become the Sullivans. First they begin undermining Richard and Kate's authority over Alex. Then Harry and Connie begin going through the couple's personal effects and files. Eventually, the spooky duo begins impersonating the Sullivans as much as they can. When Kate begins to get suspicious,the story takes a deadly turn for neither she nor Richard realize that they are dealing with cold-blooded, murderous psychopaths. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Harris, David Keith, (more)
The title of Henry Jaglom's stream-of-consciousness Eating says it all. Three women (Lisa Blake Richards, Mary Crosby and Marlena Giovi), each celebrating a "milestone" birthday, decide to throw a joint party. Attending the revelries is French documentary filmmaker Martine Nely Alard, who becomes fascinated when none of the guests will touch the meticulously prepared birthday cake. As Martine begins interviewing the partygoers, she discovers the importance that food holds in each of their lives. One of the most revelatory improvisational monologues is delivered by a matriarch portrayed by Frances Bergen, the real-life widow of Edgar Bergen and the mother of Candice. Though Eating is not for everyone's taste, for those in tune with the fiercely independent Jaglom, the film is a cinematic smorgasbord. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Richards, Mary Crosby, (more)
Don't look for Alex Trebeck or listen for the familiar "thinking music" in the made-for-TV Final Jeopardy. This chiller-diller stars Richard Thomas and Mary Crosby as a small-town couple who find themselves stranded in an unfamiliar--and most unfriendly--big city. Weaving in and out of the proceedings (sometimes literally so) are a bunch of bad dudes with names like Slash, DOA and Ice. And they don't say "Your money or your life" in the form of a question. Final Jeopardy debuted December 8, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Mary Crosby, (more)
Golden Gate revolves around a San Francisco-based newspaper empire run by a family named Kingsley (it could just as well have been "Kane," since the family was based on you-know-what Frisco-based publishing dynasty). Richard Kiley, the cold and commanding Kingsley patriarch, suffers a heart attack. Kiley's long-estranged son Perry King returns to San Francisco to save the newspaper from bankruptcy, and to stave off a hostile takeover by a crooked money man. There's plenty of tense infighting and terse dialogue, courtesy of veteran TV scenarist Stirling Silliphant. Golden Gate may have smelled like a pilot film, but the story was too self-contained to allow for a subsequent series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Tobias, Mary Crosby, (more)
Controversial Nicaraguan leader Somoza is treated with inordinate kindness in the propagandistic adventure The Last Plane Out. As played by Lloyd Battista, Somoza is a pussycat compared to those "nasty" insurgents. The story is based on the somewhat slanted memoirs of former journalist Jack Cox, who produced the film and is personified herein by Jan-Michael Vincent. Even at its best, the film runs a distant second to its obvious inspiration, Under Fire. The Last Plane Out is energetically directed by David Nelson--who, as we all may know, is the non-singing son of Ozzie and Harriet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan-Michael Vincent, Julie Carmen, (more)
Like the 1960 theatrical feature of the same name, the made-for-TV Midnight Lace was inspired by Matilda Shouted Fire, a novel by Janet Green. Mary Crosby stars as Cathy Preston, the role originally essayed by Doris Day in the 1960 film, while Gary Frank steps into the old Rex Harrison role as Cathy's husband Brian, a recording executive. Though convinced that someone is trying to murder her, Cathy is unable to persuade anyone else of the danger she is in; even her beloved Brian insists that his wife is merely hallucinating. By the time it becomes obvious that Cathy has indeed been targeted for death, it is nearly too late, thanks to the clever machinations of the heretofore well-hidden instigator of the plot. Also in the cast is Celeste Holm as Cathy's wealthy aunt Sylvia, a part played by Myrna Loy in the earlier version. The TV adaptation of Midnight Lace debuted February 9, 1981, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) comes to the aid of Ellen Woer (Dee Wallace Stone), whom she'd previously helped to beat a murder rap. In the interim, Ellen has become owner of a diner, in which three patrons died of arsenic poisoning. While Jessica labors to find out what really happened, several disgruntled "locals", convinced that Ellen had actually been guilty of murder the first time around, aren't about to let her slip through the fingers of the law a second time--and no one is more vituperative (or profane) than the town's chief hothead, Edge Potter (Don Swayze). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The community players of Cabot Cove have chosen to stage a play about a 17th century witch who had placed a curse on the town just before her execution. Cast in the lead role is Mariah Osborne (Mary Crosby), a newcomer to the town. Before long, strange things begin happening, convincing the townsfolk that Mariah is not merely acting, but is in truth the reincarnation of the notorious witch. Assisting Jessica (Angela Lansbury) in her investigation of the inevitable murder is the town's new deputy Dave Anderson, played by Louis Herthum--who in his previous series appearance was known as "Deputy Andy Bloom." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Adapted by Oscar-winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant from his own novel, the three-part, six-hour miniseries Pearl inevitably invoked memories of the strikingly similar From Here to Eternity. The focus was on three military couples living in Honolulu in and around the time of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Race, romance, and rank-pulling ran riot in a number of interconnected plot lines, interspersed with stock footage of the attack from the 1970 theatrical feature Tora! Tora! Tora!. Pearl originally aired on ABC during a particularly busy "sweeps week," November 16, 17, and 19, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angie Dickinson, Robert Wagner, (more)
When an alcoholic extraterrestrial living in a small Northern Ontario town finds God, his spiritual journey leads him on tour with a local bar in the feature debut of director Rob Stefaniuk. Soon after crash-landing in a remote Ontario town, innocent alien Phil strikes up a warm friendship with an open-minded young boy and a remarkably intelligent beaver. A stranger in a strange land, Phil eventually begins to fit in by drinking plenty of hard liquor and jumping in on jam sessions with the local bar band. Beneath the picturesque natural wonder of Niagara Falls, the General (John Kapelos) at the "Top Secret American UFO Base" plots to bring Phil to his base for a series of grisly medical experiments. Informed by his friend the beaver that there is a ship in Niagara Falls which he could use to get back home, the drunken Phil continues to spiral into alcoholism before attacking a cigarette machine and getting sent to prison. Having found Jesus during his stint behind bars, a rehabilitated Phil sets out on tour with the bar band while attempting to dodge the bullets of the General's feared assassin Madame Madame (Nicole deBoer). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
In this imaginative Swiss actioner, an expert magician is hired to entertain world leaders at a peace summit. Unfortunately, he finds himself hopelessly entangled in an elaborate terrorist assassination plot. Now, the illusionist must utilize all his best tricks in order to escape and keep them from fulfilling their potentially devastating mission. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Gazzara, Mary Crosby, (more)
By rights, child psychologist Dr. Nina Moss (Mare Winningham) should be pleased and proud that her daughter Beth (Alison Lohman) is a slim, eternally upbeat overachiever. But Nina suspects that all is not well with Beth--and she's right. Desperate to be accepted by her family and friends, and determined to be fully in control of her own destiny, Beth has become bulimic, "binging" and "purging" whenever things threaten to get out of hand in her life--or whenever she gains a single pound beyond her "ideal" weight. The winner of a 2001 Peabody Award, Sharing the Secret originally aired May 10, 2000, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alison Lohman
The outlaws of country music--including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson--team up and head across the Southwestern desert braving Indians, brigands and conflict in this made-for television version of John Ford's classic film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide



















