Florence Henderson Movies
Ever since the '50s, each generation has had its definitive sitcom mom, the one woman who symbolizes the attitudes and ideals of the American household (at least according to the major networks). In the late '50s, it was Barbara Billingsley; Donna Reed ruled the '60s; Roseanne repped the '80s; and Florence Henderson was queen of the '70s. As Carol Brady, she was the polyester-clad personification of the "have a nice day" mentality on the Brady Bunch (1969-1974). Prior to becoming Mrs. Brady, Henderson had worked on television during the '50s, getting her start as the "Today Girl" on Today (1952) and as a regular on Sing Along (1958). She also made frequent appearances on the Tonight Show through the early '60s. Henderson was a successful star of Broadway musicals and in 1970, she starred in the musical feature-film biography of Scandinavian composer Edvard Grieg, Song of Norway (1970).Since the end of the Brady Bunch series, Henderson has basically made her living portraying and sometimes spoofing Carol Brady. There was a blessedly short-lived variety show sequel to the program, The Brady Bunch Hour (1977), and Brady Bunch reunion TV movies, such as The Brady Girls Get Married (1981) and A Very Brady Christmas (1988). The show that wouldn't die also spawned two more sequel series, The Brady Brides (1981) and the downbeat drama The Bradys (1990). In 1995, Henderson played a feisty grandmother, the antithesis of Carol, in the feature-film spoof The Brady Bunch Movie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Florence Henderson guest stars as Sarah, a popular singer who makes an unexpected stopover at Mel's diner to ask directions. As it turns out, the only direction she's interested in is the one leading to the altar, as proven when she proposes to Mel (Vic Tayback)! But why exactly has the famous Sarah been swept off her feet by the un-famous Phoenix chili entrepreneur? Appearing as Babette is Jean Kasem, the wife of "Top 100 Countdown" deejay Casey Kasem). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Brady Brides was originally telecast as The Brady Girls Get Married; either way, the title tells all. Only two of the three girls from the 1970s sitcom The Brady Bunch take the marital vows. The film's humor is derived from the fact that the Brady Brides and their grooms take a joint honeymoon, with all the anticipated problems regarding temperament and privacy. The entire Brady Bunch cast returns for this well-received reunion film, which led to a brief TV series titled (what else?) The Brady Brides. The fans ate it up; non-fans chose to leave the table. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The original cast members from the popular comedy series The Brady Bunch reprise their roles in this made-for-television movie. Sisters Marcia (Maureen McCormick) and Jan (Eve Plumb) gather the family together to get ready for their double wedding. This movie was a pilot for a short-lived NBC series which followed called Brady Brides. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maureen McCormick, Eve Plumb, (more)

- 1976
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Love him or hate him comedian Paul Lynde - the master of the slow burn, who presided over the "center square" on Hollywood Squares for years and made famous the character of Uncle Arthur on Bewitched - also mounted this all-star Halloween special in late October 1976. The story, adapted from A Christmas Carol, has the comedic actor cast as "Paul Lynde", a more severe and hateful variant of his typically snide and sarcastic on-camera persona, who detests all things associated with Halloween. Three witches then crop up and determine to change his mind, ala Scrooge. The plethora of guest stars includes Tim Conway, Florence Henderson, Donny and Marie Osmond, the glam rock band KISS, Betty White, Roz Kelly, Billy Barty and Margaret Hamilton, from The Wizard of Oz. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Originally telecast September 17, 1976, Love Boat was the first of two pilot films for the long-running TV series of the same name. On this maiden voyage of the Pacific Princess (from California to Mexico), we zero in on four separate sets of passengers. Gabe Kaplan plays a goofy salesman who falls for sexy model Jette Speer. Tom Bosley and Cloris Leachman are the haughtily rich folks who disapprove of their daughter's "common" boy friend. Suave businessman Hal Linden finds himself attracted by Karen Valentine. And Don Adams, about to undergo an expensive divorce, plots and plans to do away with wife Florence Henderson. The luxury-cruise setting and multistoried format of the subsequent Love Boat series are already in place, but the series' cast of regulars is not. In this first Love Boat film, Ted Hamilton is the Captain, Teri O'Mara is the cruise director, bartender Isaac is Theodore Wilson, the ship's doctor is Dick Van Patten, and Sandy Helberg is Gopher, the purser. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The fifth and final season of The Brady Bunch finds a newcomer amidst the familiar faces. Joining stars Robert Reed and Florence Henderson as Mike and Carol Brady, Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, Eve Plumb, Mike Lookinland, and Susan Olsen as the various and sundry Brady kids, and Ann B. Davis as Alice the housekeeper, is child actor Robbie Rist as the infamous Cousin Oliver, whose addition to the family was a gimmick to "freshen up" the then five-year-old series. There are thousands upon thousands of Brady Bunch fans who are of the opinion that the world would be no worse off with one less Cousin Oliver, but thankfully (for these fans) the kid showed up in only six episodes. No matter what one's opinion of the estimable Oliver, it cannot be denied that several of the fifth-season Brady Bunch episodes are among the series' best and most memorable. These include "Adios, Johnny Bravo," in which Greg Brady adopts a new name in preparation for a showbiz career; "Mail Order Hero," distinguished by football legend Joe Namath in a guest appearance as himself; "Never Too Young," featuring a pre-Little House on the Prairie Melissa Sue Anderson as little Bobby Brady's first major crush; "Marcia Gets Creamed," a textbook example of the venerable adage "Never hire your relatives"; "The Elopement," wherein the Brady kids labor under the false assumption that Alice is about to marry her erstwhile beau Sam (Allan Melvin); "Two Petes in a Pod," with series regular Christopher Knight in a dual role; "The Cincinnati Kid," an episode built around the real-life opening of the Kings' Island amusement park in Cincinnati; and the series' final episode, "The Hair-Brained Scheme," the one in which Greg's hair turns orange. Also worth mentioning is the episode titled "Kelly's Kids," the story of a husband (Ken Berry) and wife (Brooke Bundy) who adopt a trio of interracial kids, which was filmed as the pilot for a series that never sold. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, (more)
Even after four seasons and 73 episodes, The Brady Bunch is still the same old story, but a good story indeed: widow Carol (Florence Henderson) is married to widower Mike (Robert Reed), resulting in a household full of children from their respective previous marriages: Mike's sons, Greg (Barry Williams), Peter (Christopher Knight), and Bobby (Mike Lookinland), and Carol's daughters, Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Jan (Eve Plumb), and Cindy (Susan Olsen). Riding herd on this crop of humanity is sensible but slightly off-kilter housekeeper Alice (Ann B. Davis). The season gets under way with a three-part story set in Hawaii, replete with guest appearances by Vincent Price and -- who else? -- Don Ho. Among the most memorable "stateside" episodes during season four are "The Show Must Go On??," a musical extravaganza spotlighting the talents of the entire Brady brood; "Goodbye, Alice, Hello," in which the kids give Alice the silent treatment for betraying a confidence; "You're Never Too Old," featuring Robert Reed in the dual role of Mike Brady and Mike's foxy grandpa, and Florence Henderson likewise double-cast as Carol and Carol's peppery grandma; "A Room at the Top," wherein Greg and Marcia battle over possession of the family attic; and best of all, "The Subject Was Noses," the one in which a misguided football smashes Marcia's nose flat -- and we mean flat! ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, (more)
Season three of The Brady Bunch is pretty much the same as seasons one and two, not that anyone is complaining. Once again, the diverse members of the Brady clan, brought together two seasons earlier by the wedding of widow Carol Martin (Florence Henderson) and widower Mike Brady (Robert Reed), do their darnedest to live harmoniously under the same suburban roof, with sensible housekeeper Alice (Ann B. Davis) acting as sidelines observer and occasional plot motivator. The season opens with the series' first multi-episode story, in which the Bradys embark upon a memorable trip to the Grand Canyon -- and along the way are detained by an eccentric old prospector played by Jim Backus, here working for producer Sherwood Schwartz for the first time since the cancellation of Gilligan's Island. Subsequent episodes worth mentioning include "The Wheeler Dealer, in which oldest son Greg Brady (Barry Williams) buys his first car; "The Personality Kid," which finds middle son Peter (Christopher Knight) adopting a zany new personality and living to regret it (remember the "Porkchops and Applesauce" scene?); "Juliet Is the Sun," wherein oldest daughter Marcia (Maureen McCormick) develops a swelled head the size of Massachusetts when she lands the lead in her school play; "Her Sister's Shadow," an exercise in frustration for middle daughter Jan (Eve Plumb), who for the first -- and, astonishingly the last -- time utters the immortal rant "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!"; "Getting Davy Jones," the celebrated episode featuring the titular ex-Monkee; "The Teeter-Totter Caper," a potent warning against incipient juvenile delinquency spotlighting youngest Brady kids Bobby (Mike Lookinland) and Cindy (Susan Olsen); and "Sergeant Emma," in which series regular Ann B. Davis delivers a bravura performance in the dual role of housekeeper Alice and her martinet cousin Emma. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, (more)
The most conspicuous change in The Brady Bunch during its second season is manifested in the series' familiar theme music. Whereas a rock group called the Peppermint Trolley chanted the "Story of a Lovely Lady" ballad at the beginning of each first-season episode, the shows seen during season two were heralded by the Brady kids themselves singing the now-familiar title theme. Need anyone be reminded that those "kids" consist of Greg (Barry Williams), Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Peter (Christopher Knight), Jan (Eve Plumb), Bobby (Mike Lookinland), and Cindy (Susan Olsen)? And can there be a TV addict alive who doesn't know that the kids' parents are Mike and Carol Brady (Robert Reed, Florence Henderson), or that the family's housekeeper is the kind-hearted, level-headed Alice (Ann B. Davis)? (And five points for everyone who remembers that the Brady's pet dog is named Tiger -- you know, the one who chased Fluffy the cat to parts unknown in the series opener.) The most memorable of the series' second-season episodes include "The Dropout," in which Greg Brady is talked out of forsaking college by no less than baseball legend Don Drysdale; "The Slumber Caper," which served to reunite series star Robert Reed with his former co-star on The Defenders, E.G. Marshall; "A Fistful of Reasons," wherein Peter Brady goes head-to-head with a school bully for the sake of stepsister Cindy; "Confessions, Confessions," a case study in misguided family loyalty; "Where There's Smoke," in which Greg Brady not only nearly picks up a nasty habit but also performs a song; "The Liberation of Marcia Brady," wherein the titular heroine strikes a blow for gender equality; and "Alice's September Song," a poignant tale of romance and remembrance focusing on the Brady housekeeper. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, (more)
This musical biography of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (Torval Maurstad) is based on the play of the same name. Living in poverty after graduating from a music conservatory, Grieg scandalizes his family by marrying his cousin Nina (Florence Henderson). Grieg has an affair with a former schoolmate, Therese Berg (Christina Schollin), a wealthy woman who makes a deal with her influential father to end the romance if he'll arrange a concert for Grieg in Stockholm. Grieg eventually travels to Rome, where his significance as an artist begins to find appreciation. His association with Therese is not really finished and Grieg's humble piano, a gift from the self-sacrificing Nina, is overshadowed by Therese's gift of a grand piano. Back to back with the subsequent and equally unsuccessful The Great Waltz (1972), the last two films of writer, producer, and director Andrew Stone ended his nearly 50 year career. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toralv Maurstad, Florence Henderson, (more)
Season one of The Brady Bunch opens famously with the wedding of widow Carol Martin (Florence Henderson) and widower Mike Brady (Robert Reed), attended by Carol's daughters, Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Jan (Eve Plumb), and Cindy (Susan Olsen) and by Mike's sons, Greg (Barry Williams), Peter (Christopher Knight), and Bobby (Mike Lookinland). This occasion also serves as the first -- and last -- appearance of the girls' pet cat, Fluffy, and is quickly followed by a chaotic "family honeymoon." Certainly an auspicious start for five years' worth of warm-hearted hilarity. The first season's best-remembered episodes include "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," in which Alice the housekeeper (Ann B. Davis) gets the mistaken notion that her services are no longer required; "A Clubhouse Is Not a Home," the first of many episodes in which the Brady kids build an elaborate prop; "A-Camping We Will Go," the contents of which should be self-explanatory; and "Sorry, Right Number," in which Mike installs a pay phone to teach his family a lesson in economizing (this episode also marks the first appearance of Alice's off-and-on beau Sam [Allan Melvin]). Other memorable episodes include "Vote for Brady," a cautionary tale of campaign promises unfulfilled; "Is There a Doctor in the House?," dramatizing a medical "turf war" arising from the kids' measles; "The Undergraduate," wherein Greg Brady develops a crush on his attractive teacher; "Brace Yourself," the story of Marcia's dental misfortunes; "The Possible Dream," with guest star Desi Arnaz Jr.; and "The Grass Is Always Greener," the one where Mike and Carol switch jobs for a day. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, (more)
Brady Bunch maven Florence Henderson hosts this musical compilation release, which features numerous holiday-themed segments from the long running television musical revue The Bell Telephone Hour. The segments in question ran between 1959 and 1966; the performers who appear in this release include Phyllis Curtin, Giorgio Tozzi, Earl Wrightston, Lisa Della Casa, and many others. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Florence Henderson


















