Genie Francis Movies
A native of Englewood, NJ, Genie Francis would become one of the most recognizable soap opera actresses of all time because she portrayed Laura Webber Spencer on General Hospital. The character's relationship with Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) enthralled millions, with their wedding drawing the largest rating for any soap opera episode ever up to that time. In addition to her work on General Hospital, Francis has been a regular at different times on other serials including Days of Our Lives and All My Children. She has done one-off appearances on numerous series including Fantasy Island, Murder, She Wrote, and 3rd Rock from the Sun. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2009
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A columnist still haunted by her past mistakes hesitates to accept the love of a good man until one of her loyal readers offers some sage advice. Peyton MacGruder (Genie Francis) may have all the answers for everyone else, but when it comes to her own love life she simply can't commit to the man she loves (Ted McGinley). When a reader warns Peyton not to deny her own passion, the sleuthing columnist discovers that her adviser was involved in a doomed romance. But if there's still hope for her reader, perhaps there's still hope for Peyton as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Genie Francis
A struggling human interest columnist finds a simple scrap of paper with a profound message may be the key to saving her column from cancellation in this inspirational, made for television drama starring Genie Francis and Ted McGinley. Peyton MacGruder (Francis) is the "Heart Healer" columnist for the local Middleborough Times newspaper. It's Christmas time, and just as the crew of Flight 848 reports a minor electrical problem, Peyton is summoned to her editor's office for a serious discussion about the future of the "Heart Healer" column. According to the results of a recent reader's survey, the "Heart Healer" column was voted the least interesting item that the paper had to offer, and as a result Peyton is about to get the axe. Just as Peyton's editor warns the writer to improve her standing with readers of hit the pavement, word breaks in the newsroom that Flight 848 has crashed, killing everyone aboard. King Danville, Peyton's friend and colleague at the paper, has lost a dear friend in the crash. Pondering whether or not the passengers realized they were going to die while drowning his sorrows at the local sports bar, King wonders aloud whether they had time to say goodbye to their loved ones, half-jokingly suggesting that Peyton work the concept into her failing column. The following day, Peyton is jogging along the beach when she spies smarmy television reporter Truman Harris interrupting a memorial service for the victims, all the while struggling to find an angle that doesn't seem exploitative. That angle arrives in the form of a note that Peyton finds during another walk along the coast. Sealed inside a small plastic bag half filled with cookie crumbs is a note to "T" from "Dad." Peyton is deeply moved by the heartfelt note, and vows to use the "Heart Healer" column as a means for getting the note to its intended recipient. In order to do so, however, Peyton will be forced to contend with her television counterpart Harris, a tactless reporter whose penchant for sensationalizing a story is only matched by his willingness to resort to underhanded tactics in order to take sole credit for all of Peyton's hard work. And while tracking down "T" proves no easy task, Peyton quickly discovers that her latest story truly resonates with readers upon being informed by her publisher that her "Heart Healers" column has gained a loyal following across the country. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Genie Francis, Ted McGinley, (more)
Directed by Jonathan Frakes and based on the '60s British television series of the same name, Thunderbirds chronicles the intergalactic exploits of the Tracy family. Set in 2010, the world looks toward the mysterious Tracy Island when mere international security is not enough; the remote South Pacific island not only houses former astronaut and lifelong entrepreneur Jeff Tracy (Bill Paxton) and his five sons, but also serves as headquarters for the top-secret International Rescue organization. The unthinkable happens, however, when an insidious criminal mastermind known only as "The Hood" (Ben Kingsley) manages to get past the island's innumerable security measures and attempts to take over International Rescue. His goal: stealing the organization's five most advanced rescue vehicles, each of which was designed to accomplish a specific task, and using them for his own agenda. With Jeff and his four eldest sons deployed on a mission, there's only one person with any hope of stopping the takeover -- Jeff's youngest son, Alan (Brady Corbet), who vows to save his family and keep the Thunderbirds alive. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Anthony Edwards, (more)
- 1995
In this suspenseful thriller, a crazed woman is sent to a mental hospital and her son is adopted by a kindly man. Unfortunately, the child dies. When the woman finds out, she escapes and swears to get revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Roseanne gets a visit from General Hospital's infamous couple, Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis). Roseanne joins a women's club to get some business connections and meets a bakery owner played by guest star Florence Henderson. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) heads to California, there to link up with her niece Victoria (Genie Francis), now employed as a real estate broker. Showing up at a dilapidated mansion to close a deal with the house's owner, Victoria finds that the owner is in no mood to bargain--mainly because he's dead. Inevitably, Victoria is held on suspicion, obliging Jessica to get her niece off the hook once again. Dean Butler (Little House on the Prairie) takes over from Jeff Conaway in the role of Victoria's husband Howard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This six-part, 12-hour miniseries was a sequel to the 1985 "mini" North and South, and like its predecessor it was based on a novel by John Jakes (Love and War). In the tradition of The Birth of a Nation (but without the negative racist content), North and South, Book II followed the fortunes of two large families during the Civil War: the Hazards of Pennsylvania and the Mains of South Carolina. As former friends Orry Maine (Patrick Swayze) and George Hazard (James Read) find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict, Orry's sweetheart Madeline (Lesley-Anne Down) is left at the mercy of her sadistic husband Justin LaMotte (David Carradine) and Orry's vixenish sister Ashton (Terri Garber), while George's amour Constance (Wendy Kilbourne) was saddled with an equally disreputable family. Though the series was top-heavy with villains, there was enough time left over for the heroes of the war, notably Abraham Lincoln (Hal Holbrook) and Ulysses S. Grant (Anthony Zerbe). First telecast over the ABC network from May 4-8 and May 11, 1986, North and South, Book II was re-telecast in a six-week block from May 13 to June 17, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirstie Alley
- 1986
Jessica's niece Victoria (Genie Francis) and the girl's husband Howard (Jeff Conaway), previously introduced in the first-season episode "Birds of a Feather", make return appearances here--and, as before, the couple promptly embroils Jessica (Angela Lansbury) in a murder case. This time, the victim was Victoria's advertising-executive boss, a notorious womanizer. Victoria falls under suspicion when it turns out that her late boss had intended to "lend" her to his newest client, the hedonistic owner of a questionable fast-food chain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The expensively mounted miniseries North and South was originally telecast in six two-hour installments between November 3 and 10, 1985. Four screenwriters--Douglas Heyes, Paul F. Edwards, Kathleen A. Shelley, Patricia Green--were called upon to fashion a workable script from John Jakes' sprawling best-seller. The story covers the two decades prior to the Civil War, beginning in 1842. Real-life historical events are filtered through the eyes of two rival clans: the Mains, a South Carolina plantation-owning family, and the Hazards, a family of Pennsylvania industrialists. While top billing goes to Kirstie Alley as "Northern Belle" Virgilia Hazard, most of the footage is devoted to the fluctuating friendship between Orry Main (Patrick Swayze) and George Hazard (James Read). The huge guest-star cast includes Gene Kelly (in his TV miniseries debut), Elizabeth Taylor, Leslie-Anne Down, David Carradine, Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Hal Holbrook (as Abe Lincoln) and Johnny Cash (as abolitionist John Brown). The recipient of seven Emmy nominations, the 561-minute North and South was filmed back to back with its equally lengthy sequel, North and South, Book II. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirstie Alley
- 1984
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) arrives in San Francisco to attend the wedding of her niece Victoria Brandon (Genie Francis) to a handsome but rather secretive young man named Howard Griffin (Jeff Conaway). Her first meeting with Howard occurs under strange circumstances, as he scrambles over her table at a nightclub, dressed in female drag--after having stumbled across the body of club owner Al Drake (Martin Landau). Naturally, Howard is accused of the murder, obliging Jessica to investigate the situation herself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Bare Essence, based on a novel by Meredith Rich, began as a two-part TV movie, premiering October 4 and 5, 1982. General Hospital alumnus Genie Francis stars as Tyger Hayes, the daughter of a powerful movie mogul. When Tyger's father dies, her much-married mother Lady Bobbi Rowan (Linda Evans) invites the girl to come to work for the perfume company that had financed her dad's last movies. Learning to play the dog-eat-dog survival game in a hurry, Tyger rises to the top of a sweet-smelling compost heap. Bare Essence was subsequent spun off into a short-lived series. Telecast April 29, 1983, the "final chapter" leaves the fates of Tyger, her mother, her business, and hit-and-run victim Niko Theophilus (an Onassis clone played by Ian McShane) up in the air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The perfume business is dramatized in this soap opera-like made-for-television movie. Based on the novel by Meredith Rich, Genie Francis (who played the infamous Laura on General Hospital) stars as Tiger Hayes, a woman who decides to start her own fragrance company. Typical soap dramas abound in this two-part movie, which was the pilot for a short-lived television series. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Linda Evans, (more)
