Rue McClanahan Movies
Graduating cum laude from the University of Tulsa, Rue McClanahan studied acting with Uta Hagen and at the Perry-Mansfield school. After her professional debut with a Pennsylvania stock company in 1957, McClanahan headed to New York, where between acting gigs she worked as a waitress, took shorthand and sold blouses. Grabbing any opportunity available, she made her TV bow on a 1960 episode of the TV series Malibu Run, then appeared in a handful of exploitation films with come-hither titles like Five Minutes to Love (she played "Poochie, the girl from the shack," a credit she has since dropped from her resumé). She managed to find more prestigious work on the New York stage, starring in such well-received productions as MacBird, Jimmy Shine, Sticks and Bones and California Suite. She also played regular roles on the TV soap operas Another World and Where the Heart Is. A 1972 guest shot on Norman Lear's controversial series All in the Family led to her being cast as Vivian Harmon on Lear's popular sitcom Maude, a role she played until the series' cancellation in 1978. McClanahan's next project was her own starring series, 1978's Apple Pie, which unfortunately bit the dust after three shows. She went on to play the vitriolic Aunt Fran on the network version of Mama's Family (1983-85), then was co-starred with her Maude colleague Bea Arthur in The Golden Girls (1985-92). Her well-rounded portrayal of overly amorous museum worker Blanche Devereaux won her an 1986 Emmy award; she reprised the character in the Golden Girls spin-off Golden Palace (1992-93). The star of several made-for-TV movies, McClanahan co-produced and appeared in a brace of "dramedies," Mother of the Bride (1991) and Baby of the Bride (1992). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
- Add A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story to QueueAdd A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story to top of Queue
This made-for-television movie tells the story of Margaret Mitchell, the well-known author of Gone With The Wind. Young TV-star-turned-Hollywood-bad-girl Shannon Doherty stars as Pulitzer Prize-winner Mitchell, whose impulses and insecurity inspired her passionate work. John Clark Gable, son of legendary Gone With The Wind star Clark Gable, is also featured in this biopic, which was generally panned by critics for Doherty's portrayal of Mitchell. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
A Saintly Switch is a fantasy comedy about a football player switching bodies with his pregnant wife as a result of a magic trick gone bad. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1990
A welcome exception to the slasher-stalker-kidnapper films usually seen on the USA cable network, After the Shock is a tribute to the courage and heroism of Bay Area residents following the San Francisco earthquake of October 17, 1989. Director Gary A. Sherman opts for a "cinema verite" approach, utilizing a hand-held camera to recreate the style of the original on-the-spot TV reporting. The cast includes Scott Valentine, Rue McClanahan, Yaphet Kotto, Jack Scalia and Richard Anthony Crenna as various firefighters, paramedics, law officials and private citizens. One of the best performances is offered by Nick Zaninovich, a real-life quake survivor who spent seven hours trapped in his car, which was buried under a collapsed stretch of the Nimitz freeway. After the Shock debuted September 12, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Enterprising Mel (Vic Tayback) purchases a nursery school for the purpose of bulldozing the property and erecting a parking lot for his diner. This scheme causes the school's faculty and students, not to mention the diner staff, to regard Mel as a super-villain--and in fine "sitcom retribution" fashion, it is Mel himself who suffers most from the situation. Future Designing Women regular Rue McClanahan is cast in the unlikely role of Mother Goose!
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Naïve Edith answers a classified advertisement requesting a pair of "fun pen pals." Before long, the Bunkers are visited by Mr. and Mrs. Rempley, a couple of middle-aged "swingers" who invite Archie and Edith to participate in a wife-swapping party. Curtis Rempley is played by Vincent Gardenia, who would soon join the All in the Family cast as Frank Lorenzo; Ruth Rempley is enacted by Rue McClanahan, on the eve of her six-year hitch as Vivian Harmon on the All in the Family spin-off Maude. Written by Lee Kalcheim, Michael Ross, and Bernie West, "The Bunkers and the Swingers" originally aired on October 28, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
In this animated comedy/drama for the family, Annabelle (voice of Kath Soucie) is a calf who has a special wish for Christmas -- she'd like to be a reindeer and help Santa Claus drive his sleigh as he delivers his presents. Annabelle's friends tell her not to get her hopes up, but to everyone's surprise, Santa (voice of Kay E. Kuter) does indeed meet up with Annabelle, and the calf gets to help Santa make the holiday a special one for one young boy. Also appearing in the voice cast of Annabelle's Gift are Cloris Leachman, Jerry Van Dyke, Rue McClanahan, and Jim Varney; country music star Randy Travis narrates the story, and Alison Krauss and Nanci Griffith contribute songs to the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
This made-for-TV domestic drama is a follow-up to 1990's Children of the Bride. Rue McClanahan plays a 53-year-old newlywed, the wife of much-younger Ted Shackelford (replacing the earlier film's Patrick Duffy) It's bad enough when McClanahan unexpectedly becomes pregnant. It gets worse when the same thing happens to her unwed teenaged daughter Kristy McNichol. Directed by actor Bill Bixby, Baby of the Bride first aired December 22, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
After too many years away, brittle big-city doctor Sydney Ludwick (Lisa Hartman Black) returns to her home town of Bloomfield for a high school reunion. She is mildly surprised to find out that her widowed mother Helen (Rue McLanahan), with whom she hasn't communicated since the death of her dad, has transformed the family home into a bed-and-breakfast. Likewise bidding fair to bring change to Sydney's life is the fact that her high school sweetheart Gus (Dale Midkiff) is now a widower. But nothing quite prepares Sydney for the revelation of a dark secret that her mother has been harboring for years, with the tacit assistance of local pastor Ed Jenkins (Don Harvey). The background music is provided by country singer Clint Black, husband of the film's leading lady. Produced for cable's Hallmark channel, Back to You & Me originally aired on July 23, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Dependable character actor John Marley is afforded a rare starring role in Blade. Marley plays the title character, a world-weary private eye currently working on a murder case as a favor for a friend. The victim was the daughter of prominent conservative politico William Prince, whom Blade "knew when." While hunting for clues, Blade is bombarded by one disillusionment after another. The prime suspect turns out to be someone very, very close to Prince-who may have thought that, by eliminating his daughter, he was doing Prince an enormous favor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Rue McClanahan guests as Cory's freewheeling grandmother Bernice, who breezes into town with all sorts of fantastic plans and promises (including a Cal Ripkinautograph!) for her grandson. In eager anticipation, Cory (Ben Savage) backs out of a fishing trip with dad Alan (William Russ), who invites his son's buddy Shawn (Rider Strong) along instead. Alas, Grandma blithely reneges on all her promises--and it looks like Cory will never recover from this devastating disillusionment. Meanwhile, Eric (Will Friedle) sets his sights on Mr. Feeny's gorgeous niece, played by no less than Keri Russell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this film a middle-aged woman tries to get married to her younger fiance but is hindered by her four grown children who come bearing grudges. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1998
In this feature-length episode of the enduring and endearing television detective drama, the world's most rumpled police investigator, Lt. Columbo investigates the mysterious disappearance of a controversial Hollywood gossip columnist. Columbo's prime suspect is a secretive mortician who specializes in celebrity funerals. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Patrick McGoohan, (more)
- 1993
Another of several made-for-TV movies based on the best-selling novels of Danielle Steel, this one stars Jenny Robertson as Paxton Andrews, a sheltered Southern belle who falls for law student Peter Wilson (Steven Eckholdt) on the campus of Berkeley in the late '60s. After Peter is drafted and dies in Vietnam, the grief-stricken Paxton becomes the Saigon-based correspondent for a San Francisco newspaper, determined to use her column "Message from 'Nam" to bring comfort and solace to others whose loved ones are mired in the Southeast Asian quagmire. Before the inevitable slam-bang climax during the fall of Saigon, Paxton has not only grown emotionally and spiritually, but she has also enjoyed tender romantic interludes with a hard-bitten Army captain (Nick Mancuso) and a likeable sergeant (Ted Marcoux). Also featuring such formidable personalities as Rue McClanahan, Billy Dee Williams, and Esther Rolle, Danielle Steel's 'Message From Nam' originally aired October 17, 1993, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this comedy, a man trying to turn away from a life of crime starts performing a little larceny in the interest of helping others. Tom Turner (Greg Kinnear) is a small-time con man who makes the mistake of trying to cheat a pair of undercover cops one night. Fortunately for Tom, his case is heard by a lenient judge who orders him to get a straight job and stay out of trouble; if he can stay employed for a year, his conviction will be wiped from the record. Tom is hired at the Post Office and assigned to the Dead Letter Office, where he and his co-workers Rebecca (Laurie Metcalf), Herman (Tim Conway), and Vladek (Hector Elizondo) try to figure out what to do with the sacks of mail addressed to Santa Claus, Elvis Presley, and God. Against orders, Tom opens one of the letters to God and is moved by the sad story of the woman who sent it. He decides to reply and accidentally mails her his pay check; but when he sees how happy the answer made the recipient, Tom and his co-workers start opening more letters and trying to answer a few prayers that would be within their reach -- which leads Tom back to the courthouse again. Director Garry Marshall has a small role as Preston Sweeney. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Kinnear, Laurie Metcalf, (more)
Harry (Paul Leder) is a junkyard owner who runs a profitable car theft operation on the side. His two flunkies do the dirty work in exchange for the marijuana Harry provides for them, as well as regular romps in the sheets with the Pooch (Rue McClanahan), an addled prostitute who lives in a shack behind the main office. A young couple traveling with their baby has car trouble nearby, so Ben (Will Gregory) goes to the junkyard for a new starter. Harry is evasive with Ben, talking in circles to the frustrated motorist, until finally suggesting that he wait in the shack with the Pooch while he checks the yard for the proper part. Harry has plans for Ben, however, turning him over to a pair of crooked cops when they demand a scapegoat for all the stolen cars in the area. While they try to beat a confession out of him, his wife Edna (Gail Gordon) is chased through the junkyard by Harry's stoned henchman Blowhard (King Moody), who tries to rape her on a pile of tires. By the end, most of the cast is eager for revenge against the manipulative, arrogant Harry, who believes his power, money, and brains entitle him to belittle and abuse everyone in his path. This unique exploitation feature was also released as Five Minutes to Love. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- 1978
This third entry in the made-for-TV Having Babies saga was first telecast March 3, 1978. Susan Sullivan heads the cast as Dr. Julie Farr, presiding over three impending births. In true soap-opera fashion, Dr. Farr cannot help but get involved in the lives of her troubled patients. Marnie Bridges (Jamie Smith Jackson) must not only cope with parenthood, but with a faithless husband (Michael Lembeck); Gloria Miles (Rue McClanahan), left alone with her two children, suddenly goes into labor miles from the hospital; and Leslie Wexler (Patty Duke Astin), Dr. Farr's best friend, must decide whether or not to postpone a crucial mastectomy to have her baby. Having Babies III became a weekly TV series on March 7, 1978, again starring Susan Sullivan. Shortly thereafter, the title was changed to Julie Farr, MD. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A television production of the highly acclaimed William Alfred play that marked Faye Dunaway's emergence as a force to be reckoned with, Hogan's Goat is a blank verse tragedy set in the Brooklyn Irish-American community of the 1890s. Political skullduggery is at the heart of the plot, which concerns dynamic Matt Stanton (Robert Foxworth), a man who is ruthlessly determined to climb the ladder of success and make sure that he is never again a victim of the poverty into which he was born. As the film opens, Matt is already the leader of the sixth ward in Brooklyn -- but he has his sites set on becoming mayor of the borough. His work is cut out for him, as Ned Quinn (George Rose), the current officeholder, is equally determined to hold on to what he has. Kathleen (Dunaway), Matt's convent-raised wife, tries to dissuade him from his plans. She fears that Stanton's political foes will discover that she and Stanton were married only in a civil ceremony, and that they will be publicly disgraced. Quinn, of course, does just that, but he doesn't stop there. He further reveals that Matt was once the "goat" (i.e. kept man) of one Agnes Hogan. Though Kathleen is torn apart by this, Matt continues on, with dire consequences for them both. Dunaway's performance as Kathleen led to her star-making role in Bonnie and Clyde. Other members of the cast include Rue McClanahan, Philip Bosco, and George Rose. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Two outcasts find one another as their lives go into a tailspin in this moody grade-B drama. Tony (Sebastian Gregory, aka Anthony Vorno) is a Navy veteran who was a top man in underwater demolition during his time in the service; now he's trying to put his life back together after a messy divorce and he runs a junkyard that's seen better days. Gangster Nick (Paul Bruce) gets wind of Tony's experiences in the Navy and offers him 10,000 dollars to put his skills to work as part of an armored-car robbery. Tony grudgingly agrees, and arrives at a grimy strip club to seal the deal with Nick. There, Tony meets Sandy (Rue McClanahan), a would-be actress working at the club as a dancer who has been taking heat from the management for her reluctance to bare all on-stage. Tony and Sandy soon fall in love, but good luck doesn't follow them; Sandy falls for the empty casting-couch promises of a shifty screenwriter, and the carefully planned robbery fails to go like clockwork. An early credit for Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan, Hollywood After Dark was also screened under the titles Walk the Angry Beach and The Unholy Choice; it was filmed in 1965, but wasn't released until 1968, with some brief nude inserts added so the film could be sold as a sexploitation item. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sebastian Gregory, Rue McClanahan, (more)
The cautionary phrase "It could happen to you!" was seldom more appropriate than in this two-part, four-hour TV movie, inspired by a true story and based on actual court transcripts. The story begins in Fayetteville, NC in 1985, when Army sergeant Tim Hennis (John Corbett) is accused of murdering the wife and children of an Air Force captain. A combination of overzealous prosecution from the District Attorney's office and pressure from the armed forces and the media makes a swift conviction a fait accompli, though Hennis and his family continue to protest his innocence. Refusing to give up on the case, Hennis' defense team presses its own investigation, ultimately turning up a maelstrom of hitherto unknown evidence, surprise rebuttal witnesses, and a startling eyewitness testimony. First telecast by ABC, Innocent Victims was originally shown on January 21 and 22, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hal Holbrook, Rue McClanahan, (more)
- 1988
- PG
One of two "dueling" TV biopics of 1988, Liberace stars Andrew Robinson (who'd once played the giggling killer in Dirty Harry!) as the titular flamboyant entertainer. The film recounts Liberace's rise to fame thanks to TV exposure during the 1950s, but does so with distressing disregard of the facts: at one point, Liberace manages to mispronounce the name of his Wisconsin home town! A thin veneer of authenticity is maintained by the use of Liberace's actual piano-shaped swimming pool and his real jewelry and wardrobe. The AIDS angle is barely touched upon in the final scenes, thanks to the intervention of the entertainer's family and lawyers. Of the two Liberace films, Liberace runs a distant second to Liberace: Behind the Music (telecast the following October week of 1988 by a rival network), though Robinson does rather well in the leading role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The family friendly animal movie Miracle Dogs concerns a boy who befriends a three-legged dog. Soon his relationship with the canine deepens to the point that the boy is attempting to find new homes for a variety of homeless animals. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Jackson, Ted Shackelford, (more)
- 1990
- R
While working as a publicist, an average guy (Robby Benson) meets a girl (Karla DeVito, Robby's real-life wife), ends up marrying her and has a child (Lyric Benson, Robby's real daughter). Problems soon arise as the harried husband and father begins to crack under the pressure. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robby Benson, Karla de Vito, (more)
