Ingrid Torrance Movies

In the tradition of the previous "backstage" TV movies about such iconic series as Batman, The Partridge Family, Gilligan's Island, and The Brady Bunch, this NBC effort promised to give the lowdown on the long-running (1977-1984) ABC sitcom Three's Company. In truth, there is little in this film that was not already common knowledge when it first aired on May 12, 2003, but it's still fun to see a cast of attractive actors portraying another cast of attractive actors. In case anyone needs reminding, Three's Company was the popular tickle-and-tease comedy series based upon the British Man About the House, in which a virile young heterosexual man was forced to pose as a homosexual so that he could remain the roommate of two sexy young ladies. It was perhaps the quintessential "jiggle" sitcom, thanks primarily to its well-endowed co-star Suzanne Somers (here played by Judy Tylor). Because of its risqué (but basically inoffensive) content, Three's Company was turned down by both NBC and CBS before ambitious ABC CEO Fred Silverman (played by Brian Dennehy) decided to take a chance on the property. The rest, as they say, is history, with Three's Company not only setting ratings records but also establishing a whole new threshold for what was and wasn't acceptable in network prime time. Inevitably, the show collapsed under its own weight, especially after the revolving-door cast changes which followed in the wake of the acrimonious defection of Suzanne Somers, but it was fun while it lasted. For the record, the other Three's Company stars were the multi-talented John Ritter (played by Bret Anthony) and the underrated Joyce DeWitt (Melanie Deane-Moore). The actual Joyce DeWitt also appears as herself in this movie, serving as narrator and sidelines commentator. Though the film often pulls its punches regarding the original series' backstage intrigues and legal entanglements, there is enough authentic detail remaining to satisfy the casual sitcom buff. Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company was filmed under the title Three's Company Revisited. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Photographer, Beatles wife, tambourine player, purveyor of vegetarian entrees: Linda McCartney led an undeniably remarkable life. The Linda McCartney Story, based on the book Linda McCartney: The Biography, attempts to present this life in all its glory. Scion of the George Eastman photography dynasty, McCartney is first shown as Linda Eastman, aspiring rock photographer. Flirting her way around the transatlantic rock scene with the likes of Jim Morrison and Mick Jagger, she eventually meets Paul McCartney during the heyday of mid-'60s Beatlemania. Thirty years of marriage, the Beatles' break-up, tambourine playing with Wings, and McCartney's ultimately unsuccessful battle with breast cancer follow, illustrating, over the course of 120 minutes, a life lived with both strength and aplomb. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Based on the best-selling books by Catherine Marshall, the original TV series Christy focused on 19-year-old Christy Huddleston, an idealistic schoolteacher who left a life of wealth and comfort behind to accept a job in the backward mountain community of Cutter, NC, in 1912. First telecast as a two-part, four-hour PAX Network miniseries on May 13 and May 14, 2001, Christy: Return to Cutter Gap picks up where the weekly series left off. Lauren Lee Smith replaces Kellie Martin as Christy, while Stewart Finlay-McLennan repeats his series role as the community's agnostic, Scottish-born doctor Neil McNeill. In part one of Return to Cutter Gap, titled "A Change of Seasons," the year is 1913, and Cutter Gap is in the throes of a deadly typhoid epidemic. The superstitious mountaineers believe that the illness has been brought on by such "outsiders" as Christy Huddleston and the community's new minister, Rev. David Grantland (James Waterston). Dr. McNeill realizes that the real cause of the epidemic is Cutter Gap's brackish water and squalid living conditions, but he is unable to convince the locals of his findings. Meanwhile, Christy suffers a crisis of faith when one of her closest friends dies of the fever, and on another front, she finds herself romantically torn between McNeill and Grantland. Part two, "A New Beginning," takes place three months later. This time, the community is literally torn apart by a raging storm. As the rest of the citizens head to the highest point in Cutter Gap, Christy and Dr. McNeill are stranded in a tiny hunter's shack. Shocked when McNeill declares his love for her, Christy rushes into the deluge, contracting a deadly fever. Also complicating matters is the presence of attractive aviatrix Harriet Quimby (Claudette Mink), who has apparently set her cap for McNeill. The story concludes with a wedding -- but which man does Christy choose for her life partner? Filmed in British Columbia, Christy: Return to Cutter Gap was originally telecast under the title Christy: Choices of the Heart). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this international thriller, a group of Soviet terrorists want to rob the country's national treasury. As part of their plan, they have ambushed a nuclear missile silo, giving them control of a weapon that could conceivably touch off the next world war. An American agent (played by Jack Scalia) is called in to thwart their plans. Christopher Clarke also stars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide