Donna Mills Movies
Blonde, buoyant Donna Mills began acting in local amateur and professional productions in her home town of Chicago. Donna made her Broadway bow as a harem girl in Woody Allen's Don't Drink the Water, then played recurring roles on the Manhattan-based TV soap operas The Secret Storm and Love is a Many Splendored Thing. After playing Clint Eastwood's imperiled girlfriend in the theatrical feature Play Misty for Me (1971), Mills spent an unsatisfying few years typecast as a damsel in distress: all too typical was the title of her 1972 TV movie Bait. Donna Mills forever altered her on-screen image from trembling helplessness to calculating truculence in the role of Abby Cunningham Ewing, the second wife of Dallas "black sheep" Gary Ewing (Ted Shackleford), in the nighttime serial Knot's Landing (1980-89); coincidentally, Mills had co-starred with J. R. Ewing himself (aka Larry Hagman) on the now-forgotten 1971 sitcom The Good Life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This 1982 made-for-TV version of the Lewis Carroll classic Alice in Wonderland features an all-star cast. Such celebrities as Donald O'Connor, Maureen Stapleton and Eve Arden struggle to perform while buried under mounds of makeup and tons of eccentric costuming as Carroll's alternate-world loonies. Alice in Wonderland was first telecast Oct 3, 1983, on PBS' Great Performances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The perfume business is dramatized in this soap opera-like made-for-television movie. Based on the novel by Meredith Rich, Genie Francis (who played the infamous Laura on General Hospital) stars as Tiger Hayes, a woman who decides to start her own fragrance company. Typical soap dramas abound in this two-part movie, which was the pilot for a short-lived television series. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Linda Evans, (more)
- 1975
In this made-for-television drama, a retired businessman's obsession with the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle increase when his lover and her friends become its next victims. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- R
A couple of LAPD officers find a school for con artists. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Urich, Tom Selleck, (more)
- 1977
This wonderfully cheesy TV movie-of-the-week stars Tony Franciosa as a detective hot on the trail of a murderer whose mutilated and predominantly male victims are found encased in silken cocoons. He eventually tracks the killer's path to Los Angeles, where he discovers her true identity -- a woman who was bitten by black widow spiders as a child, who has developed the ability to transform herself into a gigantic spider-monster (as portrayed by a not-too-convincing rubber puppet). An odd diversion for director Dan Curtis, with a 1950's monster-movie mentality incongruous with his earlier TV features. The cast -- comprised of many familiar TV faces -- try to play their roles straight, despite the overall impression that the whole thing is a silly put-on. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Mills, Anthony Franciosa, (more)
Two women forced to deal with the ugly specter of domestic violence find support in one another in this made-for-television drama. Beth (Donna Mills) has spent years in a violent relationship with her husband Tim (Corbin Bernsen), who batters her on a regular basis. One day, Beth reaches the end of her rope, packing up her children and leaving her husband behind. Tim, however, isn't about to let Beth go, and begins following her every move. In order to put an end to his stalking, Beth enters a shelter for abused women, where she meets Kaye (Robin Givens), a fellow beaten spouse. Beth and Kaye become fast friends, and they decide to find a house together. However, Kaye unfortunately also has a husband who refuses to leave her be, and when her former spouse violently attacks her, it's up to Beth to see that justice is done. Dangerous Intentions was inspired by a true story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Mills, Corbin Bernsen, (more)
- 1978
Doctors' Private Lives was the 2-hour pilot film for the shortlived TV series of the same name. Ed Nelson and John Gavin star as, respectively, chief surgeon Dr. Michael Wise and cardiovascular unit chief Dr. Jeffrey Latimer. The drama arises from the ongoing clash of egos between these two medical giants. Nelson and Gavin were carried over to the series, as was Randolph Powell as Dr. Rick Calder. The guest cast includes Bettye Ackerman, who had ironically costarred in an earlier hospital series, Ben Casey (Ackerman was the wife of Sam "Dr. Zorba" Jaffee). Doctors' Private Lives premiered March 20, 1978; the series itself ran from April 5 to 28, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Television and cinema glamour queen Donna Mills shows off the know-how that helped earn her a reputation as one of the most beautiful women in show business in this video. Donna Mills: The Eyes Have It features Mills demonstrating her techniques for applying eye make-up (especially eye makeup), and shows how to make the most of your natural beauty (while downplaying your flaws) with different makeup strategies for all occasions. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
In this drama, a beautiful woman uses her charms to dupe her new sweetheart and his buddies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Mills, Peter Riegert, (more)
- 1991
Though based on fact, the two-part TV movie False Arrest plays more like one of those Linda Blair "babes in prison" flicks. Donna Mills plays Joyce Lukezic, a well-off Phoenix businesswoman/homemaker accused of murder. She knows, and we know, that she didn't do it. The double homicide was the handiwork of her sleazy husband Robert Wagner, who works diligently behind the scenes to make certain his wife is convicted. And with the "guilty as charged" verdict, he leaves Joyce high and dry at the end of part one. Part two of False Arrest was telecast three days later, with Joyce fending off hostile and sexually abusive inmates, courting a nervous breakdown, and battling to have her conviction overturned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The made-for-TV Fire! is graced with a made-for-TV cast, including Ernest Borgnine, Patty Duke Astin, Vera Miles, Alex Cord and Donna Mills. It all begins when a convict (Neville Brand) escapes from an Oregon road gang. To cover his trail, the fugitive starts a forest fire. Need you be told at this point that Fire! is an Irwin Allen production? Originally telecast in a two-hour slot on May 8, 1977, Fire! was later cut by 30 minutes and rerun in tandem with another Allen TV-movie disasterfest, Flood! (he stopped short of making a picture called Famine!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
"Master of disaster" Irwin Allen was so confident of his talents in 1979 that he actually thought he could stretch out a suspense tale for a full 200 minutes. Originally telecast in two parts, Allen's Hanging by a Thread concerns a group of friends and tourists, trapped in a sightseeing tram that dangles precariously over a yawning chasm. You might start yawning as well during the film's entirely dispensable flashback sequences. The "suspense" scenes themselves aren't bad, permitting an all-star cast (Sam Groom, Patty Duke Astin, Joyce Bulifant, Donna Mills, Burt Convy et. al.) to alternate between screaming and looking terrified. Hanging by a Thread was first broadcast on May 8 and 9, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
The old Outward Bound formula is pulled out of mothballs for the made-for-TV Haunts of the Very Rich. The scene is a gorgeous tropical resort, where seven very wealthy people have converged. These worthies have been lured to this spot by an anonymous host, who has promised them a vacation in a land where their every wish will be granted. It slowly dawns on the protagonists that their heaven-on-earth is actually Hell, from which there are no return flights. Based on a short story by T. K. Brown, Haunts of the Very Rich was first aired September 20, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Based on a true story (it says here), He's Not Your Son is another variation on the old "switched at birth" plot device. Donna Mills and Ken Howard play Kathy and Michael Saunders, who are forced to face the possibility that their new baby may not be their new baby. It's a possibility that the hospital made a mistake, and that the Saunders infant was switched with the newborn son of Holly and Ted Barnes (Ann Dusenberry, John James). The ramifications of this error result in emotional disaster for both couples. Twin babies Drew and Preston James play the child in question. Filmed on location in Dallas, the made-for-TV He's Not Your Son debuted October 3, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Following an temporary insanity acquittal of her daughter's rapist and murderer, a mother goes after the criminal. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Mills, Lee Grant, (more)
- 1986
Considering his later well-publicized involvement in "l'affaire Heidi Fleiss," Ivan Nagy was ideally suited to direct the-made-for TV Encounters in the Night. Even more prescient so far as Nagy is concerned is the film's original title: Intimate Encounters. Donna Mills plays an attractive young woman stuck in a blah marriage. To alleviate her ennui, she begins fantasizing about affairs with handsome strangers. It sounds like a romance novel and plays that way too. James Brolin, Veronica Cartwright and Cicely Tyson co-star in Encounters in the Night, which debuted September 28, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Donna Mills plays the new bride of Ian Hendry. It's customary for bridegrooms to keep a few secrets from their wives -- and Hendry's got a pip. It seems that he has a twin brother -- a homicidal maniac. Or is it the brother who's normal, and the husband who's crazy? And why does Donna Mills always seem to get mixed up in dilemmas like this? Videotaped for British television, the 74-minute Killer with Two Faces debuted in the U.S. on December 3, 1974, as part of the ABC Wide World Mystery late-night anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Playing to disappointing ratings during its first season on the air, the Dallas spinoff Knots Landing made a spectacular leap forward during Season Two with the introduction to the cast of Donna Mills as Abby Cunningham, the manipulative and predatory sister of Sid Fairgate (Don Murray), Gary Ewing's (Ted Shackelford) boss at Knots Landing Motors. Abby also brings along her children Olivia (Tonya Crowe) and Brian (Bobby Jacoby), who in their own way will be just as important to the overall scheme of things as their redoubtable mom. In addition to bringing Abby into the fold, Season Two wastes no time plunging the characters into a morass of intrigue as Sid Fairgate is accused of raping a nubile hitchhiker. Around the same time, several more recurring characters are introduced, among them Scooter Warren (Allan Miller), the new boss of real estate agent Laura Avery (Constance McCashlin); sexy female auto mechanic Linda Striker (Denise Galik); and Roy Lance (Steven Hirsch) the shady owner of the Orchid Cab company. Among the major plot developments this season: Abby has an affair with Laura's lawyer husband Richard (John Pleshette) the Wards break up when Ginger (Kim Lankford) finds out that her record-exec husband Kenny (James Houghton) has slept with Kristen Shepard (Mary Lee Crosby), aka "The Girl Who Shot J.R." on Knots Landing's parent series Dallas (and as for J.R. [Larry Hagman], himself he shows up long enough to have his own tryst with Abby); and weak-willed former alcoholic Gary Ewing once again betrays his long-suffering spouse Val (Joan Van Ark) by fooling around with Judy Trent (Jane Elliot), the wife of Earl Trent (Paul Rudd)--whom Gary has sponsored for membership in AA! The final two episodes of the season were originally telecast back to back on the same night: In "Designs", J.R. Ewing makes yet another appearance to bedevil brother Gary; and in the (literal) cliffhanger "Squeezeplay", Sid agrees to help the FBI in their sting operation against the crooked Orchid Cab Company--and as a consequence, he is involved in an "accident" as his car goes out of control and plummets over a cliff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
- 1981
Season Three of Knots Landing picks up where the previous season left off, as Sid Fairgate (Don Murray), owner of Knots Landing Motors and the boss of series protagonist Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford), hovers between life and death after his car "accidentally" plummets over a cliff, the end result of Sid's cooperation with the FBI in bringing the crooked owners of the Orchid Cab Company to justice. Ultimately Sid dies, leaving his wife Karen (Michelle Lee) in charge of the family business. Karen's partners in this endeavor are the aforementioned Gary Ewing, and Sid's conniving, predatory sister Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills). In other developments this season, Julie Harris joins the cast as Lilimae Clements, the mercurial, slightly larcenous mother of Gary's long-suffering spouse Val (Joan Van Ark); Val herself pens a "roman a clef" about the oil-rich Ewing family titled "Capricorn Crude"; and Karen Fairgate's brother Joe Cooper (Steven Macht) makes the first of several memorable appearances. The season ends as Abby finally succeeds in her strenuous efforts to get Gary into bed with her--and with Val walking out on Gary when she realizes anew that he can't be trusted as far as he can be thrown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
- 1982
Joining the cast of Knots Landing as the series begins its fourth season is Kevin Dobson as Federal prosecutor Marion Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie, who is brought into the storyline when Karen Fairgate (Michele Lee), widowed owner of Knots Landing Motors, decides to aggressively pursue the criminals responsible for the murder of her husband. Mack will soon establish himself as the series' all-purpose problem solver, though this will not spare him from plenty of his own problems--several of these stemming from his subsequent marriage to Karen. Among the other characters introduced in the course of Season Four is sinister literary agent Chip Roberts (Michael Sabatino), who agrees to represent Val Ewing (Joan Van Ark) when she pens the novel "Capricorn Crude", a thinly veiled account of the questionable machinations of her husband Gary's (Ted Shackelford) oil-rich family. Another significant addition is singer Ciji Dunne (Lisa Hartman), another of Gary's extramarital flings. When Ciji turns up murdered, both Gary and Val are suspected, but as it turns out the real culprit is. . .but why spoil things for Knots Landing novices? In contrast with the new cast members, Season Four marks the final appearances of longtime regulars John Pleshette as shady attorney Richard Avery--who is booted from his home by wife Laura (Constance McCashlin) after he becomes the latest in a long line of lovers for Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills)--and James Houghton and Kim Lankford as the volatile Kenny and Ginger Ward. Plus, this season marks the last of the Knots Landing-Dallas crossovers, with Gary's brother J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) showing up for a brace of appearances, and Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) appearing in the episode "New Beginnings", which represents the only time that Dallas and Knots Landing ever shared the same storyline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
- 1983
The fourth-season murder of singer Cijji Dunne still looms large over the main characters of Knots Landing as the series launches its fifth year on the air. After briefly suspecting Cijji's erstwhile lover Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) and Gary's wife Val (Joan Van Ark), Federal prosecutor Mack McKenzie (Kevin Dobson) concludes that the guilty party is Chip Robert (Michael Sabatino), the unscrupulous literary agent who'd been representing Val's efforts to promote her novel. Though Chip manages to skip town, he is brought to justice--temporarily, at least--when he is "accidentally" struck down by the car driven by Val's mercurial mother Lilimae (Julie Harris). In a plot development of more wide-ranging significance, Gary Ewing moves out of his cul-de-sac home in Knots Landing and into their new ranch, using money left to Gary by his late oil-magnate father Jock Ewing. Sharing the ranch is Gary's new wife, the conniving Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills), who hopes that by ensnaring Gary she can expand her own base of power. As for Gary's ex-spouse Val, she will inaugurate a brand new story arc near season's end by announcing that she is pregnant--without revealing the identity of the father. Elsewhere, Gary's business partner Karen (Joan Van Ark), still not completely recovered from such past traumas as the murder of her husband, begins to rely heavily upon drugs. New to the cast this season is William Devane as Mack's old friend, Senator Gregory Sumner, who has risen to the highest political circles via his close connections with the Mob. Believing that every man has his price, Sumner will be quite taken aback to discover that Mack is completely incorruptible--whereupon the "good senator" will do everything in his power to destroy Mack. Meanwhile, Greg's daughter Mary Frances (Danielle Brisbois) will enjoy a romance with Karen's son Eric (Steve Shaw). As for Eric's sister Diana (Claudia Lonow), she will befriend the redoubtable Abby and move in with her on the Ewing spread--a plot contrivance that will seal the doom of fugitive murderer Chip Roberts when Diana causes his accidental demise. Another cast addition is Lisa Hartman as waitress Cathy, whose first appearance proves quite a shock to the other regulars, inasmuch as she is a dead ringer for the murdered Cijji Dunne. Also making their first appearances are Douglas Sheehan as reporter Ben Gibson, who comes to Val's aid when she is briefly suspected of murder and falls for her in the process; and Danny Ponce, taking over from Matthew Newmark in the role of Jason Avery. The season's traditional "cliffhanger" finale--which, incidentally, also marks the 100th episode of Knots' Landing--finds Karen being felled by a gunshot meant for Gary, and Abby in the clutches of kidnapper Mark St. Claire (Joseph Chapman). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
- 1984
Season Six of Knots Landing begins with the conniving Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills) finding herself the victim rather than the predator for a change when she is kidnapped by the sinister Mark St. Claire (Joseph Chapman). Meanwhile, Karen Fairgate MacKenzie (Michele Lee), having been wounded by a gunshot meant for her business partner Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford), clings desperately to life. Ultimately, Abby is rescued by the timely intervention of Senator Greg Sumner (William Devane)--which does not in any way diminish the fact that Sumner is a crook, whose mob-connected machinations will have a negative impact on practically everyone else in the cast, including Greg's future bride Laura (Constance McCashlin), the former wife of attorney Richard Avery. And although it is nip and tuck for a while, Karen survives the shooting. Several new characters are introduced this season, not least of which is Greg Sumner's stepmother Ruth Sumner Galveston, played by Ava Gardner in her TV series debut. Howard Duff is seen as Greg's father Paul Galveston, an unscrupulous tycoon whom Karen's crime-commissioner husband Mack (Kevin Dobson) intends to bring to justice. Also, Alec Baldwin makes his first appearance as TV evangelist Joshua Rush, ostensibly the nephew of Lilimae Clement (Julie Harris) but actually her son, meaning he is also the half brother of the long-suffering Val Ewing (Joan Van Ark)--of whom, much more later! To her everlasting regret, local waitress Cathy Geary (Lisa Hartman) will become the wife of Joshua Rush before the season is over. Finally, Teri Austin is introduced as Jill Bennett, a woman who is destined to very nearly bring about the demise of both Val Ewing and her ex-husband Gary. Above all else, Season Five is the year of the "Black Market Babies", as Val gives birth to twins, only to have them stolen from her by an unscrupulous doctor and auctioned off on the illegal adoption market. Although everyone in Knots Landing has been convinced that Val's babies were stillborn--everyone, that is, but Abby, who gloms onto the truth but cruelly keeps her mouth shut--Val stubbornly refuses to accept this and leaves town, determined to prove that her children are still alive. In the process, she becomes unhinged and assumes a new identity, "Verna Ellers." Resurfacing in a small Tennessee community, "Verna"--completely unaware of her previous existence--falls in love with a local dry cleaner and accepts his marriage proposal! In the season's cliffhanger finale, Val is on the verge of reclaiming her babies from their adoptive parents, Harry and Sheila Fisher (Joe Regalbuto, Robin Ginsburg)...and then... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
- 1985
The "Black Market Baby" story arc which dominated most of Knots Landing's sixth season is resolved in the first few episodes of Season Seven, as Val Ewing (Joan Van Ark) is tearfully reunited with her twin babies, who had been stolen and auctioned off on the illegal-adoption circuit. This settled, the series can now devote itself to the intrigues involving the rest of its ever-growing cast of regulars. Newly divorced from Karen (Michele Lee), owner of Knots' Landing Motors, crime commissioner Mack MacKenzie (Kevin Dobson) begins an affair with Jill Bennett (Teri Austin), little suspecting that Jill is a few bricks shy of a full load. Val's half-brother Joshua (Alec Baldwin), a former preacher, scores a big hit as a TV personality, but develops a dangerous case of jealousy when his wife and co-star Cathy (Lisa Hartman) gets more fan mail than he does. Subsequently, Joshua dies, an apparent suicide--but when all the facts come out, thanks to an investigation inaugurated by undercover reporter Sonny Harkins. This season, Hunt Block joins the cast as ruthless politician Peter Hollister, the self-proclaimed brother of crooked politico Greg Sumner (William Devane) and potential rival (in more ways than one) of series protagonist Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford). Also, Ruth Roman is introduced in the role of Sylvia Lean, ex-mistress of Greg Sumner's dad and (supposedly) Peter Hollister's mother. Elsewhere, Gary accidentally causes an arsenic leak that will imperil his Empire Valley estate, not to mention the rest of Knot's Landing; Val enters into a marriage with reporter Ben (Michael Sheehan), which is shattered by Ben's affair with Cathy; after finding out that her mother Abby (Donna Mills) knew all along that Val's babies had been kidnapped, the disillusioned Olivia (Tonya Crowe) turns to drugs; and in the season's penultimate episode, Nicollette Sheridan makes her first appearances as Paige Matheson, illegitimate daughter of Mack MacKenzie and his former lover Anna Matheson (Michelle Phillips). The season's cliffhanger ending revolves around another kidnapping, this time with Karen as the victim and an as-yet-unidentified stranger as the predator. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
