Dalene Young Movies

Based on a true story, the made-for-TV Cab to Canada stars the indomitable Maureen O'Hara as Katherine Eure, a wealthy and very proper "little old lady from Pasadena." En route to a funeral, Katherine summons the cab driven by one Mike Donahue (Jason Beghe). In answer to the traditional "Where to, lady?," Kathryn knocks Mike for a loop when she imperiously insists upon being driven to Vancouver, British Columbia...some 3,100 miles away. During the motor odyssey that follows, Kathryn proves that she's something substantially more than just another arrogant old dowager, just as the down-to-earth Mike loses his natural-born animosity toward those better off than himself. Meanwhile, the authorities are at their wit's end, convinced that Kathryn has been kidnapped, and are prepared to mete out harsh punishment for her captor. A pre-Sixth Sense Haley Joel Osment appears as Bobby. Cab to Canada made its CBS network bow on November 29, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the characters from the series of best-selling books by Ann M. Martin, The Baby Sitters Club concerns a group of seven girls, each edging into their teenage years, who are close friends and have formed a co-operative baby-sitting service. Their business has become so successful that the girls decide to expand their horizons and start a summer day camp for kids; however, they soon discover that not all the adults in the neighborhood think this is a good idea, and they learn a lesson about cooperation and responsibility. Meanwhile, Kristy (Schuyler Fisk), the leader of the group, lives with her mother (Brooke Adams) and stepfather (Bruce Davison); when her father (Peter Horton), an undependable wanderer, shows up, he asks Kristy not to tell her mother that he's in town, and Kristy is torn about what to say. Stacy (Bre Blair) has another sort of dilemma to deal with; she's tall and pretty and has met a boy who likes her. However, he thinks she's older than she actually is, leading her into a dating dilemma that she may not be ready for. The Baby Sitters Club was the first theatrical feature for actress-turned-director Melanie Mayron; Schuyler Fisk is the daughter of actress Sissy Spacek and director/designer Jack Fisk. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A brush with death leads a loving mother and housewife to follow her dream of pursuing a higher education in this family drama starring Reba McEntire and Keith Carradine, and directed by David Hugh Jones. Lily (McEntire) has lived a charmed life. Blessed with a loving husband (Carradine) and beautiful children, the optimistic mother is fully content with her simple existence until the death of her father and a brush with breast cancer leave her longing for something more. As Lily begins to ponder her mortality and question her decision to sacrifice her education for the sake of starting a family, she realizes that it may be time to go back to school and try to make a difference in the world. Determined to make the most of her education despite the formidable obstacles that lie ahead, Lily soon finds that the support of her family is all she needs to realize her dreams of a better future and prove that it's never too late to make a fresh start. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

CBS's scheduled resolution of a Murphy Brown cliffhanger (is she pregnant or not?) cut a vital portion of the audience for Living A Lie upon its initial September 1991 telecast. Those who did tune into this TV movie were in for a well-intentioned if preachy anti-prejudice piece. The scene is a rural Southwestern community, where Jill Eikenberry has been happily married to Peter Coyote for years. An Hispanic family moves into the area, and is promptly subjected to violence. The principal suspect is Coyote--who is, as Eikenberry discovers for the first time, a fire-breathing bigot. As the body of evidence increases, she finds it difficult to stand by her husband, as the community expects her to. Ultimately her conscience wins out over misguided matrimonial loyalty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, city slickers chuck their careers, pull up stakes and take up residence at a peaceful lakeside community to escape the urban rat race. Unfortunately, they soon discover that things are not as peaceful as they seem when the husband finds a mutilated corpse floating in the lake. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Martin Ritt's bucolic rural environments of Norma Rae, Conrack, and Sounder, are re-visited once again in Cross Creek, based on author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' memoirs of her times on a remote Florida bayou. Mary Steenburgen plays Rawlings, author of The Yearling, who, in 1928, makes the abrupt decision to leave her husband and move to an isolated orange grove to concentrate on her writing. Rawlings buys a run-down house covered with cobwebs that she restores with quick dispatch. In these desolate surroundings, Rawlings pauses in her housecleaning to listen reflectively to the otherworldly noises of the swamp. But suddenly out of this loneliness, people emerge. There is Geechee (Alfre Woodard), Rawlings' devoted servant; Marsh Turner (Rip Torn), a liquor-guzzling swamp rat; Floyd Turner (Cary Guffey), a cute harmonica-playing boy; and Ellie Turner (Dana Hill), a little girl whose fawn becomes the basis of Rawlings' Yearling book. Rawlings becomes involved with Norton Baskin (Peter Coyote), the owner of the local hotel, and, as she settles into life on the bayou and her friendship with Norton and Geechee, she is inspired to begin writing. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Little Darlings is a teen sex comedy about a group of 15-year-old girls at a summer camp who establish a contest to see which one of them will lose their virginity first. Tatum O'Neal stars as Ferris, a naive but sexually aware rich girl on the make with the older camp swimming instructor Gary (Armand Assante). Her rival in this race for deflowering is Angel (Kristy McNichol), who is quick to point out, "Don't let the name fool you." She sets her sights on the young Randy (Matt Dillon). But the contest gets obscured by inter-personal crises: Cinder (Krista Errickson), a young tease in a bunny suit, seduces Randy away from Angel, while Ferris has second thoughts about offering herself to the camp counselor. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV drama produced by David Susskind preceded the release of Silkwood by three years, but tells basically the same story. Janet Margolin is the nuclear plant employee who blows the whistle on hazardous conditions and finds herself intimidated, harassed and finally targeted for elimination by her superiors. Powers Boothe and Bo Hopkins are among the supporting cast of this well-directed telefilm, which -- although not as brave as its theatrical counterpart -- still makes for interesting viewing. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Deadman's Curve is a made-for-TV biography concerning "California sound" rock-n-rollers Jan and Dean. Richard Hatch plays Jan Berry, while Bruce Davison is seen as Dean Torrence. The meat of the story is Jan's grueling efforts to fully recover from a disastrous 1966 auto accident. The film's most powerful scene occurs when the still-shaky Jan attempts a concert comeback, only to be booed offstage when the audience realizes that he's lip-synching. First telecast February 3, 1978, Deadman's Curve is seasoned with cameo appearances by Dick Clark, Wolfman Jack, and Beach Boys Mike Love and Bruce Johnson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally known as Christmas Miracle in Caulfield, USA, this made-for-TV film concerns the true story of striking coal workers who are imprisoned in a collapsed mine on Christmas Eve, 1951. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

In Randal Kleiser's telemovie Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, Eve Plumb stars as Dawn, who leaves home at 15 for the glamour of L.A. Friendless, she is taken in by the smooth line of Swan (Bo Hopkins), who offers to be her protector. Before long, Dawn has become a streetwalker, with Swan taking a sizeable chunk of her earnings. She finds true friendship in the form of another runaway, male hustler Alex (Leigh McCloskey) -- whose own story would be delineated in a 1977 sequel, Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn. Having learned a lesson with its controversial airing of Born Innocent, NBC preceded the September 27, 1976, premiere of Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway with a "parental discretion" disclaimer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide