Barbara Eden Movies
An Arizona native, actress Barbara Eden was three years old when her family moved to San Francisco, where as a teenager she plunged into acting and singing classes at San Francisco State College's Conservatory of Music. After briefly working as a band singer, Eden took up residence at Hollywood's Studio Club, an inexpensive rooming house for aspiring actresses. Other Studio Club residents would note in later years that Eden would look at the club's bulletin board and apply for every show business job available, even those that she was advised would "ruin" her career. Persistence paid off, and in 1956 Eden made her film debut in Back from Eternity. She worked steadily in television, finally attaining leading-lady status on the 1958 sitcom How to Marry a Millionaire, in which she played a myopic "Marilyn Monroe"-type golddigger. Good film and TV roles followed for the lovely blonde actress, and full stardom arrived with the NBC comedy series I Dream of Jeannie. Eden played the curvaceous bottle imp from 1965-70, reviving the character in a brace of TV movies, the last one produced in 1991. Eden's post-Jeannie career has included several films, TV guest star appearances, theatrical and nightclub engagements, and still another sitcom, 1981's Harper Valley P.T.A. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Just how far would you go to get financing for your business? Donald Chandler (Roy Werner) is the owner of a restaurant who suddenly finds himself without a business or a job when his wife leaves him, taking the deed to the eatery with her. Eager to start over, Donald goes into a business partnership with Miguel Sanchez (Gerardo Mejia), a gardener who was taking care of Donald's lawn until he won a fortune in the lottery. Miguel is willing to front Donald the money to open a new restaurant, but there's a catch -- in exchange, Donald has to marry Catalina (Laura Elena Harring), Miguel's beautiful but ill-tempered daughter who needs an American husband in order to get a green card and stay in California. Loco Love (produced under the title Mi Casa, Su Casa was the first feature film from director Bryan Lewis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Elena Harring, Roy Werner, (more)
Like its lively predecessor, The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), this mild comic send-up takes its characters and situations from the popular family sitcom of the 1970s, The Brady Bunch. Set in the '90s, it is filled with in-joke references to American pop culture. However, one need not be familiar with the original series in order to enjoy this film. Bad guy Trevor Thomas (Tim Matheson) is posing as supermom Carol Brady's long-dead first husband Roy Martin. He claims to have been amnesiac and made unrecognizable by plastic surgery after suffering disfiguring injuries, but in truth, he is on the hunt for a very valuable artifact, an ancient Chinese horse carving which Roy sent to his family from the field. Because of the family's sheer niceness, they could never imagine such deception, and husband Mike Brady (Gary Cole) welcomes him into their midst. This causes Roy no end of frustration, as not only must he live with this incredibly sweet and cheerful family while he searches for the carving, but he must endure having his ill-tempered sarcastic jibes go completely unrecognized. When Carol (Shelley Long) is kidnapped, the whole family goes a-hunting. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shelley Long, Gary Cole, (more)
- 1994
Psychotherapist Jesse Newman is a psychic. When she learns that the criminal who brutally murdered a cop has been captured, she feels distress for according to her visions, the police have the wrong man. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Eden, Michael Nouri, (more)
A woman becomes deeply disturbed when she starts having psychic visions of a brutal murder. Unfortunately, when she goes to the police, they treat her not as a witness, but as the prime suspect. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Eden, James Brolin, (more)
- 1991
Suburban housewife Barbara Eden is the prime suspect when her husband is murdered. Shortly afterward, Eden's best friend turns up dead-and this time she's arrested. Now someone is trying to bump off Eden's daughter. It's all the handiwork of an old college rival, who believes that Eden stole her boyfriend. The homicidally inclined woman scorned is played by none other than Loretta Swit, cast spectacularly against type. The made-for-TV Hell Hath No Fury was first telecast March 4, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Jeannie is still Barbara Eden, just as she'd been in the 1965-70 TV sitcom of blessed memory. Despite the passing years, Jeannie still looks great in those harem duds (and behold, she does have a navel). The plot of this TV reunion film has Jeannie searching for her astronaut husband Tony Nelson, who's been lost in space for twenty years. According to Genie Rules and Regulations, she must find a new master soon, or it's back to the bottle. Helping Jeannie in her quest is old buddy Roger Healey (welcome back, Bill Daily). Also on hand is Jeannie's mischievous twin Jeannie II (Ms. Eden again), her invisible dog Jin-Jin, and Chris Bolton as her son Tony Nelson Jr. (who does resemble Larry Hagman, if you squint). I Still of Jeannie was NBC's competition for Game Two of the 1991 World Series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
In this drama, a conniving reporter learns of a hostage crisis and uses the information to further a career in television news. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Eden, Heather Locklear, (more)
- 1990
In this romance, a woman campaigns against a handsome actor in a mayoral race in their small seaside town. Trouble ensues when she falls in love with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This Magical World of Disney made-for-television movie is another tale of step-kids coming together to form a new, big, happy family. Don Murray and Barbara Eden star as single parents, each with three kids of their own from previous marriages. When Eden and Murray fall in love, the brood comes together under the roof of millionaire Murray's Bel Air Mansion -- and much brouhaha follows when the culture clash between the families becomes evident. This movie was the basis for the hour-long series that followed. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
When an overprotective mother discovers that her son has joined the United States Air Force against her wishes, she soon ends up training right alongside him in this lighthearted tale of motherly love starring Hector Elizondo I Dream of Jeannie's Barbara Eden. When mother shoes up in training camp to run the gamut with her patriotic son, the aspiring military man is embarrassed to no end. Thankfully for both mother and son, the pair is able to come to a tentative understanding that allows both to pursue their own dreams on their own terms. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
In this romantic comedy, a grocery store employee endeavors to attract the attention of a wealthy playboy by pretending to be a high society girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
This film takes place in that strange bastion of middle-class living, Stepford, CT. The trouble begins when a former resident returns with his new family and forces them to become as strangely contented as their neighbors. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Eden, Don Murray, (more)
- 1985
In this comedy, a revival of the popular TV-series from the mid-60s, the wedded bliss of astronaut Tony Nelson and his magical djin and wife Jeannie is endangered when Jeannie desires to become more independent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1985
- Add The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal to QueueAdd The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal to top of Queue
The works of "Puppetoon" creator and special effects wizard George Pal are perhaps best seen separately and in toto rather than lumped together in fragmentary form. The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal contains an abundance of enjoyable film clips, but most are far too short for the audience to fully appreciate Pal's cinematic contributions. The narration suffers from banality, while the overall pacing of the documentary is lumpy. Still, for those who've never seen Pal's Puppetoon shorts, or his early features The Great Rupert (1950) and Destination Moon, this compilation serves as a tantalizing teaser. Paul Frees narrates The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal, while several Pal associates and admirers, including Ray Bradbury, Roy Disney, Ray Harryhausen and Walter Lantz, are interviewed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
- PG
The owner of a professional football team must restore the titular train and run it from Tennessee to NYC in 24 hours if he is to inherit $1 million in this comedy. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
An ocean-themed Florida amusement park comes under attack from an angry Great White shark in this third installment of the horror series. The film maintains only a loose relationship to the original Steven Spielberg hit, centering on Mike (Dennis Quaid) and Sean (John Putch), the sons of police chief Martin Brody (originally played by Roy Scheider). Mike works at Sea World, where a baby Great White shark has accidentially been let into the park. Soon, the baby's vicious and extremely powerful mother comes in search of her child. The film focuses most of its attention on the series of tense shark attacks that follow, as tourists run for their lives while the park workers struggle to destroy the sharp-toothed beast. The suspense sequences were made somewhat more memorable during the film's original release with 3-D photography, an attribute lost on video, thereby removing the most distinctive element of an otherwise run-of-the-mill sequel. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, (more)
- 1981
Mary Beth Allen (Barbara Eden), the widow of a member of the long-defunct Eagle Rock Rebels motorcycle gang, supports herself by running a small campground. Unfortunately, the future of this enterprise is endangered by the arrival of several young punks who have been scaring off the customers and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Riding to the rescue are Mary Beth's old pals, the ex-members of the Rebels, who have gathered at the camp for their 25-year reunion. Along the way, Mary Beth falls in love with the Rebels' now middle-aged leader, Sonny (Don Murray). The fun to be had in this made-for-TV movie is seeing such sitcom stalwarts as M*A*S*H's Jamie Farr and Soap's Robert Mandan in black leather jackets astride their souped-up Harleys. Return of the Rebels made its CBS network bow on October 17, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Condominium is a two-part, four-hour TV adaptation of the novel by John D. McDonald. The setting is a hastily constructed Florida high-rise, assembled at the least possible cost by its greedy owners. An oncoming hurricane threatens to topple the structure and its residents into the ocean. Various degrees of greed, lust, terror and concern are displayed by stars Steve Forrest, Dan Haggerty, Ralph Bellamy, Barbara Eden, Stuart Whitman, Jack Jones and Pamela Hensley. Produced for the syndicated "Operation Prime Time" series, Condominium was first made available to local stations on November 20, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Filmed in and around Houston, Girls in the Office is an easily digested TV movie with an all-video-star cast. The office is in a large Houston department store. The girls are four in number: Susan Saint James, Barbara Eden, Penny Peyser and Robyn Douglass. The film follows the quartet as they try to balance their jobs with their love lives. Some of the ladies opt for business, others for pleasure; look at the cast and figure out who does which. The viewer's interest in Girls in the Office is entirely dependent upon how appealing one finds its stars. The film couldn't help but do well when it was first telecast in February of 1979: its competition was the McLean Stevenson sitcom Hello, Larry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This low-budget expansion of the popular Tom T. Hall/Jeannie C. Riley song "Harper Valley PTA" is surprisingly good, boasting lively performances by star Barbara Eden and everybody else in the cast. Eden plays Stella Johnson, a widowed single mom whose gaudy makeup, miniskirts and tight jeans are a source of scandal for the smug, self-righteous members of the local PTA. Forced to leave town with her teenaged daughter Dee (Susan Swift), Stella gets revenge with photographic evidence revealing the sexual peccadilloes and drunken misbehavior of the oh-so-righteous PTA members. The supporting cast includes such seasoned comic pros as Nanette Fabray, Louis Nye, Pat Paulsen and Audrey Christie, all performing above and beyond the call of duty. A weekly-TV version of Harper Valley PTA, also starring Barbara Eden, soon followed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Eden, Ronny Cox, (more)
- 1977
In this mystery, a female detective finds herself traveling in wildly different circles as she begins investigating the case of a famous nude model who first disappears and then ends up discovered dead. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Barbara Eden, who's had more pilots than series to her name, goes the Police Woman route here as she plays the widow of a cop shot down while on duty. Honoring the memory of her husband, she becomes a private eye, devoted to tracking down those miscreants who've slipped through the long fingers of the Law. Her present case involves a missing porno stars, blackmail and murder. As a tip of the hat to her I Dream of Jeannie fans, Eden dons the revealing garb of an X-rated actress, then begins frequenting the adult-movie houses of LA in search of her missing quarry. Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? toted up impressive ratings when first shown on January 16, 1977, but a weekly series was not in the cards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Housewife Barbara Eden loses her husband Peter Bonerz to seductive Liberty Williams. After the divorce, Eden becomes incensed that Williams is flaunting her victory. To get even, Eden begins dating notorious playboy Hal Linden. Now it's Bonerz' turn to suffer the pangs of jealousy. Made for television, How to Break Up a Happy Divorce first lit up the TV tubes of America on October 6, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
A circus goes to the dogs (or, more accurately, the dogs come to the circus) in this light-hearted action-adventure tale. Lucky Vincent (James Franciscus) is a gambler who, after a stretch of bad luck, owes over $12,000 to mobster Solly Kramer (Jack Carter). Lucky is rescued from Solly's goons by Daniel Hughes (Fred Astaire), a born-again Christian with a team of trained Doberman pinschers. After going undercover at a circus, Lucky persuades Hughes to work up an act with his dogs and join the carnival; when Lucky discovers that Solly and his gang intend to rob an armored car hauling the circus's box office take, Hughes and his canine friends step forward to help thwart the plot. Along the way, Lucky also finds time to make romance with a beautiful circus performer named Justine Pirot (Barbara Eden). The Amazing Dobermans was the second in-name-only sequel to The Doberman Gang, which shared the same director and talented four-footed performers, but none of the same plot points or characters. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, James Franciscus, (more)
