Mary Jackson Movies
Character actress, onscreen (after much stage experience) from 1968; usually in matronly roles. ~ Rovi
In this family drama, a white Southerner discovers that his family history isn't what he thought it was -- with the fact that he's half-black only one of his many surprises. Earl Pilcher, Jr. (Robert Duvall) runs a gas station in Arkansas; he's a typical middle-aged Southern man who likes his pickup truck and loves his momma. Shortly after his mother's death, he receives some very unexpected news; she wasn't really his mother after all. It seems that years ago, Earl Sr. (James N. Harrell) raped the family's African-American maid, Willie Mae, who nine months later died while giving birth to Earl Jr. To avoid further scandal, Mrs. Pilcher simply raised Earl Jr. as her own. While the family has kept the matter a secret all these years, Earl Jr. has a half-brother living in Chicago, and it was his mother's wish that the two should some day meet and become friends. Earl travels to Chicago and tracks down Ray Murdock (James Earl Jones), a veteran police officer and Willie Mae's other son. Earl Jr. quickly learns that Ray has little interest in getting to know him better; he knows all the facts behind the matter, and he's always blamed Earl for the death of his mother. However, Earl Jr. isn't used to life in a big city up north, and after he's mugged and carjacked, Ray grudgingly takes in his half-brother, letting him stay in the home he shares with his son Virgil (Michael Beach) and Aunt T. (Irma P. Hall), who raised Ray as a boy. A Family Thing was written by Billy Bob Thornton shortly before his breakthrough as writer, director, and star of Sling Blade. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones, (more)
A cop arresting a drug dealer is stabbed with a syringe. He soon begins to see everybody around him turning into zombies, led by a mutant creature with the face of a pig. He believes himself to be hallucinating because of the drug he's been injected with, until he himself begins turning into one of the zombie creatures. He tries to find out what's behind all of this before he turns into a complete zombie. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi
- 1992
Farrah Fawcett stars as a struggling defense lawyer in the made-for-TV Criminal Behavior. Defending a nurse on theft charge, Farrah ends up ferreting out clues in a ticklish LA murder case. The path to the truth is labyrinthine, and no one can be trusted. A. Martinez, Andy Robinson and Cliff DeYoung costar. Based on a Ross MacDonald novel, Criminal Behavior debuted May 11, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Farrah Fawcett, A. Martinez, (more)
Steve Martin has one of his best roles in Leap Of Faith as Jonas Nightengale, a high-tech faith healer and revival preacher who takes pride in the money he squeezes out of people, convincing himself that he can't deliver hope, but "I give my people a good show." As the film begins, Nightengale's truck caravan breaks down and his troupe finds itself stranded in the backwater town of Rustwater, Kansas. Nightengale figures that as long as he's there, he might as well set up the rubes and put on a performance. With the aid of his assistant Jane (Debra Winger) (who talks to Nightengale through an earpiece, informing him of the physical problems of certain members of his audience), Nightengale puts on a glorious show and rakes in the money. But the local sheriff Will (Liam Neeson) wants to shut down the show because times are bad in Rustwater and he doesn't think folks should waste their money on a charlatan. Nightengale sends Jane to seduce Will, but the sheriff succeeds in getting Jane to fall in love with him. Nightengale also meets someone, Marva (Lolita Davidovich), a local waitress with a crippled brother. The boy thinks Nightengale can heal him. Nightengale tries to make the child understand that he can't help him, but it turns out that Nightengale knows very little about his own faith powers. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Debra Winger, (more)
- 1989
Fact-based, made-for-television account of the hunt for a pair of serial killers who slaughtered ten women in the hillsides of Los Angeles between October 1977 and February 1978. (Alternate title: The Case Of The Hillside Stranglers) ~ Nicole Gagne, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Crenna
- 1989
The title tells all in this chiller that centers on a woman who with her children travels across the country in her van selling fine leather clothing. It is leather of a quality that most people have never seen and is quite popular until a detective finds out just where she is getting her goods. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Paul Reubens's followup to the box-office hit Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is just as outrageous and cartoonish, though not as good. This time, child-man Pee-Wee runs a colorful farm, chock full of talking animals and outsized produce. On the morning after a tornado of Wizard of Oz dimensions, Pee-Wee awakens to discover that a travelling circus has been deposited in his back yard. Befriended by circus owner Kris Kristofferson, Pee-Wee takes an acrobatic job, hoping to impress lovely trapeze artist Valeria Golino--thereby incurring the jealous rage of his hometown sweetie Penelope Ann Miller. When the circus is faced with bankruptcy, Pee-Wee comes up with a brilliant idea: why not stage a three-ring spectacular celebrating the wonders of agriculture? A partial takeoff of such earlier sawdust-trail flicks as Martin and Lewis' Three Ring Circus and Disney's Toby Tyler, Big Top Pee-Wee is generally entertaining, but goes off in too many directions at once, leaving a lot of loose plot ends and underdeveloped characters. Also, Pee-Wee's overactive libido (at least in this film!) is not all that suitable for his younger fans. Even so, there are plenty of hilarious set-pieces. Big Top Pee-Wee was produced and cowritten by Paul Reubens. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens, Kris Kristofferson, (more)
- 1987
In a modern twist on the classic "old-dark house" genre, Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) are trapped by a raging storm in the mountain home of a murdered financier. Every member of the dead man's family had good reason to see him dead--and accordingly, every member is under suspicion. As the victim's relatives are systematically bumped off throughout the night, Hunter arrives at the conclusion that he'd better solve the mystery in a hurry lest he be the next to die! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1986
My Town is a one-hour Disney TV movie set in a tranquil American community. Meredith Salenger considers the place "My Town," and prefers that it remain untouched. Thus Salenger is dead set against the urban renewal plans of town banker Glenn Ford--who is also her grandfather. My Town first saw the light of day on May 25, 1986. It was shown back to back with another 60-minute film, The Casebusters, on ABC's Disney Sunday Movie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
Louise (Isabel Sanford) is upset by the new tenant in 12-C, a young, slim "swinger" named Robin (played by future E.R. regular Kathleen Wilhoite). Her tranquility shattered by Robin's round-the-clock partying, Louise tries to rally her fellow tenants to lodge a formal complaint. She succeeds only in being labelled an "old killjoy" -- and the worst of it is, she's convinced that the accusation is right on target. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, (more)
- 1983
The wealthy MacKenzie family controls a vast business concern which is being systematically robbed by "person or persons unkown." In order to root out the culprit, the company's CEO hires Magnum (Tom Selleck) to work undercover. This strategy obliges the matrimony-phobic Magnum to go through with a sham marriage to the CEO's niece, Marsha MacKenzie (Katherine Cannon--who turns out to have some very unorthodox views about wedded life in general and husbands in particular! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1982
In this family drama, a famed lawyer is forced to come to grips with the lousy way he has treated his emotionally disturbed brother. Most of the story centers on the attorney's attempts to atone for his actions. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Brandon, Pat Harrington, Jr., (more)
- 1982
The cast of the long-running Waltons TV series (minus Richard Thomas as John Boy, here replaced by John Wightman) are reunited for the TV movie Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain. The year is 1946: the clan gathers to compare notes on Thanksgiving. We learn that Jim-Bob (David W. Harper) is trying to open his own business; Jason (John Walmsley) plans to close his restaurant and pursue a musical career; and matriarch Olivia Walton (originally played by Michael Learned, but never seen in this film) is lying in the hospital, with husband John (Ralph Waite) by her side. What suspense there is concerns the possibility that John Walton may not make it home in time to carve the Turkey. Originally telecast November 22, 1982, Day of Thanks etc. was the last of several Waltons feature-length films...for the time being, that is. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1982
The wife of Quincy's boss Dr. Astin (John S. Ragin) enters the same hospital where veteran nurse Lynn Buchanan (Georgann Johnson) is employed. Having resumed medication on a patient without a doctor's approval (which she was unable to secure due to lack of time and back-up staff), Lynn has been placed on suspension--whereupon all the other nurses go on strike. Though he might be more concerned with the fate of his wife Louise (Cynthia Harris) than in defusing the actual crisis at hand, Astin begs Quincy (Jack Klugman) to determine whether or not Nurse Buchanan acted properly. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Richard Pryor gives a compelling performance in Some Kind of Hero, playing a Vietnam veteran who tries to readjust to civilian life. Pryor plays Eddie Keller, who has just spent five years in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp. Most of the time there, Eddie was able to hold his own against his captors, but he eventually was forced to sign a statement denouncing United States involvement in the Vietnam War. Eddie decided to sign the document in order to insure that his friend Vinnie (Ray Sharkey) would be given proper medical treatment. Because of this denunciation, when Eddie returns home from the war he is denied his back pay. He also discovers that his wife has left him for another man, his business has fallen apart, and his mother has been sent to an asylum. Eddie falls into a deep depression and hits rock bottom. But he meets a friendly prostitute, Toni (Margot Kidder), who helps him straighten out his life. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Margot Kidder, (more)
- 1981
Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) receives word that her husband Curt, reported killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor, is actually alive and living in Florida. Rushing to her husband's side, Mary Ellen is shocked when Curt claims not to recognize her--and even more so when, after admitting that he is indeed her husband, he urges her to divorce him, explaining that the war has left him only "half a man." How will this disturbing turn of events affect Mary Ellen's relationship with Jonesy (Richard Gilliland), the new man in her life? And back on Walton's Mountain, Erin quits her job in a huff when the Jonesy is promoted over her just because he's a man. Scott Hylands appears in this episode as Curt Willard, replacing former series regular Tom Bower for the first (and last) time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
Freshly returned from the War, Jim-Bob (David W. Harper) and Josh Foster (Jason Moses) have no intention of settling down and looking for employment, but instead plan to take it easy and have as much fun as possible. This "fun" soon devolves into foolish recklessness--which nearly proves fatal for at least one of the two returnees. Elsewhere, the Baldwin sisters stumble upon the room where their grandfather first created their intoxicating "recipe". . .just as a Federal agent shows up at their house! With this episode, Charles R. Penland becomes the third actor to appear in the recurring role of Jody Foster, succeeding both Erin Blunt and T.K. Carter). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
Practically everyone on Walton's Mountain is rousted from bed in the middle of the night to help newly arrived minister Tom Marshall (Kip Niven) refurbish and reopen the old Baptist Church. No one is happier over this spiritual reawakening than the Baldwin sisters, who are currently providing food and shelter for Jason's girlfriend Toni (Lisa Harrison). But how will the Baldwins react when Toni reveals that she is Jewish--a fact that has already stirred up a great deal of controversy amongst the members of the Walton family? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
Rose Burton's erstwhile beau Stanley Perkins (William Schallert) returns to Walton's mountain, still determined to marry Rose (Peggy Rea) and still filling her head with grandiose tales of his fabulous success in the business world. But things quickly go sour when Rose finds out that Stanley has recently been in a mental hospital, the result of a breakdown after being summarily fired from his job. Meanwhile, Jason (Jon Walmsley) hires country singer Johnny Calico (Curtis Credel) to perform at the Dew Drop Inn--and winds up vying with Johnny for the affections of Toni Hazelton (Lisa Harrison). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
Series regular Ronnie Claire Edwards) plays a dual role in this episode, as prim-and-proper storekeeper Corabeth Godsey and as Corabeth's polar-opposite sister Orma Lee. As the sisters squabble over which on will inherit a valuable string of pearls from their Aunt Cordelia, Corabeth can't help but notice that her husband Ike (Joe Conley) is fascinated by the footloose and fancy-free Orma Lee--and she doesn't like it one bit! Meanwhile, Elizabeth Walton (Kami Cotler), the youngest member of the family, sets out to visit her mother and father in Arizona...all by herself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
After numerous delays and second thoughts, Aunt Rose (Peggy Rea) has accepted the marriage proposal of her longtime beau Stanley (William Schallert), and a wedding date is set. But the nuptuals may be permanently postponed when Rose's attack of "heartburn" proves to be something much more serious. Elsewhere, Cindy (Leslie Winston) grows weary of being just another housewife, and demands that Ben (Eric Scott) allow her to get a job--with surprising results. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) comes to the rescue of a 14-year-old mountain girl named Sissie (Debbie Lytton) , whose father has sold her into marriage. Angry over Mary Ellen's interference, Sissy's prospective husband Job (Gary Grubbs) kidnaps Elizabeth (Kami Cotler) in retaliation. On a lighter note, we finally get to meet the Baldwin sisters' fabled Cousin Octavia (Mary Wickes), who turns out to be a walking disaster area--and a kleptomaniac in the bargain! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
The Waltons comes to the end of its 221-episode run with this episode, in which John-Boy heads to New York to learn the fate of his third novel. Upon discovering that the book has been rejected, John-Boy is too proud to return home in defeat, even though he is flat broke. And back on Waltons' Mountain, the redoubtable Baldwin sisters decide to hold a "life celebration" ball, inviting all of their old finishing school classmates--very few of whom are still above ground. Not surprisingly, the final words in this final episode are eloquently spoken by series creator Earl Hamner Jr.. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
In the waning days of WW2, Jason (Jon Walmsley) wonders if he should marry Toni (Lisa Harrison), especially since he is scheduled to be shipped off to the Pacific front. And in a faraway Japanese POW camp, Ben (Eric Scott) is convinced that he is about to be executed--when suddenly, his captors do an about-face and surrender to him! This pivotal episode ends on a note of triumph...and for some members of the Walton family, a tinge of melancholy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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