Kathleen Freeman Movies
The inimitable American actress Kathleen Freeman has been convulsing film audiences with portrayals of dowdy, sharp-tongued matrons since she was in her 20s. After stage work, Freeman began taking bit roles in major-studio features in 1948, seldom getting screen credit but always making a positive impression. The best of her earliest roles was in Singin' in the Rain (1952); Freeman played long-suffering vocal coach Phoebe Dinsmore, whose Herculean efforts to get dumb movie star Jean Hagen to grasp the proper enunciation of the phrase "I can't staaaand him" proved uproariously futile. Often cast as domestics, Freeman had a year's run in 1953 as the "spooked" maid on the ghostly TV sitcom Topper. Freeman was a particular favorite of comedian Jerry Lewis, who cast the actress in showy (and billed!) roles in such farces as The Errand Boy (1961), The Nutty Professor (1963) and Who's Got the Action?. As Nurse Higgins in Lewis' Disorderly Orderly (1964), Freeman weeps quietly as Jerry meekly scrapes oatmeal off her face and babbles "Oh, Nurse Higgins...you're all full of...stuff." Lewis so trusted Freeman's acting instincts that he sent her to the set of director William Wyler's The Collector (1965) in order to help build up the confidence of Wyler's nervous young leading lady Samantha Eggar. Throughout the '70s and '80s, Freeman took occasional "sabbaticals" from her movie and TV assignments to do stage work, enjoying a lengthy run in a Chicago production of Ira Levin's Deathtrap. Like many character actors of the '50s, Kathleen Freeman is frequently called upon to buoy the projects of baby-boomer directors: she was recently seen as an hysterical Julia Child clone in Joe Dante's Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1996
Benton (Eriq La Salle) tries to save the life of a 13-year-old gang member who's already been declared dead, thereby creating even more friction amongst the ER staffers. Meanwhile, "floating" nurse Rhonda (Jill O'Hara) continues to make disastrous mistakes. And on the domestic front, Greene (Anthony Edwards) worries that Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) may be dating Morganstern (William H. Macy), while Carter (Noah Wyle) grows ever closer to Keaton (Glenne Headly). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Dr. Quest receives a strange package from his old friend, Native American mystic Alice Starseer, containing a curious quartz statue. In turn, the statue contains a rod that acts as a beacon to summon extraterrestrials. Transporting the statue to New Mexico (conveniently close to "Area 51" near Roswell), the Quest team is targetted for scrutiny -- and possible elimination -- by the ubiquitious Men in Black who seem to always be around in sci-fi stories. "Return of the Anasazi" was first telecast on September 9, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- J.D. Roth, George Segal, (more)
- 1995
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With the launching of the 1995-1996 TV season, Married...With Children became the first Fox network show to remain on the air for ten years. It is clear, however, that age has not withered the ability of the boorish Bundy family to make fools of themselves in a variety of situations, many of them sexual. The cast remains as ever: Ed O'Neill as oafish shoe clerk Al Bundy; Katey Sagal as Al's lazy, self-indulgent wife, Peg; Christina Applegate as hot-to-trot daughter Kelly, now a TV commercial spokeswoman; David Faustino as scheming son Bud, who this season defies all logic by graduating from Trumaine University; and next-door neighbors Marcy and Jefferson D'Arcy (Amanda Bearse, Ted McGinley). New developments this season include the demise of the Bundy family's dog, Buck, though the opportunity for a saccharine "very special moment" is deftly avoided when Buck is immediately (and reluctantly) reincarnated in the form of a cute little puppy named Lucky. Also, legendary character actress Kathleen Freeman -- or her voice, at any rate -- is added to the cast as Peg's obese, never-seen mother, Mrs. Wanker, who moves into Bud's old room after walking out on her husband (and, no, Bud has not left the nest -- he had merely relocated to the Bundy family basement). If Peg Bundy seems conspicuous by her absence towards the end of season ten, it is because actress Katey Sagal was on brief pregnancy leave. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed O'Neill, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 1995
Married. . .With Children opens its tenth season as Bud (David Faustino) moves out of the Bundy household. Dad Al (Ed O'Neill) is delighted that he'll have one less mouth to feed--or at least, he was delighted until he found out that Bud was moving into the Bundy basement. As for Bud's former room, it is now occupied in every sense of the word by Peg's (Katey Sagal) overbearing mom (played by a never-seen Kathleen Freeman), prompting Al to head to Wanker county in hopes of persuading Peg's dad Ephraim (Tim Conway) to reconcile with his wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Alas, poor Buck! The Bundy's pet dog has shuffled off his mortal coil and ascended to the Animal Afterlife. As Buck's spirit nervously awaits sentence for his past crimes from jury of disgruntled animals, Kelly (Christina Applegate) mourns over the death of her pet. In hopes of making contact with Buck one last time, the Bundys arrange a séance conducted by Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello). This episode introduces the new family pooch Lucky--who isn't all that Lucky when one considers that he is actually a reincarnation of Guess Who. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Fed up with providing room and board for Peg's mom, the Bundys head to Wanker country hoping to persuade Peg's father Ephraim (Tim Conway) to patch things up with his wife. Ephraim agrees, but only if Al (Ed O'Neill) and Bud (David Faustino) will prove their salt by going on a bear hunt. The upshot of all this macho intrigue is a wild climactic sequence wherein all of Chicago is terrorized by a "dead" bruin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Attending their five-year high school reunion, Kelly (Christina Applegate) and her best friend Jessica (Sarah Ann Morris) are shocked to discover that onetime classroom nerd Eric (Casper Van Dien) is now a handsome hunk--and a millionaire to boot. Once the girls have recovered, they fall over themselves trying to win Eric's heart. . .while Kelly does everything in her power to make Eric forget that she once stood him up on New Year's Eve. Meanwhile, the Bundys don't quite understand the purpose of Marcy's "guns for toys" drive. Seen in this episode as Bud's girlfriend Ashley is former Playboy centerfold Heidi Mark. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Al (Ed O'Neill) has come up with the perfect Christmas present for his co-worker Griff (Harold Sylvester): twenty free minutes on the phone-sex line 1-900-YUMMY. Before long, Griff is not only "hooked" on the service, but he has fallen in love with the velvet-voiced operator "Butter." Little does Griff realize that the unseen Butter is actually Al's behemoth mother-in-law (Kathleen Freeman)--but Al knows this fact only too well! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Still broke and homeless in Manhattan, Mike (Kirk Cameron) decides to move in with his sister Carol (Tracey Gold), who is attending Columbia University. With this move, the two Cameron kids' personalities undergo a radical reversal, with Mike becoming more serious and level-headed, and Carol more frivolous and flighty. Meanwhile, mom Maggie (Joanna Kerns) argues with her dad Ed (Gordon Jump) over the best strategy to convince Mike and Carol to move back home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Mike's future as a professional actor seems bleak, to say the least: His dad Jason (Alan Thicke) having cut off all financial support, Mike (Kirk Cameron) has absolutely no money--and now, no place to live. Sister Carol (Tracey Gold) is also on the "outs" with her parents, though in a somewhat more secure position than Mike as a student at Columbia University. Meanwhile, mom Maggie (Joanna Kerns), worried that she has lost Mike for good, is not above tightening the apron strings on Carol. Singer Jerry Vale appears as as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Jason's mom Irma (Jane Powell) and her new hubby Wally (Robert Rockwell) hope to play matchmaker for their granddaughter Carol (Tracey Gold) and their gormless investment counselor Ken Singleton (Darren Powell). To foil this scheme, Carol decides to show up at Irma's party with a phony boyfriend. The man selected for this dubious "honor" is none other than Carol's coworker Big Al (Beans Morocco). (Note: The first telecast of this episode was not listed in TV Guide, due to the possibility of an extra World Series game). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
The premiere episode of Murphy Brown finds the titular heroine (played by Candice Bergen) returning to her post as chief investigative reporter of the TV magazine show "F.Y.I." after a traumatic stint at the Betty Ford Clinic. No sooner has Murphy set foot in the studio than she begins to wonder if she shouldn't go straight back into therapy: Her new executive producer Miles Silverberg (Grant Shaud) is a 25-year-old greenhorn with 25-minute frame of reference (he hasn't even heard of The Shirelles, for God's sake!), while her new coanchor is Corky Sherwood (Faith Ford), a vapid ex-Miss America hired exclusively for her looks. Hoping to find out if Murphy has still got her "edge", Miles assigns her to interview the central figure in a hot-potato political sex scandal. Actors Mary Cadorette and Charley Lang hold the dubious distinction of portraying the first and second of the 93 secretaries that Murphy will have in the course of the series' 12-year run. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
The second of two TV-movie attempts to revive the Dobie Gillis sitcom series of the 1950s and 1960s, Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis rounds up as many cast members of the old show as humanly possible. Dwayne Hickman took a break from his busy career as a CBS daytime-drama executive to recreate the role of Dobie Gillis, while Bob Denver was back as his beatnik "good buddy" Maynard G. Krebs. Also making return appearances are Sheila James as Zelda Gilroy (now Mrs. Dobie Gillis), Steve Franken as ridiculously wealthy Chatsworth Osborne Jr., and William Schallert as Dobie's college teacher Mr. Pomfritt. The plot concerns the attempts by Dobie's former high school sweetheart, the ever-mercenary Thalia Menninger, to wrest Dobie away from wife Zelda and claim him for her own. Tuesday Weld, the original Thalia, wasn't interested in reprising the character (nor was Dwayne Hickman interested in working with the troublesome Ms. Weld again), so the role was assumed by another 1950s TV icon, Connie Stevens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Denver, Dwayne Hickman, (more)
- 1988
Glitz was a disappointment for fans of the Elmore Leonard novel on which it was based. Jimmy Smits stars as a savvy Miami police detective Vincent Mora, who is wounded in a shoot-out. Convalescing in Puerto Rico, Mora falls in love with a beautiful woman who later dies under suspicious circumstances. Unable to pursue the case officially, Mora conducts a private investigation of the case. Along the way, he makes the acquaintance of a sprightly lounge singer (Markie Post) and a seriously disturbed ex-con (John Diehl). To many viewers, the title was appropriate: Glitz was plenty of style with little substance. The film was first telecast October 21, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
While perusing the latest issue of "National Inquisitor", ALF comes across an article about a couple named Susla, living in Barstow. The couple claims to be living with a small, furry alien who likes to eat cats. ALF is beside himself with delight and eager anticipation: If what the article says is true, he has finally located his long-lost Melmaccian cousin Blinky! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Ben's 12th birthday party is put on hold when Maggie (Joanna Kerns) goes into labor--two weeks overdue. As the family rushes to the hospital in eager anticipation, Ben (Jeremy Miller) feels more crowded and left out than ever. But in the end, he manages to reaffirm his importance in the Seaver household with the help of a man named Chris (Dick O'Neill). (Trivia alert: To keep the gender of the new Seaver baby a secret from the public, the series' producers filmed two different endings for this episode). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
When Ronald Moody (Paul Lieber), the man convicted of killing DeeDee McCall's husband Steve, is paroled, McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) reopens the case on which Steve had been working at the time of his death. She also defies orders and begins tailing Moody, hoping to find a connection between him and the case. With grim inevitability, Moody turns up dead, and McCall is the Number One suspect. It is up to Hunter (Fred Dwyer) to find out who placed the phone call which framed McCall--and who had earlier set up her husband for extermination in the same manner. Franc Luz appears as the late Sgt. Steve McCall in flashbacks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Small-town banker Robin Williams has never been able to live down the fact that he dropped an important pass during a crucial high-school football game. Likewise tainted for life is the team's star quarterback Kurt Russell, now a garage owner. Fed up with living his life under a cloud, Williams hits upon a brilliant idea: he will stage a rematch-13 years after the fact--with the members of the rival team. Trouble beckons when Williams' father-in-law announces that he's rooting for the opposition. Williams is determined to win, and in pursuit of that goal he pushes his former teammates to hitherto untapped brilliance. Directed by Roger Spottiswood, The Best of Times was written by Ron Shelton, future writer/director of such delightful sports films as Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump and Tin Cup; it was Shelton, in fact, who directed most of Best of Times' climactic football game. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Kurt Russell, (more)
- 1985
This half-hour cartoon special manages to mix entertainment and education into an enjoyably balanced blend. It all begins when typical American youngsters Tad and Terry joins the magicial Sir Scrabble on a visit to the pumpkin patch, which turns out to be the first leg of their journey to the land of Nonsense. Here the kids find that all the Scrabble People are unhappy because learning has been forbidden. Using their own schoolroom knowhow, Tad and Terry set about to enlighten the Scrabbles--and to transform Nonsense into Makesense. First syndicated in the US on October 31, 1985, A Pumpkin Full of Nonsense was released to home video in 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Expanding on their Saturday Night Live characters, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd star as Jake and Elwood Blues, two white boys with black soul. Sporting cool shades and look-alike suits, Jake and Elwood are dispatched on a "mission from God" by their former teacher, Sister Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman). Said mission is to raise $5000 to save an orphanage. In the course of their zany adventures, the Blues Brothers run afoul of neo-Nazi Henry Gibson, perform the theme from Rawhide before the most unruly bar crowd in written history, and lay waste to hundreds of cars on the streets and freeways of Chicago. In case you aren't swept up in the infectuous nuttiness of the brothers Blue, you might have fun spotting film's legion of guest stars, including James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Steve Lawrence, Twiggy, Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman), Frank Oz, and Steven Spielberg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, (more)
- 1979
- Add The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang to QueueAdd The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang to top of Queue
Producer Dan Curtis also sat in the director's seat for The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang. Making no effort to whitewash its hooligan protagonists, the film recounts the wild-west exploits of the outlaw Dalton Brothers: Bob (Cliff Potts), Emmett (Larry Wilcox), Grat (Randy Quaid, who'd probably get better billing these days) and Frank (Don Collier). The story culminates in the Dalton's suicidal raid on Coffeyville, Kansas. Most of what transpires is related in flashback from the vantage point of fifty years afterward by surviving Dalton brother Emmett (hope we're not giving anything away here). The made-for-TV Last Ride of the Dalton Gang lets us know up front that "What follows here is not intended to be an accurate re-creation of fact. Not that it matters." Its original airdate was November 20, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Wilcox, Jack Palance, (more)
- 1977
Investigating the murder of a private eye, Kojak (Telly Savalas) discovers that the dead man had somehow gained access to secret police files. He determines that best way to find out who killed the gumshoe is to spread the word that the victim is still alive. And since someone must pose as the late detective, who better for the assignment than Kojak himself? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
[124828] This TV movie is a sequel to 1972's Daughters of Joshua Cabe (which was also a TV movie). Cabe (Dan Dailey) is an itinerant western trapper hoping to gain extra homesteading land by pretending to have a family. He hires three "fallen women" (Ronne Troup, Brooke Adams and Christina Hart) to pose as his daughters. Unfortunately, the real father of one of the girls kidnaps his daughter, compelling the remaining ladies to track down their missing "sister". Like the earlier movie, Daughters of Joshu Cabe Return was produced by Aaron Spelling, and was the pilot for a potential TV series. It didn't sell, but Spelling was back in 1976 with another "three girls" adventure project, Charlie's Angels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
