Piper Laurie Movies
Signed by Universal in 1950, the perky, redheaded Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs) was a welcome presence in many a musical, situation comedy and costume drama. In later years, she tended to dismiss her ingenue years, noting that she spent most of her time posing for cheesecake layouts. Thanks in great part to her devastating performance as an alcoholic in the 1958 Playhouse 90 TV drama "The Days of Wine and Roses", Laurie completely altered her cuddly image, reinventing herself as a powerful dramatic actress. She earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Paul Newman's neurotic girlfriend in The Hustler (1961), then suddenly retired from acting upon her marriage to movie critic Joseph Morganstern. She made a brilliant return to films with another Oscar-nominated performance, this time as Sissy Spacek's religious fanatic mother in Carrie (1976). Ten years and several topnotch performances later, she was honored with a third Oscar nomination for Children of a Lesser God (1986). Laurie's television work has included a co-starring assignment opposite a very young Mel Gibson in the superb Australian TV movie Tim (1979) and an Emmy-nominated stint on David Lynch's 1990 "cult" series Twin Peaks. Working only when the spirit moves her in recent years, Piper Laurie has been seen in such prestige productions as Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993) and White Man's Burden (1995). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Made for television, A Christmas Memory is adapted from the wistful short story by Truman Capote, previously filmed in 1967 as a one-hour episode of ABC Stage 67. Capote himself narrated the original version, in which he recalled his lonely childhood and the strong bond between himself and his simple-minded older cousin Sook, a role brilliantly essayed in 1967 by Geraldine Page. The remake stars Patty Duke as Sook, with whom young Buddy (Eric Lloyd) (the Capote character) lives during one memorable Depression Christmas while his divorced (and detached) mother and father are otherwise occupied. Looked after by her unmarried sisters Jennie (Piper Laurie) and Callie (Anita Gillette), the warm, unfailingly cheerful Sook busies herself with preparing Christmas fruitcakes for everyone she can think of--including President Roosevelt and Jean Harlow!--and, with the innocence of the eternal child, she allows the impressionable Buddy into her own private world. When the time comes for Sook and Buddy to be separated, he prefers to remain with her. . .a decision, alas, that is not his to make. Bereft of Capote's eloquent narration, and including several subplot intrigues not to be found in the original short story, A Christmas Memory is a game effort, but in the end falls short of the 1967 classic. The remake aired December 21, 1997 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Lloyd, Patty Duke, (more)
- 1955
In this lively musical a chorine hooks a successful businessman and becomes the snob she thinks he expects her to be. This is a problem, because he fell in love with her because she was so earthy and fun. Now that she has become refined and aloof, he is bored. Fortunately, just as he is leaving, the plucky girl sees the error of her ways and marital bliss ensues. Songs include: "Ain't Misbehavin'", "The Dixie Mambo", "I Love That Rickey, Tickey, Tickey", and "A Little Love Can Go a Long Way". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1988
In this mystery, Peter Ustinov reprises the role of Hercule Poirot, the fussy and flower-tending detective from Belgium created by Agatha Christie. In 1937, Mrs. Emily Boynton (Piper Laurie) is on an archeological dig in Palestine; she inherited the wealth of her recently deceased husband and feels little inclination to share it with her relatives. When she turns up murdered, there are plenty of logical suspects among the people who hated Emily, so which one did the deed? It's up to Poirot to find out. The supporting cast includes Lauren Bacall, John Gielgud, and Carrie Fisher; the film was Ustinov's sixth go-round as Poirot. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov, Lauren Bacall, (more)
This classic horror movie based on Stephen King's first novel stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a shy, diffident teenager who is the butt of practical jokes at her small-town high school. Her blind panic at her first menstruation, a result of ignorance and religious guilt drummed into her by her fanatical mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie), only causes her classmates' vicious cruelty to escalate, despite the attentions of her overly solicitous gym teacher (Betty Buckley). Finally, when the venomous Chris Hargenson (Nancy Allen) engineers a reprehensible prank at the school prom, Carrie lashes out in a horrifying display of her heretofore minor telekinetic powers. Many films had featured school bullies, but Carrie was one of the first to focus on the special brand of cruelty unique to teenage girls. Carrie's world is presented as a snake pit, where the well-to-do female students all have fangs -- even the reticent Sue Snell (Amy Irving) -- and all the males are blind pawns, sexually twisted around the fingers of Chris and her evil cronies. The talented supporting cast includes John Travolta, P.J. Soles, and William Katt. One of the genre's true classics, the film was followed by a sequel in 1999, as well as by a famously unsuccessful Broadway musical adaptation that starred Betty Buckley, the movie's gym teacher, as Margaret White. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, (more)
Children of a Lesser God is a love story about a speech teacher who falls for a beautiful yet distant deaf girl in a small New England school for the deaf, and the obstacles that they face due to their differences. William Hurt plays James Leeds, a renegade teacher with an unconventional approach to education and a resume that includes stints as a bartender and a disk jockey. Upon his arrival, he is warned by school administrator Dr. Franklin (Philip Bosco) not to get creative with his instruction. Naturally, Leeds already has his mind set on his teaching plan and proceeds to play loud rock music in class in order to teach the students to feel the vibrations of the music and get them to try to speak phonetically. But a new element enters his life when he meets the attractive custodian, Sarah (Marlee Matlin). An exceptionally intelligent yet extremely bitter young woman, Sarah is a graduate of the school who has decided to remain there, in the confines of her world of silence; it's safer for her to be with her own "people" than to face what she perceives as a cruel and uncaring world. She hardly seems interested in James and will only communicate with him through signing, although she can read lips and even speak a little. James learns from Sarah's mother (Piper Laurie) that Sarah was sexually molested as a teenager; this explains why she is so wary of his attempts to form a relationship with her and why she is so full of fear. Eventually, James does get through to Sarah and the two fall in love, although both have to learn new ways to communicate their feelings. Though it seldom resembles the Mark Medoff play on which it was based, this directing debut from Randa Haines won an Best Actress Oscar for Matlin, for her first screen performance. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, (more)
- 1954
The 3D melodrama Dangerous Mission starts off with a bang when innocent Piper Laurie inadvertently witnesses the murder of her gangster boss. Though she doesn't get a particularly good look at the killer, she knows she's dead meat if she remains in town. Thus, Laurie skeedaddles to Montana's Glacier National Park, where most of the film takes place. Following her westward are Victor Mature and Vincent Price. One of these men is a federal agent, bound and determined to bring Laurie back to the East to testify; the other is the murderer, who intends to silence our heroine for keeps. Laurie doesn't know which is which, but the audience does. A bit poky at times (thanks in part to the uninspired editing of Gene Palmer), Dangerous Mission roars into life during a mid-film forest fire and a climactic chase through the glacier fields. Featured in the cast are William Bendix as a Montana ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1954
Rory Calhoun stars as veteran gunfighter Brett Wade in Dawn at Socorro. In a lengthy flashback, the audience learns why Wade has hung up his guns and turned to gambling. Upon meeting dance-hall girl Rannah Hayes (Piper Laurie), he vows to take her out of the shady saloon run by Dick Braden (David Brian). He engages Braden in a card game, winner take all, with Rannah as the stakes--only to lose everything. Sorely tempted to strap on his guns again to claim Rannah, Wade is saved from this fateful decision by the timely arrival of another notorious fast gun, Jimmy Rapp (Alex Nicol). Less of a traditional western than a character study, Dawn at Socorro received better-than-usual reviews when it first came out in July of 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1987
- PG
Amy (Olivia Hussey) is a widow who is held captive by her insane Aunt Margot (Piper Laurie) in this predictably routine mystery. After she believes her husband has died, Amy is comforted by a group of society women with lesbian tendencies and is drugged when she goes to live with her aunt who tries to convince her she is insane. Amy begins to have nightmarish hallucinations and believes she sees the decayed remains of her late husband. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivia Hussey, Piper Laurie, (more)
In 1987-88, a quartet of films with the same basic body-switching premise deluged theaters: Like Father, Like Son (1987), Big (1988), Vice Versa (1988), and 18 Again (1988). One year later, Dream a Little Dream (1989) followed suit. Coleman Ettinger (Jason Robards) is forever scolding the local high school students who use his yard as a shortcut to and from their nearby school. Coleman is not a crotchety old coot, however. He's deeply in love with his wife Gena (Piper Laurie) and is good friends with his next-door neighbor Ike (Harry Dean Stanton). In fact, Coleman is looking for a mystical way to preserve his and Gena's lives forever by transferring their consciousness into the bodies of younger people. One day, student Bobby Keller (Corey Feldman) has a bicycle mishap with Coleman while cutting through the yard, and their minds change places. Now Coleman has the brain of a teenager, while young Bobby uses Coleman's wisdom and life experience to win over the girl of his dreams. Dream a Little Dream was the directorial debut of Marc Rocco, son of actor Alex Rocco, who costars in a supporting role. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corey Feldman, Meredith Salenger, (more)
- 1995
Rushing to Milwaukee after his wife, Jenn (Christine Harnos), and daughter, Rachel (Yvonne Zima), are injured in a car accident, Greene (Anthony Edwards) is relieved to learn that they're all right -- but none too happy with the news that Jenn has been withholding from him. Back in Chicago, Carol (Julianna Margulies) is given advice about her new house by Josh Shern (Adam Goldberg), a paranoid schizophrenic with an innate talent for architecture. And Dr. Morganstern (William H. Macy) and Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) clash when he suggests that her personal problems vis-à-vis little Suzy are negatively affecting her job performance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Unable to cope with losing custody of baby Suzy, Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) begins consulting a therapist, whereupon the events in this episode (directed by series regular Anthony Edwards) are unfolded in flashback form. One of the plot developments involves Carol (Julianna Margulies), who in order to save her paramedic boyfriend, Shep (Ron Eldard), from disciplinary action may be forced to lie on his behalf. Elsewhere, Ross (George Clooney) discovers that his father, Ray, has run out on Karen (Marg Helgenberger) -- and with most of Karen's money. And Carter (Noah Wyle) tries to comfort a young girl named TC (Gabrielle Boni), whose surgery will prevent her from participating in a basketball tournament. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Writer/director Michael Clancy makes his feature film debut with the black comedy Eulogy. Zooey Deschanel plays Kate Collins, an unhappy college student who is made even more unhappy when her grandfather (Rip Torn) dies. Even though the entire family hates each other, they reunite at the home of Grandma Collins (Piper Laurie). Among other family members, Kate observes a war between her washed-up actor dad, Daniel (Hank Azaria); her lesbian Aunt Lucy (Kelly Preston); her wound-up Uncle Skip (Ray Romano); and her strict Aunt Alice (Debra Winger). Tensions escalate and family secrets are ultimately revealed. Kate is also inundated with the eulogy-writing duties, as she's the only one capable of such a task. Meanwhile, she reunites with old flame Ryan Carmichael (Jesse Bradford). Eulogy premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hank Azaria, Jesse Bradford, (more)
- 1951
In this funny sequel to the popular Francis the Talking Mule the loquacious equine and his plucky pal Peter (Donald O'Connor) get a job working on a horse-breeder's ranch and end up saving it from financial ruin when Francis, who has the inside track with the racehorses, provides Peter with names of the winners before the races are run. Sure enough Peter finds himself with a fistful of cash and uses it to buy a racehorse for the farm. Unfortunately, the mare he chooses is suffering from a debilitating lack of confidence. Fortunately, Francis is around to perk her up. When not dealing with the mare, Peter finds time to court the horse- breeder's lovely niece. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald O'Connor, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1999
Christine Baranski makes her first series appearance as Seattle radio therapist Dr. Nora Fairchild, a spoof of a certain well-known, ultraconservative talk-show host. Dr. Nora's outspoken, bullying and predominately homophobic "my way or the highway" radio personality is extremely irritating to many observers, including Frasier (Kelsey Grammer), who to his everlasting regret recommended Nora to the KACL management. Even so, the outrageous Nora dramatically increases the station's ratings -- setting the stage for a riotous showdown between the Doctors Crane and Fairchild. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
A tongue-tied Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) manages to say all the wrong things at the breakfast table after his father, Martin (John Mahoney), has spent the night with a woman. Realizing that he has embarrassed his dad, Frasier tries to make amends during his radio show -- and succeeds to make things worse, only this time in front of the entire city of Seattle. Our hero's last-ditch effort to smooth out the situation just might work...and then, it just might not. Patrick Kerr makes his first series appearance as irritating Star Trek aficionado Noel Shempsky, eternal nemesis of Frasier's co-worker, Roz (Peri Gilpin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on the autobiographical book by Chris Oyler, the made-for-TV Go Toward the Light is a sometimes wrenching, ofttimes inspirational AIDS drama. Claire and Greg Madison (Linda Hamilton and Richard Thomas) discover to their horror that their hemophiliac son Ben (Joshua Harris) has contracted the deadly virus through a tainted transfusion. Faced with the likelihood that Ben will not live out the year, the grief-stricken Madisons vow to make every day of that year count and to see to it that their son will not have to endure his agony alone. The excellence of the performances are matched by the script (by Susan Nanus and Beth Polson) and direction (Mike Robe). Go Toward the Light debuted November 1, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Hamilton, Richard Thomas, (more)
- 1958
The second volume of this collection features a television production of "The Days of Wine and Roses." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Douglas Sirk directed this frothy musical comedy set in the 1920s starring Charles Coburn as Samuel Fulton, an elderly man with a multi-million dollar fortune. With no family of his own to whom he can leave his money, Fulton is pondering what to do with his estate. Years ago, he was in love with a woman named Harriet, whom he asked to marry. She turned him down and married another someone else, but he's still fond of her and considers leaving his millions to her family. However, Fulton decides to first give them a test. Posing as an eccentric and threadbare artist, he rents a room from Harriet (Lynn Bari) and her husband Charles (Larry Gates). He then arranges for an anonymous gift of $100,000 to be presented to them so that he can watch their reactions. Sadly, things don't go well; Harriet browbeats the rest of the family into moving into a mansion and tries to convince her daughter Millicent (Piper Laurie) to break up with her boyfriend, poor but good-hearted soda jerk Dan (Rock Hudson), in favor of a wealthier and more socially prominent man. Songs include "Tiger Rag," "When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along," "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More," and "Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?" James Dean has a tiny part as a customer at the soda fountain; it was his first appearance onscreen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Piper Laurie, Rock Hudson, (more)
A precocious but troubled young girl living in 1950s-era Alabama seeks solace in the music of Elvis Presley in director Deborah Kampmeier's controversial tale of childhood trauma and musical healing. An air of repression lingers over the home of spirited youngster Lewellen (Dakota Fanning), who finds both comfort in the music of pop sensation Presley, as well as a place to store her pain and anger. In time Lewellen begins to find her own voice, a voice that will instill her with the strength to move beyond the pain of her past and into a more hopeful future. Piper Laurie, David Morse, and Robin Wright Penn star in a period drama that made its debut at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dakota Fanning, Cody Hanford, (more)
After her lifelong friend is jailed for murder, a brave woman launches a private investigation to prove her innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Veronica Hamel, Mimi Rogers, (more)
- 1977
The right to die with dignity was at the heart of this fact-based TV movie. After a serious accident, New Jersey woman Karen Ann Quinlan lapses into an irreversible coma. Only a complicated and expensive life-support system forestalls Karen's inevitable death; otherwise, she is brain dead and her prognosis is hopeless. The girl's grieving parents, Joe (Brian Keith) and Julie (Piper Laurie), end up fighting a lengthy legal battle for permission to disconnect Karen from life support and allow nature to take its course. When In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan made its first NBC network appearance on September 26, 1977, the real Karen Ann was still alive -- and would remain so, without artificial assistance, until 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- PG
The celebrated stage drama by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, based on the real-life Scopes trial in which a teacher was jailed in 1925 for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution, is filmed for the third time in this adaptation produced for the Showtime premium cable network. Jack Lemmon plays the celebrated trial lawyer who defends the teacher in a character based on Clarence Darrow and George C. Scott plays the prosecuting attorney, modeled on William Jennings Bryan; Tom Everett Scott plays the embattled educator. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, (more)
- 1997
Based on a book by Dean Koontz, who also served as one of the executive producers, this Canadian telefilm directed by Yves Simoneau (Mother's Boys) concerns a young psychology student named Chyna Shepherd. She's played by Molly Parker (who was so wonderful in the 1996 cult film Kissed) as a troubled woman with a frightening past, which is seen in disturbing flashbacks. Chyna attempts to exorcise her own demons by rescuing a 15-year-old girl named Ariel (Tori Paul) from the brilliant but completely insane serial killer Edgler Vess (John C. McGinley). Vess has kidnapped Ariel and is holding her captive in his remote cabin, and only Chyna can save her. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John C. McGinley, Molly Parker, (more)
- 1954
Tony Curtis stars as Johnny Dark, a moody automobile designer. Rejected by a major auto firm because of his "radical" notions, Johnny sets out to prove the efficiency of his cars on the racetrack. He is aided and abetted by pretty Piper Laurie and less pretty Paul Kelly, while motor mogul Sidney Blackmer fumes and fusses until he realizes that Johnny's designs will save his company. Most of the film is devoted to a marathon race, pitting Johnny against his friendly enemy Don Taylor. Johnny Dark is a must for racing buffs, as well as a prime example of Tony Curtis in his beefcake period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, (more)
