Ilene Graff Movies

Writer/director Katherine Brooks adapts the classic lesbian drama Mädchen in Uniform with this tale of a precocious senator's daughter and Catholic boarding school student who falls desperately in love with her beautiful poetry teacher. Simone Bradley (Diane Gaidry) is a teacher who finds peace within the walls of Saint Theresa's school, and purpose in bringing the wonders of poetry to her young female students. Though newly arrived student Annabelle (Erin Kelly) has notable intelligence and charisma to spare, her fiery disobedience finds the stern headmistress imploring Simone to reign in the young rebel. But Annabelle's insubordination is about to become the least of Simone's concerns, because when the advances of the passionate young woman reveal her teacher's innermost desires, the devoted teacher will be forced to choose between her career and an affair that could quite possibly destroy her livelihood. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Rodney Dangerfield plays it cute in this comedy directed by veteran director Sidney J. Furie. Dangerfield plays Chester Lee, a man so anxious for a promotion that he agrees to coach a girl's soccer team his company is sponsoring. If the team has a winning season, Chester will get his promotion. The only problem is that Chester knows nothing about soccer and the team is incompetent. If Chester doesn't get his raise he won't be able to marry his sweetheart Bess (Illene Graff), so he persuades his son Matthew (Jonathan Brandis), who is an expert soccer player, to don a wig and join the team as one of the girls. With Matthew on the team, they make their way to the championship, but Bess discovers the ruse and forces Chester to chose between her and the job. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this romance, a woman campaigns against a handsome actor in a mayoral race in their small seaside town. Trouble ensues when she falls in love with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Beulah Land is an edited, movie-length version of the three-part TV miniseries adaptation of Lonnie Coleman's multi-part novels. The film is set in the Old South, with a time span ranging from 1827 to the postwar Reconstruction Era. Lesley Ann Warren stars as Sarah Kendrick, young belle of the Beulah Land plantation, who finds herself in love with a "damn Yankee." Sarah must also contend with a weakling brother (Paul Rudd) and a former slave (Dorian Harewood) who demands freedom as a right rather than a privilege. Beulah Land took forever to get before the cameras due to protests from black historical organizations; when it was finally telecast on October 7-9, 1980, NBC conducted a low-pressure ad campaign, as though the network was still fearful of stepping on toes despite the testimonial of a black Yale history professor, who commended the production for its "special sensitivity." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide