Victor French Movies

In the first episode of a two-part story, Arthur Hill guest stars as Lansford Ingalls, the father of farmer Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon). Sensing that his dad has lost the will to live since the death of his wife, Charles invites Lansford to move in with his family at Walnut Grove. At first, Charles' kids welcome Grandpa Lansford with open arms, but things turn unexpectedly sour. Matthew Laborteaux, who later joined the series' cast as the Ingalls' adopted son, Albert, is here seen as the younger Charles Ingalls in a flashback sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Red Buttons guest stars as charismatic traveling circus man Mr. O'Hara. While performing magic tricks for the Walnut Grove citizenry, O'Hara leads his audience to believe that his "special" powders have marvelous healing powers. Falling for the circus man's blarney hook, line, and sinker, Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) ends up endangering her health -- not to mention her life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At last year's annual baseball game with the Sleepy Eye Greenstockings, the Walnut Grove team lost 36 to nothing. Determined to avenge this humiliation, the men of Walnut Grove have placed their hopes in the hands of ace pitcher Jebediah Mumfort (Karl Lukas). The town goes so far as to plunk down huge wagers on the outcome of the game -- whereupon Mumfort is forbidden from playing by his wife, Margaret (June Dayton), a staunchly religious woman who despises all forms of gambling. It is up to Caroline Ingalls (Karen Grassle) to save the day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Patricia Neal guest stars as Julie Sanderson, a terminally ill widow. On the threshold of death, Julia asks Charles (Michael Landon) to find good homes for her three children. In his efforts to honor Julia's wishes, Charles is faced with the depressing likelihood that the Sanderson kids will have to be split up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season two of Little House on the Prairie opens with Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon) losing his "outside" job when Lars Hanson (Karl Swenson) is forced to close Walnut Grove's mill. Back at home, Charles' daughter Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) begins to notice signs that her eyesight is fading (she would not become totally blind for several seasons). Elsewhere, mean old Ebenezer Sprague (Ted Gehring) is appointed town banker; the widow Thurman (Mariette Hartley) is suspected of having an affair with the very married Charles Ingalls; and Charles' daughters Mary and Laura (Melissa Gilbert) experience a hair-raising adventure in the episode titled "The Runaway Caboose." Another episode, the two-part "Remember Me," finds Charles seeking out proper homes for three orphaned children -- prompting taciturn Isaiah Edwards (Victor French, still a recurring rather than regular supporting player) to marry Grace Snider (Bonnie Bartlett) and adopt the children. In the season's final episode, Charles Ingalls considers moving back to Wisconsin after his crops are wiped out by a tornado...and little Mary receives her first kiss. ~ All Movie Guide

With her 80th birthday approaching, Miss Amy Hearn (Josephine Hutchinson) begins to brood over her mortality, especially after the death of a close friend. She also frets over the possibility that her family has forgotten all about her. With the help of the Ingalls family, Miss Amy fakes her own death and transforms her birthday party into a wake -- just to make sure that her loved ones will show up. Series co-star Victor French directed this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Ingalls children are left in the care of Mr. Edwards (Victor French) when Charles (Michael Landon) takes Caroline (Karen Grassle) on a second honeymoon in the city. Alas, Caroline has no fun at all, worrying as she does about leaving her daughters in the hands of an inexperienced adult. And back in Walnut Grove, Edwards soon learns that there is more to being a "parent" than just having good intentions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Its premise established by a two-hour TV movie in March of 1974, Little House on the Prairie begins its first season with Wisconsin farmer Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), his wife, Caroline (Karen Grassle), and daughters Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson), Laura (Melissa Gilbert), and Carrie (Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush) living in the town of Walnut Grove, MN, in the mid-1870s. Money is tight, so Charles must seek out other sources of income, including a job at the town mill owned by Lars Hanson (Karl Swenson). Caroline is pregnant again, but ultimately loses the baby. Mary and Laura attend school for the first time in their lives, under the tutelage of the firm but fair Miss Beadle (Charlotte Stewart). Town gossip and self-styled social arbiter Harriet Oleson (Katherine MacGregor), wife of good-natured storekeeper Nels Oleson (Richard Bull), is determined to disgrace the Ingalls so that they'll leave town, while her bratty daughter, Nellie (Alison Arngrim), endeavors to make life miserable for the Ingalls girls -- though her schemes invariably backfire (both Harriett and Nellie are more villainous and less buffoonish than they'd be in later seasons). As the Ingalls meet and make friends with the other townsfolk, Charles welcomes an old acquaintance to Walnut Grove: hard-drinking Isaiah Edwards (Victor French, not yet a series regular but merely a recurring character), whose curmudgeonly ways soften when he meets and falls in love with townswoman Grace Snider (Bonnie Bartlett). Guest stars during season one include Red Buttons as a sideshow huckster; Anne Archer as Harriet Oleson's niece Kate, who briefly falls for town medico Dr. Baker (Jonathan Gilbert), and, in the poignant two-part episode "The Lord Is My Shepherd," Ernest Borgnine as a rough-hewn mountaineer who rescues the runaway Laura. Their triumphs outweighing their tragedies at the end of the season, the Ingalls and the townsfolk close out the year with a riotous Frontier's Day celebration. ~ All Movie Guide

Once again, the Waltons play host to blacksmith Curtis Norton and his city-bred bride Ann, characters introduced in the first-season episode "The Bicycle" (Ivy Jones returns as Ann, while Victor French takes over from Ned Beatty as Curtis). But the news the Nortons bring with them is far from good: they have been told that they can never have children. At the same time, embittered eight-year-old orphan Stevie (Tiger Williams) is also staying with the Waltons. In any other TV series, this situation would immediately culminate in a happy ending, with the Nortons adopting Stevie--but in this case, Ann Norton is none too keen about adopting anyone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This low-budget, Atlanta-lensed blend of horror and "blaxploitation" elements is basically a Ten Little Indians variant with a touch of voodoo thrown in for spice. The plot involves members of a family who are gathering at the decrepit estate of a legendary voodoo priestess for the reading of her will; the potential heirs are systematically murdered by the woman's butler (Jean Durand), who practices a diabolical form of voodoo himself. The cast is whittled down to two survivors (Victor French and Janee Michelle) before the killer's plan is undone. A justly forgotten relic of '70s horror-exploitation, this boring film was directed by television producer Ron Honthaner, who should have stuck with Gunsmoke. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

A meek, downtrodden man named Staley (Mario Roccuzzo) hopes to get even for a lifetime of being browbeaten and humiliated. His plan involves planting a time bomb in a high-rise office building, then tipping off the FBI. The problem facing Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is the fact that Staley has neglected to reveal the name of the city where the building is standing! Prominently featured in the cast is Victor French, soon to be a fixture of such Michael Landon-produced efforts as Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ponderosa ranchhand Dusty Rhodes (Lou Frizzell) has landed in jail. The only man who can clear Dusty is an itinerant, ill-tempered wrestler named Tom Callahan (Victor French), who is nowhere to be found. While searching for the reluctant witness, Joe Cartwright not only runs afoul of Callahan but also Callahan's girl Evangeline (Sandy Duncan in her TV debut), a deceptively frail-looking lass who is capable of smashing barrels with her head! Written by Preston Wood, "An Earthquake Called Callahan" originally aired on April 11, 1971, as the final episode of Bonanza's twelfth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles Bronson stars in this revisionist western directed by Michael Winner. The film concerns an Apache half-breed, Pardon Chato (Charles Bronson), who finds himself pursued by a relentless posse, headed by Joshua Everette (Jack Palance), after Chato has killed a white sheriff. But when members of Everette's posse rape Chato's wife, Chato stops running. Instead, Chato reverses course and begins to hunt down the posse, seeking vengeful retribution for the rape. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide