Earl Hamner Movies

Adapted from the poem by Clement Clark Moore, The Night Before Christmas: A Mouse Tale concerns a family of mice who are forced to find a new place to live after they are chased out of their dwelling just before the holidays. In the course of their hardships they discover the true meaning of Christmas. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

The sixth TV-movie spinoff of the popular family series The Waltons, A Walton Easter manages to reunite all of the surviving cast members--and in so doing, unintentionally reveals why several of those performers hadn't been doing much acting recently. Throwing the orginal series' chronology to the four winds, executvie producer Earl Hamner Jr. would have us believe that the 40th wedding anniversary of John and Olivia Walton (Ralph Waite, Michael Learned) is taking place in the year 1969, which doesn't quite explain how the couple managed to have all those teenaged offspring back in the late 1930s. Once we're past this inconsistency, the story boils down to the Easter reunion of the family at Walton Mountain in West Virginia--and more specifically, the return to the fold of John-Boy Walton (Richard Thomas), now a successful TV news anchorman in New York. John-Boy has not only brought along his pregnant wife Janet (Kate McNeil), but also Aurora Jameson (Sydney Walsh), a Time magazine photojournalist who is covering the reunion. Gradually, the various intrigues of the other Waltons are shunted to the background as the film's Big Question raises its head: Will John-Boy return to New York with his city-bred wife Janet, or will he sentimentally choose to remain at Walton Mountain...with someone else by his side? A Walton Easter debuted March 30, 1997 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Picking up where Season Seven of Falcon Crest left off, Season Eight finds the scheming Melissa (Ana Alicia), former wife of powerful vintner Angela Channing's grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas), assuming full charge of the Falcon Crest winery, unceremoniously evicting Angela (Jane Wyman) from the premises. Unfortunately for Melissa, her triumph will prove to be short-lived: after losing both her child and her lover, she goes bonkers, setting fire to Falcon Crest and perishing in the conflagration. But while Melissa is definitely out of the picture, Angela's son Richard Channing (David Selby), presumed killed by the sinister organization "The Thirteen" at the end of the previous season, is actually still alive. As for "The Thirteen", the entire group is assassinated en masse by the unhinged Senator Ryder (Charles Frank), who also tries to bump off Richard before he is himself dispatched by Richard's wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan). Meanwhile, Angela's efforts to regain control of her financial empire are blocked by Pilar Ortega (Kristian Alfonso), the daughter of Falcon Crest's foreman Cesar Ortega (Castulo Guera). Pilar has married Lance, who is now in league with Richard to industrialize the Tuscany valley's wine fields with the help of a phony humanitarian organization run by "The Consortium" (apparently his brush with death vis-à-vis "The Thirteen" has not taught Richard a thing) In a further effort to take over Angela's business, Richard kidnaps Angela and subjects her to a "haunting" from the late Melissa (actually a lookalike)--and when she escapes his clutches, Richard claims the incident never happened and suggests that Angela has gone crazy. But before Richard can be named conservator of his mother's estate, Angela suddenly weds Frank Agretti (Rod Taylor), a relative of the departed Melissa. Astonishingly, this hasty action proves that Angela is in her right mind, and ultimately leads to Richard's arrest! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although the earthquake that ended Season Five of Falcon Crest resulted in only minimal damage (aside from a few quick exits by certain supporting characters), there is still plenty of "shaking" as the series enters its sixth season. For starters, unscrupulous newspaper owner Richard Channing (David Selby), in his never-ending efforts to discredit Falcon Crest winery owners Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) and Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), hires a crafy female private eye named Erin Jones (Jill Jacobson). Quickly revealing herself to be as dishonest as the day is long, Erin proceeds to frame Richard for attempted murder, tries to kill Chase and endeavors to blow up Jeff Wainwright (Edward Albert), the obsessive publicist of Chase's first-time-novelist wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan). Eventually, Chase is forced to ship Erin off to a prison in Borneo, but she manages to resurface as a popular singer--and, incidentally, to kidnap Chase and Maggie's new baby Kevin! While Erin is out of circulation, her sister Meredith (Jane Badler) proves equally adept as a destructive troublemaker. In other developments, Angela's daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) gets mixed up with Vince Karlotti (Marjoe Gortner), a phony spiritualist. Kim Novak joins the cast as a woman claiming to be Skylar, long-lost daughter of Angela's husband Peter (Cesar Romero), but who is ultimately revealed to be Kit Marlowe, a fugitive from an international criminal gang run by billionaire Roland Saunders (Robert Stack)--whose subsequent murder by poisoned cigar is at first blamed on Peter. Later on, Peter divorces Angela, but not before revealing that her arch-rival Richard Channing is actually her son, whom she thought had died at birth. And covetous truck driver Dan Fixx (Brett Cullen) arrives on the scene, determined to replace Angela's grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) as sole heir of Falcon Crest. Also, after an absence of three years, Chase's rebellious daughter Victoria returns to the series, with Dana Sparks taking over from the original Victoria, Jamie Rose. In the obligatory season-ending cliffhanger, Chase Gioberti exits the series in spectacular fashion as he tries to rescue his new baby Kevin from the ubiquitous Erin Jones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally made for television, creator Earl Hamner narrates this two-hour compilation of highlights from The Waltons TV series. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Season Two of Falcon Crest ended as Julia Cumson (Abby Dalton), the demented sister of ruthless Tuscany Valley winery owner Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) and the mother of Angela's playboy grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas), revealed herself to be the murderer of Lance's father-in-law Carlo Agretti--and in the process, gunned down Angela's nephew and chief nemesis Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), as well as Chase's mother Jacqueline. Though Chase recovers from his wounds, Jacqueline dies and Julia is carted off first to prison and then a mental insistution--but not before Carlo's daughter Melissa (Ana Alicia) and Chase's half-brother Richard (David Selby) try to manipulate poor Julia into destroying Angela's reputation in the courtroom. As Chase is nursed back to health by Jacqueline's nephew Dr. Michael Ransom (Cliff Robertson), Angela tries to take advantage of the situation by having Chase declared mentally incompetent so she can gain full control of the Falcon Crest winery. To this end, she enlist the aid of an unscrupulous physician named Dr. Lantry (Ron Rifkin)--who, own his own, schemes to kill Chase so that he can blackmail Angela. Once Lantry commits suicide, Angela is off the hook, while Dr. Ransom, exercising his power as executor of Jacqueline's will, keeps the ruthless Richard in line by stipulating that Chase will give Richard half of Jacqueline's fortune only if Chase regards his half-brother as being totally trustworthy! Elsewhere, Lance tries to return to his wife Melissa, who refuses to have anything to do with him, holding him responsible for her father's death and their son Joseph's fragile medical condition. Actually, Joseph is not Lance's son, but instead the offspring of Chase Roberti's son Cole (William R. Moses), who after his affair with Melissa entered into marriage with Linda Caproni (Mary Kate McGheehan), the daughter of an immigrant's-rights activist who has long despised Angela and her family. Meanwhile, Chase's wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan) has an awkward reunion with her sister Terry Hartford (Laura Johnson), an unregenerate prostitute who hopes to claim her share of Maggie's newfound wealth; before long, Terry has not only wormed her way into the Gioberti household, but she is also making the moves on the virtuous Dr. Ransom. Angela decides to use Terry's sordid history as leverage against Cole when the latter tries to gain custody of baby Joseph. As it turns out, Melissa is more than willing to relinquish Joseph to Angela's custody in exchange for a piece of Falcon Crest--a bit of chicanery that drives Lance to near-madness! Near the end of the season, the "Cartel" story arc that will dominate Season Four is introduced, as Richard enters into an extremely shady series of business transactions in order to build a racetrack on Angela's land. Also, Chase enters into a battle with Richard to save the local wineries; articles published in Richard's newspaper expose the connection between the dreaded Cartel and the late Jacqueline; Maggie develops a brain tumor; and a scheme is hatched to assassinate Richard at the opening of his racetrack. In the cliffhanger finale, Julia escapes from the institution, taking baby Joseph hostage; Angela is poised to enter into a marriage of convenience with her unscrupulous lawyer Phillip Erikson (Mel Ferrer); and several of the principal characters face extermination in an "accidental" plane crash. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second of three TV-movie spinoffs of the long-running series The Waltons, Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain marked the return of actress Michael Learned in the role of Olivia Walton, a part she had relinquished when her contract expired one year before the original series' cancellation in 1981. Still consigned to a tuberculosis sanitorium, Olivia has only a few scenes in the film, though she does return to Walton Mountain in time to help her daughter Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) weather a crisis. It appears as if Mary Ellen, newly wed to longtime beau Jonesy (Richard Gilliland) will be unable to have children, thanks to an auto accident; meanwhile, the rest of the Walton clan has problems of their own, including son Ben's (Eric Wilton) efforts to restore harmony between himself and his own wife Cindy (Leslie Winston). Of the original Waltons cast, only Richard Thomas, Ellen Corby and the late Will Geer were absent from the proceedings. Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain debuted May 9, 1982, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Featuring a reunion of most of the cast of the long-running family series, The Waltons, this touching drama centers on the attempt of the now grown and scattered brood of Olivia and John Walton to regroup for an old fashioned family holiday. Unfortunately, John-Boy is not among them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

As John-Boy heads to New York to find out if his novel has been accepted for publication, he recalls the events leading to this critical and anxious moment. Presented as "flashback" are choice excerpts from the previous episodes "The Typewriter", "The Literary Man" and "The Burnout". This final episode of The Waltons' fifth season also marks the final regular appearance of Richard Thomas as John-Boy Walton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Grandma (Ellen Corby) blows her top when Grandpa (Will Geer) comes home with a statue that he's won in a raffle. The statue bears a startling resemblance to one of Grandpa's old girlfriends, which of course is why he insists upon keeping it...and never mind the consequences! Elsewhere, Emily Baldwin (Mary Jackson) is outraged when John-Boy (Richard Thomas) weaves her romantic fantasies into one of his short stories. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Walton's Mountain turns into a battleground over the teaching of Evolution. Lutie Bascomb (Richard Bradford), a hard-luck farmer whose violent temper has gotten worse since the breakup of his marriage, storms into the classroom of Miss Hunter (Mariclare Costello) and accuses her of "blasphemy" for explaining Darwin's theory to Lutie's daughter Lois Mae (Laurie Prange). The war of words reaches an ominous climax when Lutie threatens to kill Miss Hunter--and not long afterward, the schoolhouse is engulfed in flames! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This animated musical, based on E.B. White's children's book classic, is about a courageous spider who helps save the life of an ill-fated pig. Wilbur is a young pig (voice of Henry Gibson) who's owned by New England farmer Homer Zuckerman (voice of Robert Holt). One day he is sold to a neighbor, where he meets a sheep who warns him that his fate lies in the confines of the slaughterhouse. Wilbur is terrified of this news until he meets Charlotte, a charming spider (voice of Debbie Reynolds), who is determined to save Wilbur from this dire destiny. By weaving words into her web, she convinces the farmer that Wilbur is some sort of prodigious animal too important to kill. The music for Charlotte's Web was written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who wrote the scores for countless Disney movies, including Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of The Waltons' two-part Season One finale (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), the outlook is bleak for Olivia Walton (Michael Learned), who has been stricken with polio and may never walk again. Refusing to accept this prognosis, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) puts his faith in a radical new medical procedure created by the legendary Sister Kenny. Meanwhile, Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) tries to teach G.W. Haines (David Doremus) to dance in time for their Easter date; and Jason (Jon Walmsley) enters an amateur song contest with his own composition, "The Ironing Board Blues". "An Easter Story" was later released theatrically in Australia as the feature film A Walton Crisis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide