Jill Parker-Jones Movies
- 1999
The Yuletide Season is anything but merry for Emily (Carla Gugino), who is forced to take charge of her nephew J.T. (Evan Sabara) and niece Alanna (Mae Whitman) when their drug-addicted mother (Laura Dern) O.D.'s and the kids are dispossessed. When it looks as though the kids will be sucked into the merciless maelstrom of the foster-care system, Emily packs them up and heads out of her home state, ending up in a little town that happens to be named Bethlehem Even though the authorities have been temporarily left behind, Emily will need a miracle to keep her family together. Enter a versatile guardian angel (Patty Duke), who assumes a variety of earthly guises to save the day for Emily, J.T. and Alanna--and also orchestrates a romance between Emily and a sympathetic local cop (David Conrad). Based on a novel by Marilyn Pappano, A Season for Miracles first aired as a CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation on December 12, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carla Gugino, David Conrad, (more)
Made for television, The Unspoken Truth is the factual story of Brianne Hawkins (Lea Thompson), who after enduring a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her family marries the even more abusive Clay Hawkins (James Marshall). Given to beating his wife at the slightest provocation, Clay finally goes completely over the edge when he shoots and kills a man who had the temerity to speak to Brianne without Clay's permission. Thinking quickly for a change, Clay persuades Brianne to take the rap for the killing, whereupon she complicity (if not willingly) concocts an elaborate story as to how she shot the man accidentally. Not only do the authorities refuse to swallow this fabrication, but they end up sending both Clay and Brianne to prison for life! Only when the future of her daughter, Lily (Karis Paige Bryant), is jeopardized does the long-suffering Brianne finally work up the courage to fight for her freedom and her long-denied fundamental rights as a human being. A shocking mid-film revelation elevates this story from the usual battered-wife TV-movie syndrome. Filmed on location in Austin, TX, The Unspoken Truth originally aired September 24, 1995, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lea Thompson, Patricia Kalember, (more)
- 1992
When a poor waitress shoots her abusive husband, she is forced to battle the courts for custody of her children while waiting for a verdict on her trial for murder of her husband. Based on a true story, it does a credible job in the depiction of the abusive relationship but some of the impact is diminished when the film moralizes that the husband's latent homosexuality was the cause or as culpable as the physical abuse he inflicted upon his wife. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Dey, Chris Cooper, (more)
- 1991
"Saying 'no' to Melanie could lead to murder--and more." Thus did the CBS Network publicity department lure the viewer into watching the made-for-TV Seduction in Travis County. Based liberally on fact, the film stars Lesley Ann Warren as an accused murderer. Peter Coyote is the dynamic, married young attorney whom Warren twists around her little finger. He wins her acquittal, and also her eternal deadly vigilance. Coyote says "no" to Warren--and we all know where it will lead. With traces of the 1950 Barbara Stanwyck film The File on Thelma Jordon, Seduction in Travis County delivers a few chills but very little believable motivation for the characters' actions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lesley Ann Warren, Peter Coyote, (more)
- 1991
- R
In the made-for-cable film Without Warning: The James Brady Story, Beau Bridges stars in the true-life story of the Ronald Reagan press secretary who was critically wounded in the 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan by John Hinckley. Brady was left crippled by the shooting, and the film follows his recuperation process, as well as his fight for more stringent gun control. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, Joan Allen, (more)
- 1989
Based on a novel by LaVyrle Spenser, this made-for-TV drama was originally titled The Fulfillment of Mary Gray. Cheryl Ladd stars as Mary, a farm woman living in 1910 Minnesota. Mary's husband (Ted Levine) is not only neglectful, but impotent. Anxious to have an heir, he suggests that she allow his brother (Lewis Smith) to impregnate her! Needless to say, love blossoms between Mary and her fertile brother-in-law. Filmed in Texas (which looks like Minnesota if you squint a lot), The Fulfillment of Mary Gray was first telecast February 19, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Based on an illustration by Norman Rockwell and set in a tiny Texas town during the 1950s, this touching made-for-television domestic drama tells the tale of a hard-working father who dreams of sending his boy to college. The lad, anxious to spread his wings, is happy to go. Unfortunately his mother's illness may keep him stranded on the farm. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- R
A bible-totin' preacher from out East arrives in wild Montana to spread the Good Word to all. When his wife takes off with another man, he straps on the pistol and extracts his vengeance. Then he must struggle to find his way back to the hallowed life. Willie Nelson plays the preacher and Morgan Fairchild is his inconstant wife. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willie Nelson, Morgan Fairchild, (more)
