Kathleen Betsko Yale Movies
Sisters Gabrielle C. and Maria Burton direct the independent comedy Manna From Heaven, written by their mother, Gabrielle B. Burton, and produced by their siblings at Five Sisters Productions. In Buffalo, NY, during the '50s, the wind blows in cash money to the tune of 20 thousand dollars. Believing it was a tangible gift from God, Sister Teresa (Ursula Burton) tries to gather up the money and pay it back 30 years later. However, her family members don't want to give up their free money and can't even get along, including card dealer Inez (Wendie Malick) and con artists Bunny (Shirley Jones) and Ed Burns (Frank Gorshin, in his final film role). Also starring Seymour Cassel, Shelley Duvall, Cloris Leachman, Harry Groener, Faye Grant, Jill Eikenberry and Louise Fletcher. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Burton, Ursula Burton, (more)
- 1986
Made for television, Johnny Bull is set in a Pennsylvania mining town, circa 1959. Peter MacNicol, the son of a Hungarian immigrant family, brings home pregnant Suzanna Hamilton, the cockney girl he'd married while a GI in England. Hamilton's movie-generated visions of a glamorous America are dashed by the poverty of MacNicol's parents (Jason Robards, Colleen Dewhurst), and by the fact that her husband is incapable of getting a job once out of uniform. Kathy Bates steals the film as MacNicol's retarded sister, who despises the new bride. Johnny Bull was filmed on location in coal country--not in Pennsylvania, but in Tennessee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
