Andy Griffith Movies

Why is it that, in holiday-themed TV movies, someone always comes to a small town to close down some business or other during Christmas week? In the case of A Holiday Romance, it is straitlaced school administrator Cal Peterson (Gerald McRaney), who arrives in town in the middle of the holiday season for the purpose of shutting down a local school that has been deemed extraneous. Inevitably, of course, Peterson will change his mind once he finds true love, as personified by winsome music teacher Lily Waite, played by Naomi Judd. About the only surprise in the film is the fact that neither Judd nor anyone else sings a country song at any point in the story. CBS brought forth A Holiday Romance on December 8, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Andy Griffith shed a bit of his nice-guy image in this made-for-TV movie, in which he plays Jack McGruder, the elderly father of Clarke McGruder (John Ritter), a successful lawyer. Jack has been missing for years, and Clarke has spent some time trying to track down his father's whereabouts; after the death of Clarke's mother, Jack reappears, and Clarke goes out of his way to reintegrate him with his family, allowing him to move in with his wife and son. But while Jack seems genial on the surface, there's a dark and troubling undercurrent to his personality, and in time Clarke realizes his father isn't just cranky, but dangerous. Gramps first aired in 1995, and its initial broadcast ran opposite the much-anticipated wedding episode of the popular TV series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Dr. Quinn won a decisive victory in the ratings that night, leading Andy Griffith to quip to a reporter, "It's hard to beat a 39-year-old virgin getting married." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Anchored by the folksy performance of television legend Andy Griffith, 1986-87's Matlock arrives on DVD for the first time. This hit series portrays the cases of the Atlanta defense attorney who investigates crimes and fights for his clients, usually clinching the last-minute "Not Guilty" verdict. Mr. Matlock is always aided by loyal partner and daughter Charlene (Linda Purl), and smooth private investigator Tyler Hudson (Kene Holliday). Don't let the rumpled seersucker suit fool you: under that good ol' boy demeanor lies a brilliant legal mind. This seven-disc set contains all 24 Season 1 episodes of the immensely popular series, including the two-hour TV movie that aired March 3, 1986, Diary of a Perfect Murder, that introduced the character of Ben Matlock.

"Not since Columbo has catching a killer been this clever!" That was the ad come-on for Diary of a Perfect Murder, a 1986 TV movie starring Andy Griffith as a homespun Georgia defense attorney. Griffith takes the case of a TV reporter (Steve Inwood) who has been accused of the murder of his ex-wife. In the tradition of Perry Mason, Matlock plays his cards close to the vest, then reveals the identity of the true murderer right in the courtroom. Sound familiar? It should: Diary of a Perfect Murder was the pilot film for Andy Griffith's still-running Matlock series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this prison drama, two adolescent girls are incarcerated with adults by an obsessive judge. There they are terribly exploited and abused. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on actual events from 1948 and made into a TV movie in 1983, this story concerns a corrupt Georgia businessman (Andy Griffith) who murders an employee and thinks he has gotten away with it. The local lawman (Johnny Cash) has other plans, but needs to gather enough evidence to prove his case. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV For Lovers Only was the pilot film for a potential series titled Honeymoon Hotel. Set in the Poconos, the story takes place in a fancy honeymoon resort managed by Vernon Bliss (Andy Griffith). Belying his name and professional, Bliss is far from Blissful, especially when bickering with his daughter (Deborah Raffin) and her husband, a would-be playwright (Gary Sandy). Guest stars on this first and last installment of Honeymoon Hotel include Katherine Helmond, Gordon Jump, Sally Kellerman and Jane Kaczmarzak. Look closely and you'll spot Tracy Pollan in a bit. Financed by Caesars Palace Productions, For Lovers Only was first telecast October 15, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this sci-fi film, the Vulture rocket and its crew must fly to space to save an endangered communications satellite. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The phenomenal success of the 1977 ABC miniseries Roots all but demanded a sequel to writer Alex Haley's epic story of his African and African-American forebears. Debuting February 18, 1979, Roots: The Next Generations picked up where its predecessor left off, with Haley's slave ancestors winning their freedom in the aftermath of the Civil War. Even so, life for black Americans was wrought with hardship and oppression thanks to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, the staunch refusal of the white power structure to pass anti-lynching laws, and the formation of the dreaded Jim Crow laws which legalized racial segregation in the South (and much of the North). Covering the period from 1882 to the mid-1970s, the miniseries first focuses on blacksmith Tom Harvey (Georg Stanford Brown), great-grandson of Kunta Kinte (the protagonist of the original Roots), and his family. Meanwhile, reacting to the marriage of his son to a black woman, anal-retentive Southern colonel Warner (Henry Fonda) begins setting the legal wheels in motion to deny blacks like Tom the right to vote and to hold "white" jobs. A few decades later, Tom's son-in-law encourages his fellow blacks to stand firm against the KKK's reign of terror. His labors on behalf of his race are rewarded when his daughter Bertha (Irene Cara) becomes the first descendant of Kunta Kinte to receive a college education. It is Bertha Palmer who weds the equally ambitious Simon Haley (Dorian Harewood), who goes on to serve in WWI and to organize farmers and sharecroppers during the Depression. Simon's son Alex (played at various ages by Kristoff St. John, Damon Evans, and finally James Earl Jones) is just as determined to succeed in a white man's world as his father, and to that end becomes a professional writer after his own service stint in the Coast Guard during WWII. At the height of his professional success (largely due to his having ghost-written the autobiography of Muslim activist Malcolm X), Alex Haley pays a visit to his boyhood hometown -- where, almost by accident, he receives the first clue to his heritage, a clue that will lead him on an odyssey of self-discovery, arriving full circle at Kunta Kinte's birthplace in Africa. Although the miniseries' "money scene" was Haley's nervous interview with American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell (Marlon Brando in a superb cameo turn), the climactic episode, in which Haley tearfully embraces the living African descendants of Kunta Kinte, is one of the most unforgettable moments in the history of network television. Running 12 episodes and 14 hours, Roots: The Next Generations concluded on February 25, 1979, playing to huge ratings all along the way and ultimately garnering several Emmy nominations (and one win). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Twice during the mid-1970s, Andy Griffith unsuccessfully attempted to launch a TV detective series titled Abel Marsh. The first pilot film was The Girl in the Empty Grave; the second was The Deadly Game. Griffith once again stars as resort-town sheriff Abel Marsh, this time wrestling with a sinister conspiracy involving a dangerous chemical spill. Lane Slate produced, directed and wrote the film, while Griffith's longtime manager Richard O. Linke functioned as executive producer. Deadly Game was first telecast December 3, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 12-hour TV miniseries (expanded from a 2-hour concept) was based on the political "roman a clef" The Company, by Watergate coconspirator John Erlichman. It was originally titled simply Washington; the Behind Closed Doors part was added to avoid a potential lawsuit from Gore Vidal, author of Washington DC. This thinly disguised recap of the Watergate affair stars Jason Robards as paranoid president Richard M. Monckton, who "buys" his election by making a covert deal with the FBI. Once he's sold his soul, Monckton leaves his administration wide open for corruption. Also appearing in this ham-handed affair are Cliff Robertson as the CIA director, Robert Vaughn as the Machiavellian chief of staff, Andy Griffith as the Southern-born former president, Lois Nettelton as Monckton's mistress, and Stefanie Powers as a domestic spy. With a Southeast Asian war, questionable campaign contributions and a hotel break-in in the manifest, only the most obtuse viewer of Washington: Behind Closed Doors will wonder who's supposedly who in the cast list. The miniseries originally ran from September 6 through 12, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide