Valerie Harper Movies
Actress Valerie Harper's fame largely rests on her colorful portrayal of television's "New Yawk-er" Rhoda Morgenstern. After growing up in Oregon, Michigan and Jersey City, Harper became a chorus dancer in the Big Apple, hoofing with the Radio City Rockettes and performing in such Broadway musicals as Li'l Abner, Take Me Along, Wildcat and Subways Are for Sleeping. Her first film appearance was in the 1959 movie adaptation of Li'l Abner. While spending her nights on stage, she attended Hunter College and the New School for Social Research, supporting herself between dancing gigs as a telephone canvasser and hat-check girl. During the 1960s, she did comedy-improv work with Second City and Paul Sill's Story Theatre (one of her co-workers during her Sills years was her first husband, comic actor Richard Schaal). In the popular mid-1960s comedy record album When You're in Love, the Whole World is Jewish, Harper can be heard offering an embryonic version of Rhoda Morgenstern, a character she based on her childhood friend Penny Almog. So well-grounded was she in Rhoda-like characterizations by 1970 that she was hired for The Mary Tyler Moore Show (her first regular TV-series gig) on the basis of a one-sentence audition. After winning three Emmies for her Mary Tyler Moore work, Harper was spun off into her own series in 1974, titled Rhoda. Though it opened to excellent ratings (thanks largely to the one-hour episode in which Rhoda married her blue-collar fiance Joe [David Groh]), Rhoda was never as big a hit as Mary Tyler Moore, and it left the air in 1978. During this period, Harper made her formal film debut in Freebie and the Bean (1974), earning a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of a Puerto Rican housewife. After toting up several stage and TV-movie credits, she returned to the weekly-series grind in 1986 with Valerie. She walked out on the show over a salary dispute, whereupon the producers fired her and retooled the series into The Hogan Family, which ran without Harper until 1991. She has starred in two series since leaving Valerie (1990's City and 1995's The Office) but has been unable to latch onto a character with the staying power of Rhoda Morgenstern. Additional appearances in Melrose Place, Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, and Drop Dead Diva followed, Extremely active in prosocial causes off-camera, Valerie Harper was co-founder of an anti-hunger organization called LIFE (Love Is Feeding Everyone). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 2007
Inspired by the record-breaking Broadway hit that sold out for 15 straight months in New York City before being voted Best Touring Play of 2006, Tony award-winning playwright William Gibson's reflection on the life of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir stars Valerie Harper as one of the most important female politicians of the 20th century. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Valerie Harper
- 2002
Jacqueline Bisset stars as Maggie, a Keats-quoting professor of English literature, on the verge of celebrating her 25th anniversary. But Maggie's euphoria evaporates when she discovers that her husband Tom has been flagrantly cheating on her for these many years. Dispirited, she returns to her hometown of Harvest Moon, retreating to the tranquil lake where she had fallen in love with the late Patrick Fleming three decades earlier. By and by, the fiftysomething Maggie is attracted to Patrick's handsome son Tom (Eric Mabius), who is literally half her age. The question: Is Maggie truly enamored of Tom, or is she merely romancing the ghost of Tom's father? Valerie Harper provides some much-needed relief from the overall bathos in the traditional "wisecracking best friend" role. Based on a novel by K.C. McKinnon, the made-for-TV Dancing at the Harvest Moon first aired October 20, 2002, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) and Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) from The Mary Tyler Moore Show reunite in this made-for-TV movie. In this go around, both Mary and Rhoda find themselves alone after the death of Mary's husband and Rhoda's divorce. Both try to jumpstart their dormant careers and reconnect with their daughters. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, (more)
- 1999
In this sequel to the second-season Touched by an Angel episode "Flesh and Blood", the prayers of Monica's former "client" Kate Prescott (Valerie Harper) have been answered, and her wayward son Tom (Anthony Michael Hall) has returned home after seven years. But though innocent of the murder charges that had compelled him to run away from home so long ago, the troublesome Tom has still not completely reformed, and continues to abuse drugs. Even worse, Tom's bad habits are imperiling the future of his own son Dylan (Justin Cooper). With Monica's help, Kate hopes to atone for past wrongs done to Dylan by trying to do put Dylan on the right track--but it takes a serious medical crisis to bring closure to the situation, for better or worse. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1996
Although young Tom Prescott (Anthony Michael Hall) has been acquitted of murdering a female college student, the victim's vengeful father Leonard Page (Norman Parker) succeeds in driving both Tom and his mother Kate (Valerie Harper) out of town. As Tess (Della Reese) attends to her assignment of helping Page find forgiveness in his heart, Monica (Roma Downey) befriends the beleagured Kate, who continues to protest her son's innocence. Things take a sinister turn when Kate stumbles upon evidence which seems to prove that Tom was guilty after all! Popular TV talkshow host Sally Jessy Raphael guest stars as a friendly bus driver. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1995
A pair of teenage girls decide to switch families for a while to prove that each of their own clans likes the other girl better. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Valerie Harper, Shelley Fabares, (more)
A recently transferred high-school student finds herself walking a double-edged sword in her attempt to court friendship with the powerfully popular but frighteningly unpredictable head cheerleader in a disturbing look at the adolescent social hierarchy starring Tori Spelling and Kellie Martin. Angela Delvecchio (Kellie Martin) has just transferred to a new high school, and popularity is her highest priority. Her burgeoning friendship with beautiful cheerleader Stacy Lockwood (Spelling) a sure sign that she is fast making headway with the in crowd, Angela quickly discovers that it doesn't take much for her new best friend to become her new worst enemy. Now, as the vengeful Stacy unleashes a firestorm of cruelty and humiliation on the increasingly vulnerable transfer student, Angela grows unstable for fear of what horrors her venomous teen tormentor will inflict upon her next. But Angela isn't one to take Stacy's abuse in stride, and before the semester is over, the unrelenting tyranny of the cold-blooded cheerleader will lead the newest girl in school to commit an act so shocking that it will shake the entire community. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tori Spelling, Kellie Martin, (more)
- 1993
Produced by Monterey Home Video, Poetry Hall of Fame 2 is the second volume of a four-part video series hosted by actress Valerie Harper. Verse written by some of the world's most famous poets are recited by well-known performers who eloquently bring alive the poets' words of wisdom, joy, hope and fear. The video presents a wide selection of poems including, "Afterwards" by Thomas Hardy, "Sweet Spring is Your Time" by E.E. Cummings, "Facade Tarantella" by Edith Sitwell, "Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley, and others. ~ Kristin Alynn Hussein, Rovi
- 1993
Produced by Monterey Home Video, Poetry Hall of Fame 3 is the third volume of a four-part video series hosted by actress Valerie Harper. Verse written by some of the world's most famous poets are recited by well-known performers who eloquently bring alive the poets' words of wisdom, joy, hope, humor and fear. The video presents a wide selection of poems including Edward Lear's "The Owl and the Pussycat," W.H. Auden's "Carry Her Over the Water," "The Rubaiyat" by Omar Khayyham, "To Helen" by Edgar Allan Poe and more. ~ Kristin Alynn Hussein, Rovi
- 1993
This PBS video is one of a four-part series that presents some of the greatest poets in the annals of literature. Selections from their works are read by Hollywood actors. In this volume, the readings are performed by William Shatner, Vincent Price, Valerie Harper, and LeVar Burton. Among the authors whose poetry is represented are Shakespeare, Longfellow, Shelley, Millay, and Sandburg. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, Rovi
- 1991
Raymond Burr once more takes on a murder case and once more reveals the genuine killer at the very last moment in Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion. The setting is the world of high fashion, but that doesn't stop the writers from throwing in a few mobsters for good measure. The victim this time is nasty fashion magazine editor Valerie Harper (with a blonde wig!) The accused is rival editor Diana Muldaur. As Perry Mason, Burr matches wits with prosecuting attorney Scott Baio (yes, that Scott Baio) in seeing to it that the truth will out. The Case of the Fatal Fashion was the fourth and final "Perry Mason" TV-movie of 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1990
Happy Birthday, Bugs: 50 Looney Years is a television special celebrating 50 years of Bugs Bunny cartoons, complete with testimonials from various celebrities and a terrific end-piece "50 Years of Bugs in 3 Minutes," which features a manic collection of highlights compiled by Academy Award-winner Chuck Workman (he won for his animated short, Precious Images). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- 1990
- PG13
A husband goes middle-age bonkers and leaves his wife in this comedy. Now she is determined to show him that she doesn't need him anyway. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Valerie Harper, Elliott Gould, (more)
- 1989
This performance features dramatic reading of poetry and prose from women writers of our time. ~ Rovi
- 1988
In this thriller, city slickers chuck their careers, pull up stakes and take up residence at a peaceful lakeside community to escape the urban rat race. Unfortunately, they soon discover that things are not as peaceful as they seem when the husband finds a mutilated corpse floating in the lake. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Valerie Harper, Gerald McRaney, (more)
- 1988
The first new TV-movie of 1988 (it debuted January 1st), Drop-Out Mother is a belated follow-up to the 1983 Dick Van Dyke vehicle Drop-Out Father. Valerie Harper plays a busy executive who decides one day to turn her back on the business world to become a full-time mom. Problem is, her husband and kids have pretty full lives, thus they can't quite accommodate her. Wayne Rogers plays hubby, Danny Gerard and Alyson Court are the kids, and Carol Kane is the obligatory Best Friend. Drop-Out Mother passes the time, but it's a far cry from its consistently entertaining 1983 predecessor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1987
College girl Nancy McKeon, up until recently the picture of normality, suddenly displays signs of schizophrenia. She hears voices, commits sudden acts of violence, and switches moods without warning. McKeon's parents Valerie Harper and Stephen Macht are at a loss to contend with the sudden change of personality. With the help of psychological experts (and scene after scene of dry statistics), Harper and Macht are able to reclaim their daughter. Made for television, Strange Voices merely tiptoes through territory more successfully mapped out by such TV earlier films as Promise (86). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
Five Holocaust survivors conspire to have revenge upon the Nazi doctor who tormented them in this taut made-for-TV drama. All five are women living in Los Angeles and all have vividly painful memories of the atrocities he performed upon them. The memories come flooding back when they find him innocently running a local restaurant. Realizing that no one else will help them, the ladies conspire to kill him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
This attempt to remake the clever 1977 French farce Un Moment d'Egarement stars Michael Caine as an executive named Matthew Hollis, who, together with friend Victor Lyons (Joseph Bologna), travels to Rio de Janeiro on business. Victor sets out on the town in search of a lambada partner, leaving Matthew to fend for himself against his friend's over-sexed teenage daughter (Michelle Johnson), who's come along for the ride. Soon, Matthew succumbs to her advances, despite his efforts to break off the affair, and finds himself a repeated statutory rapist, at least by American legal standards. The script plays out like an extended version of Three's Company, with lots of near-misses and dumb-dumb humor; critics aptly noticed Caine's apparent discomfort throughout the film. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Joseph Bologna, (more)
- 1983
Based on Joan Taylor's novel Asking for It, the made-for-TV An Invasion of Privacy stars Valerie Harper as recently divorced book illustrator Kate Bianchi. Moving into a remote, cloistered island community in Maine, Kate has barely arrived when she is raped by a local handyman. The hostile, inbred locals immediately turn against Kate when she presses charges, leaving only the town's college-educated police chief (Cliff De Young) to champion her cause. Jerry Orbach and Tammy Grimes took time off from their roles in the Broadway musical 42nd Street to show up in cameo roles. Filmed on Long Island Sound, An Invasion of Privacy first aired January 12, 1983, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1982
Sitcom stalwart Valerie Harper trades jokes for the judiciary in Farrell: For the People. Valerie stars as New York attorney Elizabeth Farrell ("All she wants to be is a DA", declared the TV Guide ad copy, "but her toughest case is being a woman!"), whose case load runs the gamut from rapists to killers. This TV movie borrows a page from current events by fictionalizing the notorious Norman Mailer/Jack Henry Abbott contretemps. Farrell takes on an ex-convict who has become a best-selling author thanks to the intervention of the Manhattan intellectual elite--and whose latest creative achievement is murder. Farrell: for the People was the pilot for a projected TV series, but the central character was too bland and confining for Valerie Harper's talents. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1982
Little Mary (Robin Ignico) is haunted by the guilty memory of her sister Jennifer, who died in an auto accident not long ago. Jennifer had always been more adored by their parents, and Mary can't help thinking that her jealousy was behind Jennifer's death. Soon, Mary begins to imagine that there's something, or someone, hiding under her bed, and it becomes apparent that the nocturnal visitor is her dead sister. The apparition, who is only seen by Mary, is not satisfied being the only member of her family to have crossed over; she wants the rest of her family dead. Soon, to Mary's horror, her dead sister is orchestrating the deaths of the other members of the family, one by one. Ned Wynn wrote the screenplay for this TV-movie thriller, which first saw the light of day on December 10, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper play a married couple on the brink of divorce in The Day the Loving Stopped. Ally Sheedy plays the younger of the couple's two daughters; the story of the breakup is told primarily from her point of view. The dissolution of Weaver and Harper's marriage is contrasted with the impending wedding between older sister Dominique Dunne (in one of her last appearances before her brutal murder) and James Canning. The Day the Loving Stopped was based on a novel by Julie Autumn List.The made-for-TV film debuted October 16, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1980
Advertised as "Paul Newman's First Film for Television," Shadow Box was more specifically the first TV movie to be directed by Newman. Moving in a slow, deliberate fashion, the film concerns three terminally ill people. Their stories intertwine as the unfortunate spend their last days with their families in a cottage-complex hospice. Christopher Plummer and Joanne Woodward play a pair of ex-spouses, whose chances for reconciliation are strained somewhat by the presence of Plummer's male lover Ben Masters. James Broderick plays a blue-collar worker, sharing precious final moments with wife Valerie Harper. And elderly Sylvia Sidney comes to terms with her daughter Melinda Dillon. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Michael Cristofer, Shadow Box was co-produced by Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward's daughter Susan Kendall Newman. The Emmy-nominated drama was first telecast December 28, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1980
In Fun and Games, a professional career woman is harassed by her boss, who then rejects her for promotion. The woman then sues her boss for sexual harassment ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
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