Melissa Gilbert Movies
Actress Melissa Gilbert literally grew up before our eyes in the role of Laura Ingalls on the TV series Little House on the Prairie. A professional from the age of 3, Gilbert was ten years old when she assumed the role of Laura, and in her mid-20s when Little House branched off into a handful of TV movies in the 1980s. Outside of this series, Gilbert was the uncrowned queen of the TV remakes: She starred as young Helen Keller in 1979's The Miracle Worker, played the title role in 1980's The Diary of Anne Frank, and assumed the old Natalie Wood role in 1981's Splendor in the Grass. More recently, she has been showing up in made-for-TV biopics, e.g. Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story (1993) and Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story (1994). Gilbert's latter-day series-TV work has included the parts of Kate Delany in Sweet Justice and Rochelle in Stand By Your Man; she has also been heard as the voice of Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, in the daily Batman: The Animated Series. In all of these, she has been billed under her married name of Gilbert-Brinkman (her marriage to Bo Brinkman has since dissolved). Melissa Gilbert is the sister of Sara Gilbert, who played Darlene on TV's Roseanne; her grandfather, Harry Crane, was one of the creators of the Jackie Gleason series The Honeymooners. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1993
Michael Landon: Memories With Laughter & Love is a poignant tribute to one of Hollywood's most beloved and respected actors. Hosted by Michael Landon Jr., Leslie Landon Matthews, Melissa Gilbert, and David Canary, this magnificent profile takes a nostalgic look at Landon's work in television and film, from his starring role in I Was a Teenage Werewolf and the early days as Little Joe on Bonanza to the Emmy-winning Little House on the Prairie and his last role on Highway to Heaven. A losing battle with cancer ended Landon's legendary career, which was marked by an undaunted commitment to family-oriented prime-time programming. Through rare interviews and precious clips, viewers can once again experience the magic Landon brought to the screen. ~ Scott Albright, All Movie Guide
This made-for-television drama is based on the true story of a woman's search for her birth parents. Melissa Gilbert-Boxleitner stars as Julie, a woman about to undergo surgery. Confronted with questions about her medical history, Julie learns for the first time that she in fact was adopted as an infant. The revelation sparks a desire within Julie to seek out her birth parents and sends her on a quest for the truth. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Melissa Gilbert-Boxleitner and Mel Harris star as two female police officers fighting the police force in this made-for-TV movie about sexual harassment in the workplace. After Miranda Berkley (Harris) breaks up with her boyfriend/superior officer, she and her partner find themselves on-the-job without any support from fellow officers. They lodge a formal complaint against their superiors and are then forced to suffer the consequences from their angry male colleagues. Based on a true story, this made-for-TV movie debuted on May 11, 1993. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Harris, Melissa Gilbert, (more)
- 1992
In the process of trying to rediscover her identity, a young amnesiac leads herself and her employer on an investigation into her past that leads them into danger. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
The crush felt by a young boy for his father's girlfriend creates heartbreak when the adults call the relationship off. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1990
Drawn from the novel by Kate Wilhelm, this made-for-cable thriller stars Melissa Gilbert as a grieving young mother who doubts her sanity after seeing the daughter she lost in a car accident. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Donor is a variation on a familiar theme, played to the hilt by a topnotch cast. Doctor Melissa Gilbert-Brinkman is shocked when her close friend is strangled by an elderly patient. Before she has a chance to investigate, the killer himself dies in a mysterious accident. Probing further, Melissa deduces that the hospital administators are hiding something from her. She's right: there's a conspiracy in the making, and it's all traceable to a new organ-donor program. Pernell Roberts and Jack Scalia costar in Donor, which made its broadcast premiere December 9, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Gilbert, Jack Scalia, (more)
- 1990
Forbidden Nights is set in the Red China of 1979. Robin Shou plays a Chinese radical, working on behalf of bringing political reform to his homeland. Melissa Gilbert costars as an American teacher who falls in love with Shou. The dramatic thrust of the story is Ms. Gilbert's willingness to put her own life on the line for Shou's ideals. This made-for-TV star-crossed romance was filmed in Hong Kong, seven years before it too would fall within the Mainland China orbit. Forbidden Nights was directed by Waris Hussein, the Indian-born craftsman responsible for such theatrical features as Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970) and The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Without Her Consent is a better than average "issue of the week" TV movie. This week's issue is rape--specifically, acquaintance rape. Melissa Gilbert plays a young woman who is sexually assaulted by a man (Scott Valentine) whom she has known for quite some time. She files charges, but he claims in court that she invited the attack. Barry Tubb costars as Gilbert's boy friend, who seeks other avenues of redress when the courts fail him. Based on a true story, Without Her Consent debuted on January 14, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Crystal Bernard stars as a woman searching for answers about her eccentric grandfather's death, in this made-for-television movie. Bernard stars as Shelly, a woman who wants to find out why her grand-dad was killed after she uncovers that he and a partner were secretly masquerading as costume-wearing, crime-fighting, super-heroes. The film was intended as the pilot for a series. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcus Gilbert, Crystal Bernard, (more)
- 1989
This movie is based on the stage play Ice House by Bo Brinkman, who plays the lead in this film. In the story, Pake (Brinkman) has given up a well-paid job in the oil fields of Texas to try to break into the music business. Instead, he finds himself broke and dejected in a hotel room in L.A. He arranges a meeting with his old girlfriend Kay (Melissa Gilbert). She turns up with her current boyfriend and fiancee (Andreas Manolikakis), a Greek immigrant who hopes that by marrying her he will obtain permanent resident status in the U.S. His plans are jeopardized by Pake's efforts to convince Kay that she should go back to Texas with him and become his wife. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Gilbert, Bo Brinkman, (more)
- 1988
When an institutionalized patient who is forcibly released commits murder, the treating psychiatrist's career is in jeopardy. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1987
A blushing bride (Melissa Gilbert) doesn't catch on that something's fishy when her new husband (Joe Penny), last name "Moran", introduces her to his distinctly Italian family, who kiss each other's hands a lot. In fact, she doesn't tumble to the fact that her "perfect" spouse is a Mafiosa until it's Too Late. Before she knows what's happening, the wide-eyed (and soft-headed) girl is swept up in drug trafficking. To keep the Italian anti-defamation league at arm's length, the producers of this film contrive to have Tony Franciosa portray an Italian-American FBI agent who comes to the heroine's rescue. Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife was originally telecast January 18, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Tony Richardson, who in his days of prominence directed the Oscar-winning Tom Jones (1963), demonstrated in 1986's Penalty Phase that the intervening years did not dim his talent in the least. Peter Strauss stars as a liberal judge, in the midst of a re-election campaign. Strauss has been under fire from his enemies for being too soft on criminals. He intends to prove otherwise while presiding over the case of a vicious mass murderer and rapist (Richard Chaves). Shortly after a guilty verdict is reached, Strauss is tipped off anonymously that the defendant right's may have been violated during interrogation. While the jury enters "the penalty phase" wherein they must decide on proper punishment, Strauss undergoes a profound moral dilemma: Should he honor the letter of the law, thereby incurring public wrath and losing all hopes for being re-elected? Scripted by former lawyer Gail Patrick Hickman, the made-for-TV Penalty Phase was originally telecast November 18, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Melissa Gilbert acquits herself well in this old-fashioned family drama about a gritty Texas orphan named Charlie (Gilbert), a substitute parent for her brothers, determined to succeed in life by converting an unmanageable rodeo horse into an equestrian champion. The transformation from equine dross to championship dressage is not an easy road, and helping Charlie is the often tipsy but tough Foster (Richard Farnsworth), as well as Matt, the man who captures her heart (Michael Schoeffling). After they succeed in training the actually talented horse, they head for the blue grass and bluer blood of Kentucky, where the equestrian and racing elite hold court over all, including newcomers from Texas. Now they have to coax the horse to make it through the formal dressage, cross-country, and jumping competitions -- and to do that in top form. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Farnsworth, Melissa Gilbert, (more)
- 1984
A baby kidnapping strikes the Ingalls family in this made-for-television movie which was based on the popular series Little House on the Prairie. In this story, Laura (Melissa Gilbert) and her husband Almanzo's (Dean Butler) baby, Rose, is kidnapped during the Christmas holiday season. The family goes in search of the child and finds a woman who stole the baby because she wanted a child of her own. In keeping with the show's family-values tone, they try to help the woman find a needy child at an orphanage. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Maureen Stapleton, Stefanie Powers and Melissa Gilbert represent three generations of women in one family in this made-for-TV movie. Recently widowed, Stapleton invites her divorced daughter Powers, and Powers' illegitimate daughter Gilbert, for a weekend get-together. The catalyst for the film's cascade of bickering, reminiscences, and regrets is Stapleton's announcement that she plans to move from the family home and into a condominium. In addition to starring, Stefanie Powers also came up with the film's premise and functioned as co-producer. A "General Foods Showcase" TV presentation, Family Secrets first aired on May 13, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Little House: The Last Farewell was the third and last TV movie based on the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder (which also inspired the long-running TV series), though it was telecast out of sequence, shown before the second film, Little House: Look Back to Yesterday. This valedictory adventure of the Ingalls family finds their hometown of Walnut Grove being purchased by an evil miner (the ancestor, no doubt, of the evil land developers seen in all those Spielberg-produced films). Rather than allow themselves to be thrown off their land, Pa and Ma Ingels (Michael Landon and Karen Grassle), in concert with the rest of the townsfolk, take arms against a sea of troubles. But when ordered to evacuate the premises by the Law, the Walnut Grove residents exact a more spectacular method of getting even with the miner. The "surprise" ending of The Last Farewell, in which Walnut Grove is dynamited into oblivion, was the worst-kept secret of the 1983-1984 season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Choices of the Heart (aka In December the Roses Will Bloom Again) recounts the life and death of Irish lay missionary Jean Donovan. Together with three American nuns, the 27-year-old Donovan (here played by Melissa Gilbert) was murdered in El Salvador in 1980. Constructed in a complex flashback-flashforward style, the film shows how Donovan went from a selfish, materialistic girl to a champion of human rights. Martin Sheen plays the priest who is instrumental in Donovan's turnaround. The increasing demand for the US to withdraw its support of El Salvador's military-oriented government is a secondary but vital ingredient to the full dramatic impact of this made-for-TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Gilbert, Martin Sheen, (more)
- 1983
This version of Hans Christian Andersen's story was produced for Faerie Tale Theatre. It is the story of a young maiden who bravely faces the fearsome ice-hearted Snow Queen in order to free her beloved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Although the NBC television series Little House on the Prairie ran its course in March of 1983, producer/star Michael Landon managed to extend the property's life for an additional year with the aid of three expensively mounted TV-movie sequels. The first of these was Little House: Look Back to Yesterday, in which 19th century farmer Charles Ingalls (Landon) paid a return visit to Walnut Grove. During his stay, Charles learns to his horror that his son Albert (Matthew Laborteaux), a doctor in training, has contacted a blood disease that nearly always results in a slow and painful death. The other citizens are sympathetic, but have problems of their own -- namely, an economic recession that threatens to destroy the community. Of the original cast members, only Karen Grassle (Caroline Ingalls) was conspicuous by her absence, while Victor French pulled double duty as the film's director and in his familiar role of Isaiah Edwards (NBC publicity at the time suggested that Landon himself directed, though all print ads gave credit where credit was due). Look Back to Yesterday first aired on December 12, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
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Little House on the Prairie commences its ninth season with a new title -- Little House: A New Beginning -- and minus the series' longtime stars Michael Landon and Karen Grassle. When Charles Ingalls (Landon), his wife, Caroline (Karen Grassle), and their younger children (both "natural" and adopted) leave the family farm and move to Burr Oak, IA, the only Ingalls left in Walnut Grove is daughter Laura (Melissa Gilbert), now the wife of Almanzo Wilder (Dean Butler). The Ingalls' old farm is sold to blacksmith John Carter (Stan Ivar) and his wife, Sarah (Pamela Roylance). Having recently given birth to daughter Rose, Laura becomes surrogate mother to her orphaned niece, Jenny (Shannen Doherty), and of necessity must give up her teaching job to new schoolmarm Etta Plum (played by Leslie Landon, daughter of Michael Landon). Meanwhile, the bitter loneliness of the Ingalls' longtime friend Isaiah Edwards (Victor French) is relieved when Edwards adopts an abused young sideshow performer named Matthew (Jonathan Hall Kovacs). In other developments, Laura begins her literary career; her adoptive brother Albert (Patrick Laborteaux) shakes a serious morphine addiction and makes plans to become a doctor; and the formerly bratty Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim) returns to town for a confrontation with her youthful "clone," Nancy (Allison Balson). Although the nine-year Little House saga ends on a bittersweet note, the property would return for a trio of uplifting and forward-looking TV movies, produced during the 1983-1984 season. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1982
In the conclusion of a two-part story, James (Jason Bateman) remains in a coma after being shot in a bank robbery. Everyone has given up hope for the boy's recovery except his adoptive father, Charles (Michael Landon), whose obsessive belief that a "miracle" will occur alienates him from his family and all but drives him insane. Ultimately, Charles builds an altar and places James upon it, hoping against hope that God will save the boy. An astonishing climax caps this, the final episode of Little House on the Prairie (though the series would be revamped in the fall of 1982 under the title Little House: A New Beginning). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
