Caryl Ledner Movies
- 1982
Jean Stapleton stars as Eleanor Roosevelt in this made-for-TV biography, first telecast May 12, 1982. The film recounts Mrs. Roosevelt's life after the 1945 death of her husband, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. At the request of new president Truman, Eleanor serves as a United Nations delegate, spending much of her time tilting with dedicated anti-FDR politico John Foster Dulles (E.G. Marshall). She goes on to spearhead the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proving to Dulles--and to Soviet delegate Freddie Jones--that she's anything but soft on Communism. The winning teleplay for Eleanor: First Lady of the World was by Caryl Ledner and Cynthia Mandenberg. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
For her dramatic acting debut, singer Marie Osmond chose this sentimental adaptation of the venerable Yuletide short story The Gift of the Magi, previously filmed in 1952 as a segment of the omnibus feature film O. Henry's Full House. Set in turn-of-the-century New York, The Gift of Love casts Osmond as young heiress Beth Atherton, who gives up her life of privilege and luxury to become the wife of poverty-stricken immigrant Rudi Miller (Timothy Bottoms). Though he finds work as a clerk, Rudi is unable to afford a decent Christmas gift for Beth, nor is she able to scrounge enough money from the household budget to purchase a gift for her husband. What happens next hinges on the fact that Rudi is inordinately proud of his gold watch, while Beth takes equal pride in her long, flowing hair. Produced by star Marie Osmond's brothers, The Gift of Love made its ABC network debut on December 8, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Journalist William Allen White, the Pulitzer Prize-winning sage of Emporia, Kansas, lost his beloved 16-year-old daughter Mary when she was killed in a horseback-riding accident in 1921. The grieving White then wrote a newspaper editorial celebrating his daughter's life, which he printed in his own Emporia Gazette and which has since attained classic status. The made-for-TV Mary White uses the editorial as a reference point for a series of flashbacks, recalling Mary's last year on earth. The events are put in context with the social temper of the times, as both father and daughter fight against such exigencies as segregation and in favor of Women's Suffrage. Ed Flanders plays White, while Kathleen Beller is seen as Mary, and Fionnuala Flannagan portrays Mrs. White. Refreshingly free of phony sentimentality, the moving, inspirational Mary White premiered on November 18, 1977 ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ed Flanders, Kathleen Beller, (more)
- 1974
The Walton youngsters are impressed by the big-city sophistication of their new neighbors, the Hanovers. Having left his job as a New York stockbroker, Ted Hanover (Mark Miller) has moved to Walton's Mountain in order to impress upon his children the pleasures of living the simple life. Alas, the spoiled-rotten Hanover kids don't see things Ted's way at all, and before long they have persuaded the Walton kids that they're wasting their time living in "the sticks." The situation reaches the crisis stage when Ted's callow son Charles (David Gruner) tries to take advantage of innocent Erin Walton (Mary Elizabeth McDonough). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1972
The Great American Tragedy is a melodrama about an aerospace engineer and his family who struggle to survive after he suddenly loses his job. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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