Hollis McLaren Movies
- 2005
The new girl in town is 16-year-old Jacey Jeffries (Danielle Panabaker), who lives with her divorced mother, Terry (Mercedes Ruehl), and her two siblings. A popular and highly intelligent student, not to mention a talented athlete, Jacey nonetheless seems to be harboring a private, profound sadness -- or at least that's the perception of her high-school guidance counselor, Donna Cooper (Jane Krakowski). Ultimately Donna figures out the truth behind Jacey's melancholia: her baby "brother" Charlie is actually her own son, born out of wedlock and raised by Jacey's overbearing mother in a misguided effort to shield her daughter from disgrace. Upon discovering Jacey's secret, Donna takes a special interest in the girl's welfare -- an interest undoubtedly fueled by the fact that Donna herself is unable to have children. The scenes taking place in the sex-education class have an air of reality often lacking in made-for-TV films, due to the fact that the young actors playing the students were encouraged to improvise their dialogue. Produced for the Lifetime cable network, Mom at Sixteen first aired on March 21, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mercedes Ruehl, Jane Krakowski, (more)
Thee adult sisters are forced to face the scars of their past as they wait at their mother's deathbed in this drama written by noted Canadian actor Daniel MacIvor. Agnes (Molly Parker) grew up in Sydney, a small town in Nova Scotia; hoping to get away from memories of an unhappy childhood, Agnes moved to Toronto, where she found more than her share of disappointments. When Agnes receives word that her mother Rose (Marguerite McNeil) is in failing health, she returns to Sydney for the first time in years, where she's met by her sisters, Theresa (Rebecca Jenkins), who has been turned bitter by a bad divorce, and Louise (Stacy Smith), who prefers withdrawing into herself to dealing with the outside world. As the four women attempt to make peace with one another, Agnes decides it's time they faced several unpleasant truths, including the abuse they faced at the hands of her father. The first directorial effort from Wiebke Von Carolsfeld, Marion Bridge was screened in competition at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival as part of the "Perspective Canada" series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Parker, Rebecca Jenkins, (more)
In June of 2002, 13-year-old Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her own bedroom in Salt Lake City, a crime witnessed by her younger sister Mary Katherine. The desperate search for Elizabeth evolved into a gigantic media event, as her anguished parents combined forces with the authorities -- and a number of top-rated cable talk show hosts -- to follow any lead, big or small, that would help them find their daughter. Eight months into the girl's disappearance, hopes for her safety were growing dim -- until, miraculously, she was spotted only a short distance from her home, accompanied by a pair of bizarre and seriously disturbed personalities, Brian David "Emmanuel" Mitchell and Wanda Barzee. Originally telecast November 9, 2003, by CBS, the made-for-TV Elizabeth Smart: The Long Way Home is divided into two plains of action: the ordeal of the abducted Elizabeth and her uncanny ability to keep her wits and optimism intact despite the ever-growing possibility that she would never see her parents again; and the dogged determination of Elizabeth's parents Ed and Lois, who against all odds, never gave up hope that their daughter was still alive and well. Released shortly after Elizabeth's rescue, the film could have been cheap and exploitive, but was admirably produced and very well acted, especially by Amber Marshall as Elizabeth, Dylan Baker and Hannah Lochner as her parents, and Tom Everett and Hollis McLaren as her captors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dylan Baker, Lindsay Frost, (more)
- 1987
- R
Filmed in Canada, Too Outrageous is the belated sequel to the 1977 cult classic Outrageous. Craig Russell is back as gay hairdresser-turned-female impersonator Robin Turner, as is Hollis McLaren as his mentally unbalanced girlfriend. We learn that since last we saw him, Robin has become quite successful on the New York nightclub circuit with his imitations of Streisand, Garland et. al. We also learn that McLaren is as mixed-up as ever; this time she falls under the spell of a duplicitous bartender. That Too Outrageous isn't up to the standards of the original can be attributed to the fact that what was outrageous in 1977 was merely bemusing ten years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Russell, Hollis McLaren, (more)
- 1984
- R
Listed as a 1984 release in most sources, Vengeance is Mine was filmed in 1976. As the leading character, a taciturn farmer, Ernest Borgnine offers something of an extension of his characterization in the 1955 melodrama Violent Saturday. The farmer's solitude is shattered when bank robbers invade his farm. Pushed over the edge by the ordeal, the farmer exacts a horrible revenge on the criminals, taking them on one by one. Michael J. Pollard and Hollis McLaren co-star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A man who received false notice that his son had been murdered sets out to uncover the truth about his missing boy in this thriller starring Lino Ventura and Angie Dickinson. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lino Ventura, Angie Dickinson, (more)
Burt Lancaster stars as Lou, an aging mob flunkey, barely making a living in Atlantic City. Susan Sarandon plays Sally, a casino croupier whose husband Dave (Robert Joy) steals a large supply of drugs from the mob. When he is killed, the narcotics pass to the unwilling Sally. Lou, in the midst of longtime affair with middle-aged gangster's widow Grace (Kate Reid), falls for the much younger Sally, becoming her savior by killing the mob thugs sent to shut her up. The killings serve a therapeutic value for Lou, proving that he hasn't lost his old panache. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, (more)
- 1980
This three-part Canadian miniseries was based on the writing of Morley Torgov, who specialized in stories about Jewish children who grew up in the Sault Ste. Marie region in the 1930s and 1940s. The first 90-minute episode, "Today I Am a Fountain Pen," was an amusing reminiscence of a family's efforts to maintain a kosher home in a Canadian neighborhood in the year 1939. Episode Two, "A Rose By Any Other Name," was set during WWII, and focused on a Jewish tailor who contemplated changing his last name to avoid anti-Semitism. The final episode, "The Chopin Playoffs," took place during a 1948 competition for a musical scholarship, and brought together characters who'd been introduced in the two earlier programs. A Good Place to Come From was originally broadcast from March 12 to 16, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Burns, Harvey Atkin, (more)
- 1979
- PG
Adam (George Segal) is an English instructor at a U.S. college who hopes to win a professorship and tenure. Tricia (Glenda Jackson) is an English divorcee. They both wind up on a French ski slope at exactly the wrong time, and in the resulting collision, break one another's legs. While they are slinging ever-wittier insults at each other, they are also falling in love. They soon wed, with Tricia joining Adam back in the States. There, it becomes clear that Tricia was not cut out to be a dutiful, meek professor's wife. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal, Glenda Jackson, (more)
- 1978
Romain (Lino Ventura) lost his wife in a forest fire, and his son, who blamed him for the death, left France for Canada. Romain is called to Canada to identify the corpse of a murder victim believed to his son. When the murdered man turns out to be someone else, his son automatically becomes the chief suspect in the murder. Romain decides to try and get the young man to turn himself in and searches through the byway underground and underworld life in Canadian cities with the help of Karen (Angie Dickenson), a lady with an unsavory past. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lino Ventura, Angie Dickinson, (more)
- 1977
In this film, an unusual western town sports a population that awards status based on the number of people one can kill. When Lewis (Keir Dullea) is mysteriously transported there, he must struggle to stay alive and out of the way of Sheriff Frendlander (Jack Palance), the local hero who has killed more people than any other resident. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Keir Dullea, (more)
Two misfits find love and support in each other's company, in this show-business comedy with a twist. One of them, Robin Turner (Craig Russell), is a male hairdresser and a gifted female impersonator, who tries out his act in local gay nightclubs. His roommate is Liza Connors (Hollis McLaren), an old high-school friend who is now a mumblingly strange pregnant woman, recently released from a mental hospital where she was being treated for schizophrenia. She is determined never to return to the hospital again, and he wants to be a show-business success with his impressions. When Robin loses his job, the two determine to try their luck in New York. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Russell, Hollis McLaren, (more)
- 1976
A young woman's romantic dalliance with a criminal unexpectedly changes her life for the better in this drama. Heather (Hollis McLaren) is the daughter of John (Denholm Elliott), the owner of a large and successful paper company. Heather falls in love with Paul (Michael Margotta), a low level gangster whose attitudes represent a significant change from the sheltered existence she's led. When a rival firm tries to strong-arm John into selling his company, he refuses, leading them to hire hit man Philip (Lee Broker) to eliminate him. Heather inherits the paper company, and with some help from Paul, she learns how to deal with her new responsibilities and their rivals without being intimidated. Partners was directed by Don Owen, who previously made the ground-breaking Canadian independent films Nobody Waved Goodbye and Ladies & Gentlemen: Mr. Leonard Cohen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denholm Elliott, Hollis McLaren, (more)
- 1975
Northern Ontario is the setting for this compact suspenser. Dominic Hogan plays Fred, a psychotic would-be entrepreneur who hopes to convince his wife Janet (Gay Rowan) to invest in a shady land deal. The wife refuses, and the couple continue their violent argument while driving through the Ontario backwoods. When their car crashes, Janet is seriously injured, but Fred leaves the scene, hoping that his wife won't last the night. But she is saved by an ingenuous good samaritan, Al, played by Dan Hennessy, a Canadian actor best known in the US for his prolific cartoon voiceover work. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dominic Hogan, Gay Rowan, (more)
- 1975
In this grim Canadian drama a gentle farmer gets gruesome revenge against a group murderers by capturing and tormenting each of the culprits. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernest Borgnine, Michael J. Pollard, (more)
