Priscilla Morrill Movies
Supporting actress Priscilla Morrill spent most of her career on television, appearing in telemovies, as a semi-regular, and a guest star. Fans of The Mary Tyler Moore Show may remember her for playing Edie, the estranged wife of newsroom chief Lou Grant. She made her first professional appearance on stage in an off-Broadway production of Julius Caesar opposite John Carradine. While on Broadway, Morrill appeared in such dramas as Still Life, Night of the Iguana, and The Relapse. Though she had been on television since the early '60s, she did not make her feature film debut until she landed a small role in Clint Eastwood's Breezy (1973). After that, she rarely appeared in feature films; she did, however, appear in many television movies, including The Love Canal and The Trial of Jean Harris. Morrill's guest-starring appearances include such shows as Newhart, The Outer Limits, and Bagdad Cafe. Morrill occasionally landed regular roles on television sitcoms such as And Baby Makes Five, but none of these lasted more than a few months. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1983
This story about an elderly couple who start a large controversy when everyone learns they plan on committing suicide stars James Stewart as the retired Teddy Dwyer, and Betty Davis is his wife Mini Dwyer. When Mini learns she is terminally ill with a blood disease, the couple decide to end their lives peacefully, at the same time. Mini's mistake was to finally tell her daughter Ruda (Melinda Dillon), and from there, the news eventually leaks out and gets passed on to the media. Right of Way tries to balance precariously between a serious theme and a light-hearted couple, as Teddy continues engrossed in his books and Mini in her long-practiced art of making specialty dolls, with their housecats all around them. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, James Stewart, (more)
- 1982
Hardly a person is now alive who does not remember the 1978 ecological disaster at the chemical-waste deposits in Love Canal, New York. This made-for-TV film stars Marsha Mason as housewife Lois Gibbs, who suspects that her children have fallen ill due to leakage of toxic waste at the nearby deposits. The New York State Department of Health closes down the elementary school, but for Lois and nearly 700 of her neighbors, this just isn't enough. Lois begins a loud and aggressive movement to force the United States Government to relocate the residents of Love Canal, and to reimburse them for the loss of their property. Robert Gunton co-stars as Lois' husband, who faces unemployment as the result of his wife's refusal to sit down and be quiet. Written for television by Michael Zagor, Lois Gibbs & the Love Canal had its broadcast premiere on February 17, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marsha Mason, Bob Gunton, (more)
- 1981
This true-life TV movie stars Glenda Jackson as Oscar-winning actress Patricia Neal and Anthony Page as her author husband Roald Dahl. In 1964, Neal is felled by a stroke, which endangers not only her life but the life of her unborn child. Both survive, but it looks as though Neal will never be able to speak coherently again. Dahl bullies, cajoles and caresses his wife into recovery; she rallies under this treatment and is finally able to resume her career and lead a normal life. The film does not touch upon the serious domestic problems which would lead to Neal and Dahl's later divorce, nor does it dwell on the "dark side" of the notoriously mercurial Mr. Dahl. Nonetheless, both Neal and Dahl felt that the book upon which Patricia Neal Story was based, (Barry Farrell's Pat and Ronald) was far too revelatory for their tastes. They severed their longtime friendship with author Farrell and never spoke to him again; nor did they have anything to say publicly about The Patricia Neal Story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The videotaped TV movie The People vs. Jean Harris premiered May 7, 1981-five weeks after the outcome of Jean Harris' trial. Ellen Burstyn plays Jean, the 57-year old headmistress of a Virginia girl's school. Jean was also the longtime lover of Scarsdale Diet author Dr. Herman Tarnower. On March 10, 1980, Jean was arrested for the murder of Dr. Tarnower. She never denied her guilt, but insisted that the court hear out her reasons. Those reasons form the dramatic core of this two-part, four-hour film (its second half was aired May 8, 1981). Martin Balsam and Peter Coyote co-star as, respectively, the defense and prosecuting attorneys. It was difficult for contemporary reviewers to assess The People vs. Jean Harris, since it wasn't completed until virtually the eve of its television premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen Burstyn, Martin Balsam, (more)
- 1980
The title of this made-for-TV biopic is faintly risible: is there anything about Marilyn Monroe that we don't know by now? Pleasingly enough, the story is told in a straightforward, nonexploitive manner (the affair with JFK warrants no more than a throwaway line). Emmy-nominated Catherine Hicks plays Marilyn, nee Norma Jean Baker. We follow her progress from orphanages and foster homes to her first 20th Century-Fox contract at age 20. Considered "washed up" before her career has gotten off the ground, Marilyn is rescued both professionally and emotionally by her agent/lover Johnny Hyde (Richard Basehart). She rises to full stardom and is the center of attention of two "ideal" marriages, first to baseball player Joe DiMaggio, then to Arthur Miller (neither of whom are depicted on screen). But Marilyn remains a lonely, tragic figure, a victim as much of her own demons as of Hollywood's exploitation mill. Based loosely on Norman Mailer's highly suspect biography of the actress, Marilyn: The Untold Story premiered on September 28, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The cast of the popular old TV series Peyton Place reunite when Allison MacKenzie and Rodney Harrington are found dead. Other than that, and a decade's worth of gossip, nothing much has changed there. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The protagonists of this ABC Afternoon Special are three parentless children of divergent backgrounds, all of whom share the same foster home. All their lives, Carlie (Kristy McNichol), Harvey (Johnny Doran), and Thomas J. (Sparky Marcus) have been "pinballs," bouncing around from one foster family to another. Now that they have settled into one happy home, will the situation be permanent -- or are they doomed to be "pinballs" for all time? ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristy McNichol, Johnny Doran, (more)
- 1977
When first asked to attend a costume party held by the Interracial Awareness Society, George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley) refuses. He quickly changes his mind when it turns out that one of the guests is a man whose business George dearly covets. Suffice it to say that someone wearing a mask says "the wrong things" to someone else wearing a mask in the course of the festivities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, (more)
Julie Harris stars as Mary Todd Lincoln in this look at the twilight of the former First Lady's life. After her husband's assassination, she finds herself heavily in debt and denied a pension due to her Southern ancestry, and spends the remainder of her life deeply depressed, dying impoverished and insane. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Harris, Michael Cristofer, (more)
- 1976
Susan Clark, the queen of the made-for-TV biopic (in 1976, at least), stars as legendary aviator Amelia Earhart. The story begins in 1921, with Amelia's first biplane flight. In 1928, she becomes the first woman ever to fly the Atlantic, albeit not at the controls. She gains international fame with a daring cross-country flight. The film refuses to speculate on the cause of Ms. Earhart's disappearance during a round-the-world trip in 1937, though the clues that do exist are presented in full. Co-starring with Susan Clark are John Forsythe as Amelia's publisher husband (and "exploiter") George Putnam, and Stephen Macht as her purported lover, stunt pilot Paul Mantz. Nearly two decades after Amelia Earhart was first telecast on October 25, 1976, Diane Keaton portrayed Earhart in a made-for-cable biography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Edith becomes a celebrity when she saves the life of old Mr. Kleever (Phil Leeds) at the Sunshine Rest Home. She is even lauded with a medal, which is presented in front of a vast TV audience. Should anyone be surprised that Archie feels overshadowed -- and has become intensely jealous? Written by Mel Tolkin and Larry Rhine, "Mr. Edith Bunker" made its first CBS network appearance on November 27, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1975
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Mike is finally able to pry the in-labor Gloria loose from a restaurant telephone booth and rush her to the hospital. Thanks to innumerable delays, it is grandparents Archie and Edith who arrive at the hospital first -- with Archie still in blackface from his lodge minstrel show, creating quite a spectacle indeed. The only calm member of the family is expectant mother Gloria, who keeps her cool all through the delivery while Mike suffers his own version of labor pains. This program made history as the first sitcom episode to show an actual live birth (courtesy of a pre-taped sequence). Best line: "Not now, Michael, I have a headache." Written by Milt Josefsberg and Ben Starr, Part two of "Birth of the Baby" first aired on December 22, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1974
This third-season opener for the ABC Afterschool Special series is based on Betsy Byars' Newbery award-winning book, The Summer of the Swans. Like most 14-year old girls, Sarah Godfrey (Heather Totten) is wrapped up with the usual problems of puberty: she's moody, self-conscious, has trouble making friends, and is averse to thinking about anyone's problems other than her own. But a sudden crisis involving her mentally challenged younger brother (Reed Diamond) shakes Sarah out of her self-involvement and helps her make great strides in emotional maturity. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heather Totten, Priscilla Morrill, (more)
- 1973
Archie balks at the notion of accompanying Edith to her 30th class reunion at Millard Fillmore High. But he quickly changes his mind upon discovering that one of Edith's former boyfriends will also be in attendance. Watching Archie Bunker sweat through the pangs of jealousy is one of the many pleasures of this multilayered episode, which was scripted by Don Nicholl from a story by Nicholl and Stanley Ralph Ross. "Class Reunion" first aired on February 10, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1973
Problems on the job manifest themselves in a huge backache for Archie Bunker. Landing in the hospital, he strikes up a warm friendship with his roommate, who is separated from Archie by a transom. Unbeknownst to him, Archie's unseen new friend is a black man. Roscoe Lee Browne guest stars as Mr. Duval. Scripted by Don Nicholl from a story by Stanley Ralph Ross and Martin Cohan, "Archie Goes to the Hospital" first aired on January 6, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
In this Counterculture vs. Establishment romance, Frank Harmon (William Holden) is a middle-aged businessman, recently divorced and a bit bitter about the state of his life and the world in general. One morning, he discovers a pretty, hippie-esque girl who calls herself Breezy (Kay Lenz) asleep on his front porch. Frank asks her to leave and she politely follows suit; she forgets her guitar, however, and returns the next day to retrieve it. Breezy also asks Frank if he would be so kind as to let her take a bath; he agrees, and even lets her sleep at his house that night. A few days later, Breezy turns up at again at Frank's doorstep, with a cop in tow -- after being arrested for vagrancy, she told the police that she lived here with her uncle Frank. Frank plays along and, against his better judgment, agrees to let her stay with him. After spending some time together, Frank and Breezy begin opening up to each other, discussing their feelings on a variety of issues. A friendship grows between them that, in time, becomes a love affair, but Frank's friends find fault in his new romance, and he breaks it off -- a decision he comes to regret. This was the first film Clint Eastwood directed in which he did not star, something he would not do again until Bird in 1988. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Kay Lenz, (more)
- 1973
- Add The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season 04 to QueueAdd The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season 04 to top of Queue
The big news of The Mary Tyler Moore Show's fourth season is the introduction of a new regular: Betty White as Sue Ann Nivens, the host of WJM-TV's "Happy Homemaker" household-hints show. Outwardly sweet and Pollyanna-ish, Sue Ann is actually the most predatory female in all of Minneapolis, targeting Lars Lindstrom, the (never-seen) husband of supercilious Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) as her latest sexual conquest in the season's Emmy-winning opening episode, "The Lars Affair." It takes the eleventh-hour intervention of Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore), associate producer of WJM's "Six O'Clock News," to prevent Sue Ann from adding Lars to her male harem. Subsequent season-four episodes constitute some of The Mary Tyler Moore Show's best and most memorable efforts. These include another Emmy winner, "The Lou and Edie Story," in which Mary's boss, Lou Grant (Edward Asner), goes into a deep funk over the breakup of his marriage to wife Edie (Priscilla Morrill); "Lou's First Date," guest-starring veteran comic actress Florence Lake as the sweet octogenarian whom the newly single Lou escorts to an awards ceremony; "Father's Day," wherein pompous WJM anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) is reluctantly reunited with his long-absent dad, Robert (Liam Dunn); "The Dinner Party," the season's annual "Mary's terrible parties" episode, featuring a pre-Happy Days Henry Winkler as Mary's date, Steve Waldman; "I Gave at the Office," a tour de force for Gavin MacLeod as WJM newswriter Murray Slaughter, who frets and fumes when his daughter (Tammi Bula) takes a part-time job at the station; "Better Late...That's a Pun...Than Never," in which a red-faced Mary is suspended from her job after capriciously writing a humorous obituary for Minneapolis' oldest citizen -- who unexpectedly kicks the bucket; and the unforgettable, and imminently self-explanatory, "Ted Baxter Meets Walter Cronkite." In addition to the aforementioned Emmy awards for the episodes "The Lars Affair" and "The Lou and Edie Story," gold statuettes were doled out to series regulars Mary Tyler Moore and Cloris Leachman. The Mary Tyler Moore Show wrapped up its fourth season as America's ninth most popular network series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, (more)
- 1963
The fourth volume in a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series recounts the story of a mousy scientist whose latest creation--a harness for cosmic energy controlled by his mind--wreaks havoc because of his repressed emotions. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1963
The third volume in a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series details the work of a group of scientists who attempt to better global relations by creating a fake space monster in order to frighten the people of Earth into aligning to battle a common enemy. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
