K.C. Martel Movies
Beulah Land is an edited, movie-length version of the three-part TV miniseries adaptation of Lonnie Coleman's multi-part novels. The film is set in the Old South, with a time span ranging from 1827 to the postwar Reconstruction Era. Lesley Ann Warren stars as Sarah Kendrick, young belle of the Beulah Land plantation, who finds herself in love with a "damn Yankee." Sarah must also contend with a weakling brother (Paul Rudd) and a former slave (Dorian Harewood) who demands freedom as a right rather than a privilege. Beulah Land took forever to get before the cameras due to protests from black historical organizations; when it was finally telecast on October 7-9, 1980, NBC conducted a low-pressure ad campaign, as though the network was still fearful of stepping on toes despite the testimonial of a black Yale history professor, who commended the production for its "special sensitivity." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lesley Ann Warren, Michael Sarrazin, (more)
- 1980
The made-for-TV Fugitive Family questions the efficacy of the government's witness protection program. After sending syndicate kingpin Anthony Durano (Mel Ferrer) to prison, undercover agent Brian Roberts (Richard Crenna) and his entire family is marked for death by Durano's successor Peter Ritchie (Don Murray). Roberts and his brood are forced to change their names and move to a faraway city, there to start life anew. Vintner Olan Vacio (Eli Wallach) hires Roberts as a field worker, eventually making him his partner. This puts Vacio in the line of fire when Ritchie's hoods come calling. Fugitive Family first aired October 1, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
This made-for-TV drama tells the story of how a nice young widow becomes a stripper. She only does it because she desperately needs money to support her young son. When her son's grandfather finds out, he immediately starts a custody battle to take the son away from her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1979
This TV movie stars Jean Stapleton as the real-life "Aunt" Mary Dobkin, a physically handicapped woman living in the Baltimore of the 1940s. Concerned that juvenile delinquency is destroying her neighborhood, Aunt Mary organizes the "Dobkin Dynamiters", a baseball team comprised of disadvantaged and minority children. As she fights to have her biracial team officially sanctioned by the highly segregated Baltimore power structure, Aunt Mary is further challenged by the amputation of her left leg and right foot. Nonetheless, she perseveres over the next two decades, providing nearly 35,000 disenfranchised boys the opportunity to escape the streets and play ball. Sportscaster Ernie Harwell, who'd once called the shots for the Baltimore Orioles, makes a cameo appearance in this 1979 Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
"For God's sake, GET OUT!" was the ad campaign for the 1979 shocker The Amityville Horror. The film was based on the allegedly true story of the luckless Lutz family, who move lock, stock, and barrel into a new home, only to find that it is possessed by the demonic spirits of its previous owners. Variations of the Seven Deadly Plagues emanate from virtually every household fixture, while other forms of otherworldly mischief are suffered by the Lutz children. Enter kindly Father Delaney (Rod Steiger), who does his utmost to exorcise the house. The Amityville Horror was frequently greeted with laughs from its first-run audiences, especially after it was discovered that the "actual" events depicted in the film (based on a book by Jay Anson) were complete fabrications. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Margot Kidder, (more)
- 1978
Jerry Fogel is cast as Paul Billingham, aka "Ralph Alfalfa the Happy Farmer" of Chicago radio fame. Though a huge success on the airwaves, Billingham harbors a dark secret: He stutters. Now that he has been offered a TV job, Billingham is terrified that the bizarre physical subterfuges he uses to speak coherently into the microphone will be exposed -- so naturally, he goes to Bob for advice. Written by Andrew Smith, "Easy for You to Say" originally aired on February 11, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette, (more)
- 1977
In the short-lived TV series Mulligan's Stew, high school football coach Michael Mulligan (Lawrence Pressman) and his wife Jane (Elinor Donahue), already the parents of three children, suddenly find their family unit increased from five to nine. This occurs when Michael's sister and brother-in-law, whose name was Friedman, perish in a plane crash, whereupon the dead couple's four youngsters move into the already crowded Mulligan manse in Birchfield, California. Much of the drama (and humor) revolve around the culture clashes between the laid-back Mulligan kids and their three urban "step-siblings"--not to mention Kimmy (Sunshine Lee), a Korean war orphan adopted by the late Mr. and Mrs. Friedman. Add to this the fact that Michael's salary can hardly cover the needs of his "real" family, and the viewer has a stew indeed. The pilot for Mulligan's Stew aired June 20, 1977, on NBC; the series proper was broadcast by the same network from October 25 to December 13, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Pressman, Elinor Donahue, (more)
