Melissa Gilbert Movies

When she begins to differentiate light from dark, Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) is thrilled -- perhaps, at long last, she is regaining her sight. Meanwhile, Laura (Melissa Gilbert) and Albert (Matthew Laborteaux) try to fix up Mary and Adam's "dream" cottage -- with only two mismatched paint colors at their disposal. Though disappointment is in store for Mary, it is nothing compared to the humiliation suffered by Laura and Albert when they see the hideous results of their handiwork. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When his sight is temporarily impaired in an accident, young Jordan (Ronnie Scribner) pretends to have been permanently blinded in order to keep his quarrelling parents from splitting up. At first disapproving of Jordan's charade, Laura Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert) decides to let him keep his secret, since he means no harm. Circumstances alter cases when Jordan endures a second concussion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

News that Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) is pregnant reaches New York, the home of Giles Kendall (Philip Abbott), the estranged father of Mary's husband, Adam (Linwood Boomer). Apparently hoping to mend the rift between himself and his son, Giles invites the couple to move in with him, and even offers to send Adam to law school. But when Mary loses her baby, Giles reveals the true motive for his "generosity." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, the Ingalls, Olesons, and Garveys, disillusioned with life in the "big city" of Winoka, have packed up and returned to Walnut Grove. Alas, the community has fallen into an appalling state of disrepair in their absence. With nowhere else to go, the returning families set about the task of rebuilding their beloved home town. This episode marks the final series appearance of Karl Swenson (Lars Hanson), who passed away in October of 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles (Michael Landon) spends so much time with his foster son, Albert (Matthew Laborteaux), that his biological daughter Laura (Melissa Gilbert) feels neglected. Sensing Laura's resentment, Albert sadly concludes that it would be best for all concerned if he ran away. Only after Laura has won first prize at a country fair with Albert's pet calf Fagin does she realize how selfish she has been -- whereupon she attempts to convince Albert that he is truly wanted after all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) lands a teaching job in an isolated rural community ruled by religious zealot Miss Peel (Anita Dangler). Declaring that education is the tool of Satan, Miss Peel rallies the townsfolk in opposing the school, going so far as to spread malicious lies about Mary. As it turns out, however, Miss Peel's violent opposition to book learning stems from a shameful secret -- shameful to her, that is. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In search of the person who stuffed a note reading "Be My Friend" in a bottle, Charles (Michael Landon) and Laura (Melissa Gilbert) come upon an abandoned baby. It soon develops that the child's unwed, teenaged parents were forced to part by the girl's resentful father. While Charles tries to patch things up with the couple's families, Laura grows increasingly attached to the baby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Oleson family is saddled with Mr. Oleson's obnoxious nephew Peter (Michael Sharrett), who has been sent to Walnut Grove in hopes that he will learn the proper values in life. Somehow or other, Peter ends up on the Ingalls farm, where he rapidly proceeds to rub everyone the wrong way. Even so, can there be any doubt that the troublesome youth will change his ways before the final fade-out? Guest star Nehemiah Persoff appears as Peter's father -- Scandanavian accent and all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the concluding episode of Little House on the Prairie's two-part season four finale, Mary Ingalls (Melissa Sue Anderson) cannot quite come to terms with her blindness. Reluctantly, she agrees to go to Iowa, there to attend a school for the blind. Ultimately she does so well in her studies, and adapts so satisfactorily to her affliction, that the school's teacher Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer) -- who is also blind -- asks her to stay on as his assistant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Among the students at the school for the blind where Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) works is Tom Carlin (Brad Wilkin), whose taciturn (and sighted) farmer father, Frank (John Ireland), has given Tom up as a total loss. Hoping to build Tom's self-confidence, Mary arranges for Tom to play with the football team at the less affluent of Winoka's two schools. Ultimately, Tom triumphs during a crucial game between his school and the "rich" one across town -- while the Ingalls' foster son, Albert (Matthew Laborteaux), briefly pulls duty as a "human football." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this classic episode, Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer) asks Laura Ingalls (Melissa Sue Anderson) to marry her. Though Laura loves Adam, she declines his proposal, worried that a blind couple could never properly care for a family. But a crisis during a devastating dust storm reveals that Laura and Adam are far more qualified for responsible parenthood than either of them could ever have imagined. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Perennial busybody Harriet Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) inaugurates a gossip column in the local Walnut Grove newspaper. With her usual sensitivity toward other people's feelings, she uses her column to malign a local farming family -- for no other reason than they are recent immigrants from Germany. Acting as the church's lay minister while Rev. Alden is away, Charles (Michael Landon) uses his sermon to teach Mrs. Oleson a lesson. Meanwhile, Charles' daughter Laura (Melissa Gilbert) and foster son, Albert (Matthew Laborteaux), decide to employ Harriet's journalistic methods to hoist her on her own petard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Devastating financial reverses, prompted by the closing of the town mill, force several Walnut Grove citizens to pack up and move out as Little House on the Prairie enters it fifth season. Among those leaving are Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), his wife, Caroline (Karen Grassle), and their younger daughters Laura (Melissa Gilbert), Carrie (Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush), and Grace (Wendi and Brenda Turnbaugh). Charles has decided to move his family closer to eldest daughter Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson), now attending a school for the blind in Winoka, Dakota Territory. As luck (and the scriptwriters) would have it, the Ingalls' neighbors the Garveys and the Olesons likewise relocate to Winoka. Upon their arrival, the Ingalls take in an orphan named Albert (Patrick Laborteaux), who returns with the family to Walnut Grove after an unexpected financial windfall enables the Ingalls, the Garveys, and the Olesons to go back where they feel they belong. This necessitates a few rousing episodes wherein the neighbors pitch together to rebuild Walnut Grove, which in their absence has fallen into a sad state of disrepair. At the same time, the Winoka blind school closes, whereupon Mary and her teacher-fiancé Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer) set up a new school at Walnut Grove. To this end, they hire a teacher named Hester-Sue Terhune (Ketty Lester) who, much to the dismay of status- and race-conscious social arbiter Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor), turns out to be a black woman -- and who, to the surprise of absolutely no one except Mrs. Oleson, possesses more class, sophistication, and intelligence than all the Olesons combined! The two-part "Blind Journey," in which Hester-Sue is introduced, is followed by another superb episode touching upon racial prejudice, "The Craftsman," which finds young Albert befriending an elderly Jewish merchant. Season five ends with "The Odyssey," a poignant story in which Albert and Laura run away from home to keep company with their young friend, a boy dying of leukemia. ~ All Movie Guide