Margaret Ladd Movies

Picking up where Season Seven of Falcon Crest left off, Season Eight finds the scheming Melissa (Ana Alicia), former wife of powerful vintner Angela Channing's grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas), assuming full charge of the Falcon Crest winery, unceremoniously evicting Angela (Jane Wyman) from the premises. Unfortunately for Melissa, her triumph will prove to be short-lived: after losing both her child and her lover, she goes bonkers, setting fire to Falcon Crest and perishing in the conflagration. But while Melissa is definitely out of the picture, Angela's son Richard Channing (David Selby), presumed killed by the sinister organization "The Thirteen" at the end of the previous season, is actually still alive. As for "The Thirteen", the entire group is assassinated en masse by the unhinged Senator Ryder (Charles Frank), who also tries to bump off Richard before he is himself dispatched by Richard's wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan). Meanwhile, Angela's efforts to regain control of her financial empire are blocked by Pilar Ortega (Kristian Alfonso), the daughter of Falcon Crest's foreman Cesar Ortega (Castulo Guera). Pilar has married Lance, who is now in league with Richard to industrialize the Tuscany valley's wine fields with the help of a phony humanitarian organization run by "The Consortium" (apparently his brush with death vis-à-vis "The Thirteen" has not taught Richard a thing) In a further effort to take over Angela's business, Richard kidnaps Angela and subjects her to a "haunting" from the late Melissa (actually a lookalike)--and when she escapes his clutches, Richard claims the incident never happened and suggests that Angela has gone crazy. But before Richard can be named conservator of his mother's estate, Angela suddenly weds Frank Agretti (Rod Taylor), a relative of the departed Melissa. Astonishingly, this hasty action proves that Angela is in her right mind, and ultimately leads to Richard's arrest! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Falcon Crest enters its seventh season minus longtime series regular Robert Foxworth, whose character, Chase Gioberti, had perished while saving his infant son from the sinister machinations of a crooked private eye. As a result, Chase's aunt and reluctant business partner Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) regains her late nephew's share of the prosperous Falcon Crest winery. Meanwhile, ruthless newspaper publisher Richard Channing (David Selby), previously assumed to be the illegitimate son of Angela's ex-husband Douglas but now revealed as Angela's biological son, enters into yet another unholy business arrangement with the Underworld, this time represented by "The Thirteen", a covert organization, headed by a man named Rosemont (Roscoe Lee Browne), which seeks to ruin the world's economy for its own profit. This does not rest well with Richard's new wife, Chase's widow Maggie (Susan Sullivan), who has every reason to suspect that Richard's new business associates are up to no good. And in a separate development, having rejoined the cast of Falcon Crest after a three-year absence during the previous season, Chase and Maggie's troubled daughter Victoria (Jamie Rose) is promptly kidnapped by an Eastern European white slavery ring. Elsewhere, in her ongoing efforts to obtain Richard's share of Falcon Crest, Angela tries to persuade her prodigal nephew Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) to return home, but Lance wants no part of either Angela or his ex-wife Melissa (Ana Alicia), who has by now aligned herself with Dan Fixx (Brett Cullen), Lance's would-be successor as heir to the Channing millions. Meanwhile, Angela conspires with a movie special-effects artist to rid herself of Melissa by convincing the girl that her house is haunted! Perhaps as a form of divine punishment for this and her many other misdeeds, Angela must resign herself to the fact that her daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) is currently running a call-girl business, and intends to make a movie about her new career. As the season rushes to its cliffhanger finale, Richard virtually signs his own death warrant by offering to testify against "The Thirteen" before the senate, striking a deal with his would-be assassin to sacrifice his life in exchange for the safety of Angela and her family. And after Melissa digs up hitherto unknown legal papers proving that she and she alone owns Falcon Crest, Angela is tossed out on the street! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Five of Falcon Crest finds ruthless winery owner Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) once again under siege, this time from Cassandra Wilder (Anne Archer), who intends to destroy Angela and her business to avenge past wrongs committed by Angela against the Wilder family. Facing financial ruin, Angela summons her old flame Peter Stavros (Cesar Romero) to help her get back on her feet. Peter has no sooner gotten to work than he is abducted by his own daughter Sofia (Julie Carmen), who wants to get her hands on the Channing fortue herself. Eventually, Angela marries Peter--but only to prevent him from assuming full control of her beloved Falcon Crest (and to keep an eye on Peter's son Eric [John Callahan], who may have his own avaricious agenda). Meanwhile, newspaper owner Richard Channing (Doug Selby), the illegitimate son of Angela's late husband Douglas, continues to build up his financial nest eggs by skimming profits from the Tuscany Downs Racetrack that he'd constructed a few seasons earlier in order to spite Angela (and which involved him up to his neck with the sinister "Cartel"). Figuring out what Richard is up to, Terry Hartford (Laura Johnson), the ex-prostitute sister-in-law of Richard's longtime nemesis (and half-brother) Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), blackmails Channing into marriage. And speaking of prostitutes, Season Five brings forth a fascinating new recurring character: Richard's female attorney Jordan Roberts (Morgan Fairchild, a schizophrenic who transforms into a hooker named "Monica" on a nightly basis! Elsewhere, Chase's wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan), exercising the prerogative of many a previous soap-opera heroine, suddenly develops amnesia, and while in this state pens a "roman a clef" about the people she knows. When the book is accepted for publication, Maggie is introduced to literary publicist Jeff Wainwright (Edward Albert)--who spends the rest of the season obsessively stalking her. Also, in their efforts to have another baby, Chase and Maggie's son Cole (William R. Moses) and his wife Melissa (Ana Alicia) engage the services of Melissa's sister Robin (Barbara Howard) as surrogate mother; going far beyond the requirements of her job, Robin sleeps with Cole, then insists upon keeping the baby. And in other developments, Melissa's ex-husband Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) falls for pop singer Apollonia (played by Patricia Kotero, who actually adopted "Apollonia" as a stage name), a fact that disgusts his grandmother Angela only slightly less than the romance between Angela's daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) and ambitious truck driver Dwayne Cooley (Daniel Greene). In the season's traditional cliffhanger finale, all of the Tuscany Valley and the people therein--including the entire Knots Landing cast--is imperiled by a devastating earthquake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Two of Falcon Crest ended as Julia Cumson (Abby Dalton), the demented sister of ruthless Tuscany Valley winery owner Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) and the mother of Angela's playboy grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas), revealed herself to be the murderer of Lance's father-in-law Carlo Agretti--and in the process, gunned down Angela's nephew and chief nemesis Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), as well as Chase's mother Jacqueline. Though Chase recovers from his wounds, Jacqueline dies and Julia is carted off first to prison and then a mental insistution--but not before Carlo's daughter Melissa (Ana Alicia) and Chase's half-brother Richard (David Selby) try to manipulate poor Julia into destroying Angela's reputation in the courtroom. As Chase is nursed back to health by Jacqueline's nephew Dr. Michael Ransom (Cliff Robertson), Angela tries to take advantage of the situation by having Chase declared mentally incompetent so she can gain full control of the Falcon Crest winery. To this end, she enlist the aid of an unscrupulous physician named Dr. Lantry (Ron Rifkin)--who, own his own, schemes to kill Chase so that he can blackmail Angela. Once Lantry commits suicide, Angela is off the hook, while Dr. Ransom, exercising his power as executor of Jacqueline's will, keeps the ruthless Richard in line by stipulating that Chase will give Richard half of Jacqueline's fortune only if Chase regards his half-brother as being totally trustworthy! Elsewhere, Lance tries to return to his wife Melissa, who refuses to have anything to do with him, holding him responsible for her father's death and their son Joseph's fragile medical condition. Actually, Joseph is not Lance's son, but instead the offspring of Chase Roberti's son Cole (William R. Moses), who after his affair with Melissa entered into marriage with Linda Caproni (Mary Kate McGheehan), the daughter of an immigrant's-rights activist who has long despised Angela and her family. Meanwhile, Chase's wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan) has an awkward reunion with her sister Terry Hartford (Laura Johnson), an unregenerate prostitute who hopes to claim her share of Maggie's newfound wealth; before long, Terry has not only wormed her way into the Gioberti household, but she is also making the moves on the virtuous Dr. Ransom. Angela decides to use Terry's sordid history as leverage against Cole when the latter tries to gain custody of baby Joseph. As it turns out, Melissa is more than willing to relinquish Joseph to Angela's custody in exchange for a piece of Falcon Crest--a bit of chicanery that drives Lance to near-madness! Near the end of the season, the "Cartel" story arc that will dominate Season Four is introduced, as Richard enters into an extremely shady series of business transactions in order to build a racetrack on Angela's land. Also, Chase enters into a battle with Richard to save the local wineries; articles published in Richard's newspaper expose the connection between the dreaded Cartel and the late Jacqueline; Maggie develops a brain tumor; and a scheme is hatched to assassinate Richard at the opening of his racetrack. In the cliffhanger finale, Julia escapes from the institution, taking baby Joseph hostage; Angela is poised to enter into a marriage of convenience with her unscrupulous lawyer Phillip Erikson (Mel Ferrer); and several of the principal characters face extermination in an "accidental" plane crash. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Escape Artist represents the laudable directorial debut of cinematographer Caleb Deschanel. Griffin O'Neal, the real-life son of Ryan O'Neal, plays Danny Masters, the offspring of a famed magician. Determined to match his dad's accomplishment, Danny runs into nothing but trouble. His biggest mistake is picking the pocket of the son of a corrupt town mayor. When not running from adults, the boy is being exploited by them. A critic's favorite, Escape Artist has slowly built up a cult following over the years, thanks largely to its eclectic supporting cast, including Raul Julia, Desi Arnaz Jr., Joan Hackett, Teri Garr, Jackie Coogan, Huntz Hall and M. Emmet Walsh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Angela Channing (Jane Wyman), the formidable and much-feared owner of Napa Valley's Falcon Crest winery; and Angela's nephew Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), the son of her late brother Jason, from whom he has inherited 50 acres of Channing property. Arriving in California to assume control of his land--and to rescue the Tuscany Valley from the iron grip of Angela, who controls the local water rights--Chase brings along his wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan) and his children Cole (William R. Moses) and Victoria (Jamie Rose). With gimlet-eyed determination, Angela begins formulating plans to chase Chase all the way back to New York, using every trick in the book up to and including pitting young Cole against her father. She also relies upon the legal chicanery at the disposal of her somewhat less than ethical attorney, Phillip Erikson (Mel Ferrer) All that is holding Angela back from declaring all out war on Chase is the fact that she has innumerable skeletons in her closet, beginning with the complicity of her own daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) in Jason's "accidental" death. Meanwhile, Angela's indolent playboy grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas), eager to prove his worth to the Channing family by going after Chase himself, succeeds in only pulling off stupid stunts like sabotaging the Gioberti pump house. In the course of events during the first season, Victoria Gioberti falls in love with ranchhand Mario (Mario Marcellino), incurring the wrath of her parents in the process. Rebelling against her mom and dad, Victoria runs off to the streets of San Francisco, where the sharkish Lance introduces her to a producer of porno films. Later on, Lance lands a job at the "San Francisco Globe", a newspaper managed by Angela's ex-husband Douglas (David Selby). In this capacity, Lance enters into a relationship with Melissa Agretti (Ana Alicia), a romance engineered by Angela in hopes of gaining control of the competing Agretti winery. Though Melissa and Lance can't stand each other (he's still messing around with former girlfriend Lori Chapman, played this season by Cindy Morgan), she accepts his proposal, pursuing a hidden agenda of her own. When word comes that Melissa is pregnant, Angela assumes that Lance is the father--but he isn't. Meanwhile, Lance's father Tony Cumson (John Saxon), who deserted both his son and his wife (and Angela's sister) Julia (Abby Dalton) years earlier, adds to the existing aura of tension and hostility by suddenly resurfacing. Also working at the "Globe" is Chase's wife Maggie, who begins digging into the mystery of Jason Channing's death at the behest of her boss, Douglas Channing (Stephen Elliott)_. Just before the coroner's inquest, Douglas himself dies, while the only other person who may hold the key to the mystery, Angela's daughter Emma, is kept under sedation and out of the jury's reach. During all this intrigue, Lana Turner is introduced as Chase's mother Jacqueline Perrault, who seems to have all the "dirt" on Angela and her questionable business practices. As the season ends, the findings of the inquest result in Chase gaining control of Falcon Crest, though he generously (and to his later regret) allows Angela to retain ownership of half of the business; and upon the death of his father, Douglas Channing's illegitimate son Richard (David Selby) takes over the "Globe" lock, stock, and scandal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An incompetent ER doctor (Michael Durrell) panics under pressure, causing the death of a heart attack victim. Though she knows what really happened, nurse Margaret Alldred (Margaret Ladd) is pressured by the doctor and her boss to help them cover up the details of the tragedy--intimating that she will be blacklisted from the medical profession if she doesn't cooperate. In desperation, Margaret turns to an old family friend for help and advice...an old family friend named Quincy (Jack Klugman). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alex (Judd Hirsch) is surprisingly unaffected when his sister Charlotte (Joan Hackett) shows up with the news that their father, Joe, has suffered a near-fatal heart attack. It soon develops that Alex has never forgiven Joe for running out on his family years earlier. But when he shows up in the hospital, Alex is overcome with emotion and sobbingly expresses his love for his ailing dad. But there's another surprise in store for all concerned -- and without giving the game away, it should be noted that Jack Gilford is cast in the role of "Joe Reiger." ~ All Movie Guide

Based on the best-selling novel by George V. Higgins, The Friends of Eddie Coyle chronicles the last days of a weary Boston-based weapons dealer. Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) doesn't want to serve a life sentence in prison, so he becomes an informant for both the police and the treasury department. Coyle is likewise unwilling to give up his lifestyle, thus he continues his illegal gun-running operation for the underworld. The mob becomes aware that Eddie is squealing to the cops, so they send his best friend, Dillon (Peter Boyle), to rub him out. Dillon compassionately takes Eddie out on the town, treating him to dinner and a hockey game...then drives to a deserted field to carry out his orders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide