Jennifer Holmes Movies
- 1983
This third film version of Harold Brighthouse's play Hobson's Choice moves the locale from turn-of-century London to 1914 New Orleans. Horatio Hobson (Jack Warden) is the boozy, tyrannical owner of a shoe store. Hobson's daughter Maggie (Sharon Gless) falls in love with humble shoe clerk Will Mossup (Richard Thomas). When Hobson refuses to give the relationship his blessing, Maggie huffily takes her new boy friend out of the store to set up her own shop--which soon threatens to put Hobson out of business. In her last TV appearance, Lillian Gish plays the elderly benefactor who enables Will and Maggie to declare their independence. Hobson's Choice first aired on December 21, 1983. PS: A musical version of the play, Walking Happy, ran on Broadway in the mid-1960s, with Norman Wisdom starring as Will Glossop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Attendees of a Southern California cocktail party find themselves reevaluating their convoluted, faulted lives following a major earthquake and a series of aftershocks in this hip comedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Perry, Jennifer Holmes, (more)
- 1985
This sci-fi outing is the pilot for a short-lived television series and chronicles the adventures of a gang of unusually talented teens. One uses his mind to control others, another is a wizard at cryogenics, while the other two can manipulate electrical energy and make things change sizes. This time, they team up to keep the government from using a deadly neutron cannon. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Once again, the life of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is complicated by the misadventures of her nephew Grady (Michael Horton). This time, Grady's fraternity brother Gary (John Callahan) insists upon inviting Jessica to enjoy the hospitality of an expensive hotel owned by Gary's much-older wife Cornelia (Janet Leigh). Later on, poor Grady is found standing over the body of a woman he had known in college--a woman who also happened to carrying on an affair with the redoubtable Gary! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
In the first of the series' "novel" episodes, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) invites the viewers to listen in as she narrates her latest mystery story, involving a group of very intelligent graduate students. One of the protagonists is aspiring composer Michael Prentiss (Paul Clemens), who is outraged when his new composition is plagiarized by his unscrupulous professor. When the prof is murdered, Michael is accused of the crime, and it is up to his best buddy, law student Chad Singer (Paul Clemens), to prove Michael's innocence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Quincy (Jack Klugman) performs an autopsy on a high school gymnast who has died of cerebral hemorrhage. Finding evidence of amphetamines and other stimulants, Quincy suspects that the gymnast was supplied with drugs by her "win-at-all-costs" athletic coach. The challenge now is to prove his suspicions and risk public censure by bringing the very popular coach to justice. This is one of the first TV dramatic episodes to delve into the serious (and still timely) issue of steroid use. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
When the Burbank Karate Club embarks upon a relaxing cruise, the last thing they expect to encounter is hippie smugglers, white slavery, and man-eating monks looking to raise Karate masters up from the grave, but they do in this lively and decidedly off-beat and campy Hong Kong martial arts adventure. Much of the film is comprised of footage from Roger Corman's 1978 horror film Piranha. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Geoffrey Binney, (more)
- 1984
This lavish retelling of the story of the Hebrew strong man and history's most famous lady barber was based in part on the Old Testament, in part on Eric Linkletter's book Husband of Delilah, and in great part on the same-named 1949 Cecil B. DeMille movie epic. Newcomer Anthony Hamilton stars as Samson, who uses his awesome strength--not to mention the jawbone of an ass--to safeguard his fellow Hebrews from the persecution of the Philistines in the 11th Century BC. Fascinated by Samson, Philistine harlot Delilah (Belinda Bauer) pretends to fall in love with him so that she may learn the source of his muscle power. Upon discovering that his mightiness stems from his flowing mane of hair, Delilah drugs Samson's wine and pulls out the shears. Bald and blinded, Samson is transformed from the savior of his people into an enslaved object of Philistine ridicule. But redemption is at hand, and by film's end practically the entire cast has been entombed in the rubble wrought by Samson's final, desperate feat of strength. Victor Mature, who of course played Samson in the 1949 film, was coaxed out of retirment to portray Samson's father, while Max Von Sydow, who Biblical-movie credits include the part of Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told, delivers an impressively subtle performance as the Philistine governor. Filmed in Mexico, Samson and Delilah originally aired April 1, 1984, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Clearly inspired by the theatrical feature Norma Rae, The $5.20 an Hour Dream stars Linda Lavin as a recently divorced woman supporting herself and her 12-year-old daughter. The highest-paying job at the Oregon engine factory where she works is on the assembly line--which has traditionally been an all-male operation. Bucking the system (and several stereotyped "chauvinist pigs"), Lavin eventually wins a place on the line, as do several of her female friends. As always, Linda Lavin (for whom this film was a pet project) looks far too self-reliant to ever be considered a "victim," so the climax of $5.20 an Hour Dream is a foregone conclusion. This made for TV movie received an award from the National Commission of Working Women. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Prolific voiceover actor Danny Cooksey appears in this episode as Terry Lee, a dewey-eyed orphan who is anxious to spring a stray basset hound from the local dog pound. The Dukes come to Terry's aid, little realizing that the hound is actually quite valuable, and in fact had previously been kidnapped from a high-class dog show run by John J. Hooper (Joe Dorsey). The plot thickens when the kidnappers mistake the Dukes' own dog Flash for the prize pooch! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
In the first half of a two-part story, greenhorn detective Richie Brockelman (Dennis Dugan) asks Jim (James Garner) to help get back the printing plant that has been swindled from Richie's father (Harold Gould) by sleazy sports promoter Harold Jack Coombs (Robert Webber). This undertaking requires an elaborate "sting" operation--so elaborate that Jim must hold auditions to pick the right con artists for the right job. This episode is essentially a promo for guest star Dennis Dugan's own series, Richie Brockelman: Private Eye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Thursday's Child is full of woe in this made-for-TV drama. Rob Lowe was given "and introducing" billing in the role of a teenaged athlete in dire need of a heart transplant. As Rob's parents Gene Rowlands and Don Murray prepare to face the possibility that they may lose their son, his aunt Jessica Walter remains relentlessly optimistic and cheerful. For various reasons, the debut of Thursday's Child was twice postponed. The film finally aired February 1, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
