William R. Moses Movies
- 2000
The reunion of a dysfunctional Texas family provides the setting for this somber drama from first-time writer/director Hyatt Bass. Letty (Karen Sillas), a successful artist, returns home for the first time in several years. The ostensible purpose of her visit is to attend a posh gallery showing of her work, but her return quickly opens the gates for a flood of recriminations and long-suppressed resentment from various family members. Her sister Kay (Heidi Swedberg) resents Letty's success, something she finds hard to accept given her own long-ago abandonment of a promising career as a singer. Kay has instead opted to raise a family with Jed (William Moses), whom she constantly berates for being an employee of her father, the mean-spirited Rick (Harris Yulin). Kay and Letty's mother Jo Beth (Shirley Knight), meanwhile, is a control freak who constantly undermines her daughters' confidence and makes the most of any opportunity to remind Letty that her professional success has come at the expense of her ability to find a husband. As the drama further unfolds, it becomes clear that Letty and Jed were childhood sweethearts before Kay nabbed Jed from her sister, and that all the members of their family are far from resolving any of their problems with one another. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Knight, William R. Moses, (more)
When a woman trapped in a bad relationship follows the advice of a radio psychologist and winds up dead, her enraged lover follows the frequency towards revenge in director Douglas Jackson's tense nail-biter. Over the air psychologist Liz Manners (Alexandra Paul) always has an answer, even when it comes to the most pressing questions. Upon dishing out an extra helping of deadly advice to a desperate girlfriend, tragedy turns to terror when her grieving ex-lover devotes his life to Manners' death. Now with no place to run and nowhere to hide, one radio talk-show host is about to be silenced forever. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexandra Paul, Gabrielle Carteris, (more)
- 2001
Hoping with all her heart that her wayward son Kenny (Chad Allen) has been straightened out by two years in prison, Sharon Carlson (Kate Jackson) welcomes Kenny with open arms on the occasion of his parole, as does everyone in his immediate family and circle of friends. For a while, it seems as though Sharon's prayers have been answered, and that Kenny is finally going to lead a decent life. But when he is reunited with his former prison buddy Warren Stubbs (Keith Szarabajka), Kenny's true nature once again rises to the surface, and it isn't long before his behavior has deteriorated dangerously. Though she was worried that this would happen, Sharon loyally sticks by her son -- and when he is implicated in a murder, she does everything in her power to prove his innocence. The grim outcome of this story, taking place during Sharon's emotional courtroom appearance, is implicit in the film's title. Filmed independently in 2000, A Mother's Testimony had been slated for theatrical release, but when a distributor was not forthcoming, the film was licensed for television exposure; it was telecast several times abroad before making its U.S. cable debut over the Lifetime channel on October 22, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Jackson, Susan Blakely, (more)
Who else but a California Valley Girl could stumble down a hole in the ground and end up in the lost city of Atlantis: "Ooooh, and the buildings are sooo spiffy..." The Atlanteans are quite sure she's on their side, so they decide she's gotta' go and send out the death squads. The "Alien" in this film is played by model Kathy Ireland. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathy Ireland, Thom Matthews, (more)
Lovely Sandy Kennington (Barbara Niven) would seem to have it all -- a burgeoning career, a loving young son, and a husband who makes more than she does. But hubby Edward (William R. Moses) has emotionally withdrawn from Sandy in the months following a tragic automobile accident in which their daughter was killed. His reticence troubles Sandy, who seems helpless to do anything about it. Then one day Edward comes home a changed man -- romantic, affectionate, and eager to talk about Sandy's possible transfer to New York City. There's only one problem: Edward is chained to a chair in a suburban basement, held hostage by gun-toting tough gal Beth Jenkins (Nia Peeples). So who is that man who looks like Edward making love with Sandy? ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William R. Moses, Barbara Niven, (more)
Director Silvio Narizzano totes out a Sunday morning public affairs programming style in this it-could-happen-to-you drama about a popular high-school student who finds that he has what some consider a disability. Paul Carafotes plays a high-school student who loves to play football and music. But when the school doctor determines that he is partially deaf, he is barred from the football team. In order to hide his disappointment, the high schooler changes his outlook to one of disinterest, and he rapidly falls in with a tough gang that is making trouble around the high school. Demi Moore appears in a small supporting role in this film -- her first film role. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Carafotes, Victor French, (more)
Bill Ewing's holiday film Christmas Child concerns Jack (William R. Moses), a reporter who has been having a difficult time getting much joy out of his life. Both his wife (Megan Follows) and his job fail to revive his spirits. While he is working on a story in Dallas, TX, he comes across a photograph that gets his attention. The photograph leads him to Clearwater, TX, where he learns about the town's ornate nativity scene and confronts his past in ways that should help him become a better person. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1995
A celebration becomes a desperate struggle for survival when a murderous crazy decides to terrorize his childhood friend's wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, William R. Moses, (more)
Tired of the loneliness pervading her daily life, 75-year-old Emma blows out her birthday candles and makes a single wish: that she be allowed a month in which to care for and make peace with her estranged daughter. The next morning, she awakens 35 years younger but still wise. Masquerading as a nanny, she convinces her daughter, who does not know her, to hire her. Once in the household, Emma realizes that there is trouble afoot, and that her daughter's marriage is in trouble. As only a mother can do, Emma begins to quietly help her daughter reassemble her life. This made-for-television drama originally aired on the CBS network. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Kerns, Della Reese, (more)
- 1996
In this drama, a police sketch-artist finds herself forced to deal with painful events from her past after she begins working with an abused and molested child. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Young, William R. Moses, (more)
- 1981
Angela Channing (Jane Wyman), the formidable and much-feared owner of Napa Valley's Falcon Crest winery; and Angela's nephew Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), the son of her late brother Jason, from whom he has inherited 50 acres of Channing property. Arriving in California to assume control of his land--and to rescue the Tuscany Valley from the iron grip of Angela, who controls the local water rights--Chase brings along his wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan) and his children Cole (William R. Moses) and Victoria (Jamie Rose). With gimlet-eyed determination, Angela begins formulating plans to chase Chase all the way back to New York, using every trick in the book up to and including pitting young Cole against her father. She also relies upon the legal chicanery at the disposal of her somewhat less than ethical attorney, Phillip Erikson (Mel Ferrer) All that is holding Angela back from declaring all out war on Chase is the fact that she has innumerable skeletons in her closet, beginning with the complicity of her own daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) in Jason's "accidental" death. Meanwhile, Angela's indolent playboy grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas), eager to prove his worth to the Channing family by going after Chase himself, succeeds in only pulling off stupid stunts like sabotaging the Gioberti pump house. In the course of events during the first season, Victoria Gioberti falls in love with ranchhand Mario (Mario Marcellino), incurring the wrath of her parents in the process. Rebelling against her mom and dad, Victoria runs off to the streets of San Francisco, where the sharkish Lance introduces her to a producer of porno films. Later on, Lance lands a job at the "San Francisco Globe", a newspaper managed by Angela's ex-husband Douglas (David Selby). In this capacity, Lance enters into a relationship with Melissa Agretti (Ana Alicia), a romance engineered by Angela in hopes of gaining control of the competing Agretti winery. Though Melissa and Lance can't stand each other (he's still messing around with former girlfriend Lori Chapman, played this season by Cindy Morgan), she accepts his proposal, pursuing a hidden agenda of her own. When word comes that Melissa is pregnant, Angela assumes that Lance is the father--but he isn't. Meanwhile, Lance's father Tony Cumson (John Saxon), who deserted both his son and his wife (and Angela's sister) Julia (Abby Dalton) years earlier, adds to the existing aura of tension and hostility by suddenly resurfacing. Also working at the "Globe" is Chase's wife Maggie, who begins digging into the mystery of Jason Channing's death at the behest of her boss, Douglas Channing (Stephen Elliott)_. Just before the coroner's inquest, Douglas himself dies, while the only other person who may hold the key to the mystery, Angela's daughter Emma, is kept under sedation and out of the jury's reach. During all this intrigue, Lana Turner is introduced as Chase's mother Jacqueline Perrault, who seems to have all the "dirt" on Angela and her questionable business practices. As the season ends, the findings of the inquest result in Chase gaining control of Falcon Crest, though he generously (and to his later regret) allows Angela to retain ownership of half of the business; and upon the death of his father, Douglas Channing's illegitimate son Richard (David Selby) takes over the "Globe" lock, stock, and scandal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Robert Foxworth, (more)
- 1982
Much of the action in Season Two of Falcon Crest is precipitated by the murder of Carlo Agretti (Carlos Romero) the father of Melissa Agretti (Ana Alicia), the ambitious wife of Lance Cumson (Lorenzo Lamas)--who in turn is the playboy grandson of ruthless Tuscany Valley winery owner Angela Channing (Jane Wyman). The marriage between Lance and Melissa had been engineered by Angela as a power play against her nephew Chase (Robert Foxworth), who owns half of Angela's thriving Falcon Crest winery, and who has joined the Tuscany Board of Supervisors as a means of lessening Angela's financial hold on the valley. In this endeavor, he is assisted by his mother, Jacqueline Perrault (Lana Turner), and by the owner of the muckraking "San Francisco Globe", Richard Channing (David Selby), the illegitimate son of Angela's ex-husband Douglas Channing. But while Chase's opposition to Angela is altruistic in tone, Richard is motivated by greed and an all-consuming lust for power. Recognizing the double threat of Richard and Chase's, Angela's unscrupulous attorney Phillip Erikson (Mel Ferrer) does everything in his power to discredit both men. Meanwhile, Lance cheats on Melissa with his girlfriend Lori, played this season by Maggie Cooper; this so aggravates Melissa that she delivers her baby son Joseph prematurely. Elsewhere, Chase's daughter Victoria falls in love with Nick Hogan (Roy Thinnes), another member of the Board of Supervisors whom Angela has pressured to thwart Chase's plans. In other developments, Chase's son Cole (William R. Moses) is arrested on suspicion of murdering Carlo Agretti, but a series of mysterious accidents befalling various cast members makes it quite clear that the actual killer is still at large. In the tradition of the "Who Shot J.R.?" story arc on Dallas, the cast of Falcon Crest was kept in the dark as to the identity of Carlo's murderer; several possible ending were filmed, with virtually every person in the show being revealed as the culprit. Only in the season's cliffhanger finale is the truth revealed (much to the surprise of the "guilty" actor, who didn't know the outcome of the mystery until the night the episode was telecast!)--at which point both Chase and Jacqueline are shot down and left for dead! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Lana Turner, (more)
- 1983
Season Two of Falcon Crest ended as Julia Cumson (Abby Dalton), the demented sister of ruthless Tuscany Valley winery owner Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) and the mother of Angela's playboy grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas), revealed herself to be the murderer of Lance's father-in-law Carlo Agretti--and in the process, gunned down Angela's nephew and chief nemesis Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), as well as Chase's mother Jacqueline. Though Chase recovers from his wounds, Jacqueline dies and Julia is carted off first to prison and then a mental insistution--but not before Carlo's daughter Melissa (Ana Alicia) and Chase's half-brother Richard (David Selby) try to manipulate poor Julia into destroying Angela's reputation in the courtroom. As Chase is nursed back to health by Jacqueline's nephew Dr. Michael Ransom (Cliff Robertson), Angela tries to take advantage of the situation by having Chase declared mentally incompetent so she can gain full control of the Falcon Crest winery. To this end, she enlist the aid of an unscrupulous physician named Dr. Lantry (Ron Rifkin)--who, own his own, schemes to kill Chase so that he can blackmail Angela. Once Lantry commits suicide, Angela is off the hook, while Dr. Ransom, exercising his power as executor of Jacqueline's will, keeps the ruthless Richard in line by stipulating that Chase will give Richard half of Jacqueline's fortune only if Chase regards his half-brother as being totally trustworthy! Elsewhere, Lance tries to return to his wife Melissa, who refuses to have anything to do with him, holding him responsible for her father's death and their son Joseph's fragile medical condition. Actually, Joseph is not Lance's son, but instead the offspring of Chase Roberti's son Cole (William R. Moses), who after his affair with Melissa entered into marriage with Linda Caproni (Mary Kate McGheehan), the daughter of an immigrant's-rights activist who has long despised Angela and her family. Meanwhile, Chase's wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan) has an awkward reunion with her sister Terry Hartford (Laura Johnson), an unregenerate prostitute who hopes to claim her share of Maggie's newfound wealth; before long, Terry has not only wormed her way into the Gioberti household, but she is also making the moves on the virtuous Dr. Ransom. Angela decides to use Terry's sordid history as leverage against Cole when the latter tries to gain custody of baby Joseph. As it turns out, Melissa is more than willing to relinquish Joseph to Angela's custody in exchange for a piece of Falcon Crest--a bit of chicanery that drives Lance to near-madness! Near the end of the season, the "Cartel" story arc that will dominate Season Four is introduced, as Richard enters into an extremely shady series of business transactions in order to build a racetrack on Angela's land. Also, Chase enters into a battle with Richard to save the local wineries; articles published in Richard's newspaper expose the connection between the dreaded Cartel and the late Jacqueline; Maggie develops a brain tumor; and a scheme is hatched to assassinate Richard at the opening of his racetrack. In the cliffhanger finale, Julia escapes from the institution, taking baby Joseph hostage; Angela is poised to enter into a marriage of convenience with her unscrupulous lawyer Phillip Erikson (Mel Ferrer); and several of the principal characters face extermination in an "accidental" plane crash. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Cliff Robertson, (more)
- 1984
Season Four of Falcon Crest is dominated by a storyline involving "The Cartel", a widespread criminal organization headed by war criminal Gustav Riebmann (J. Paul Freeman)--who turns out to have been the former lover of Jacqueline Perrault, the late mother of Tuscany Valley winery owner Chase Roberti (Robert Foxworth) and Chase's half-brother, ruthless newspaper owner Richard Channing (Doug Selby). While the upright Chase has no connection with The Cartel, Richard had spent the previous season conspiring with Riebmann to construct a race track on land owned by Chase's business partner, aunt, and principal antagonist Angela Channing (Jane Wyman). Angela holds Chase responsible for the death of her lawyer and fiancé Phillip Erikson, but Richard knows that the Cartel did the dirty work, and his knowledge may very well lead to his own demise. In other developments this season, Angela manages to take control of Richard's newspaper, the "San Francisco Globe", appointing her playboy grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) as editor. When someone tries to murder Angela, Richard attempts to frame Lance for the crime. And later on, Richard assumes one-third control of Angela's Falcon Crest winery with the help of Angela's vengeful Italian half-sister, Francesca Gioberti (Gina Lollobrigida). This being Falcon Crest, Francesca is not content with merely grabbing up a portion of Falcon Crest; she has a long-standing grudge against the Channing family, and won't be satisfied until everyone in the clan is left twisting slowly in the wind! With all this going on, it is amazing that any time is left over for another of the season's principal plot strands, this one involving the breakup of Lance's marriage to Melissa Agretti (Ana Alicia) and the dissolution of the union between Cole Gioberti (William R. Moses) and Linda Caproni (Mary Kate McGheehan)--leading inexorably to the wedding of Cole and Melissa (who, after all, ARE the parents of Angela's great-grandson Joseph). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Gina Lollobrigida, (more)
- 1985
Season Five of Falcon Crest finds ruthless winery owner Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) once again under siege, this time from Cassandra Wilder (Anne Archer), who intends to destroy Angela and her business to avenge past wrongs committed by Angela against the Wilder family. Facing financial ruin, Angela summons her old flame Peter Stavros (Cesar Romero) to help her get back on her feet. Peter has no sooner gotten to work than he is abducted by his own daughter Sofia (Julie Carmen), who wants to get her hands on the Channing fortue herself. Eventually, Angela marries Peter--but only to prevent him from assuming full control of her beloved Falcon Crest (and to keep an eye on Peter's son Eric [John Callahan], who may have his own avaricious agenda). Meanwhile, newspaper owner Richard Channing (Doug Selby), the illegitimate son of Angela's late husband Douglas, continues to build up his financial nest eggs by skimming profits from the Tuscany Downs Racetrack that he'd constructed a few seasons earlier in order to spite Angela (and which involved him up to his neck with the sinister "Cartel"). Figuring out what Richard is up to, Terry Hartford (Laura Johnson), the ex-prostitute sister-in-law of Richard's longtime nemesis (and half-brother) Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), blackmails Channing into marriage. And speaking of prostitutes, Season Five brings forth a fascinating new recurring character: Richard's female attorney Jordan Roberts (Morgan Fairchild, a schizophrenic who transforms into a hooker named "Monica" on a nightly basis! Elsewhere, Chase's wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan), exercising the prerogative of many a previous soap-opera heroine, suddenly develops amnesia, and while in this state pens a "roman a clef" about the people she knows. When the book is accepted for publication, Maggie is introduced to literary publicist Jeff Wainwright (Edward Albert)--who spends the rest of the season obsessively stalking her. Also, in their efforts to have another baby, Chase and Maggie's son Cole (William R. Moses) and his wife Melissa (Ana Alicia) engage the services of Melissa's sister Robin (Barbara Howard) as surrogate mother; going far beyond the requirements of her job, Robin sleeps with Cole, then insists upon keeping the baby. And in other developments, Melissa's ex-husband Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) falls for pop singer Apollonia (played by Patricia Kotero, who actually adopted "Apollonia" as a stage name), a fact that disgusts his grandmother Angela only slightly less than the romance between Angela's daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) and ambitious truck driver Dwayne Cooley (Daniel Greene). In the season's traditional cliffhanger finale, all of the Tuscany Valley and the people therein--including the entire Knots Landing cast--is imperiled by a devastating earthquake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Cesar Romero, (more)
- 1994
- NR
Bonnie (Alicia Witt) and Hillary (Renee Humphrey) are two seemingly average California teenagers who have some very heavy emotional baggage to lug around. Bonnie was abandoned by her mother years ago, and Hillary was sexually assaulted by her father, who is now behind bars. Bonnie and Hillary have enough in common that they strike up a fast friendship and head out one day in search of "fun." However, by the end of the day, their pursuit of happiness has taken them from typically meanspirited teenage pranks, such as dropping pennies onto cars from an overpass, to an abrupt and shocking extreme -- the murder of an elderly woman who has done them no harm. Jane (Leslie Hope), a social worker assigned to work with Bonnie and Hillary, finds it all but impossible to get through to them and is dealing with her own precarious emotional state (which she treats with alcohol), while tabloid journalist John (William R. Moses) tries to wring a juicy, sensational story out of the girls' crime spree. Meanwhile, Bonnie and Hillary wonder out loud about their sudden "celebrity" and who will play them in the inevitable TV movie about their crimes. Alicia Witt and Renee Humphrey both won awards for their performances at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, though the film didn't find a distributor until 1996, after the release of the thematically similar Heavenly Creatures. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alicia Witt, Renee Humphrey, (more)
A family of paranormalists investigates the strange goings-on at a high school still reeling over a student's very public suicide in this teen thriller. Hangman's Curse concerns the further exploits of the Veritas Group, a loose collective of people committed to researching supernatural mysteries. The group's members include the Springfield family -- parents Nate (David Keith) and Sarah (Mel Harris) and Elisha (Leighton Meester) and Elijah (Douglas Smith) -- whose current assignment takes them to the aforementioned high school. There, they find that Abel, the teen who took his life, had been long ostracized by various cliques in the school -- jocks, popular kids, and the like -- all of whom are falling prey to mysterious ailments. As Nate and Sarah watch from the sidelines, it's up to Elisha and Elijah to pose as students to get inside the mystery. Hangman's Curse was based on the novel by Christian author Frank Peretti. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Keith, Mel Harris, (more)
- 2002
Arriving in Seattle to attend the birthday party of her best friend Mandy Roberts (Bess Armstrong), the recently widowed Jane Thornton (Cheryl Ladd) is shocked to learn that Mandy plans to divorce her husband Will (William R. Moses). Having recently lost a loved one herself, Jane feels the Roberts' pain, and endeavors to bring Jane and Will back together again. But things don't go quite as planned when, while helping Will alleviate his new-found loneliness, Jane realizes that she is attracted to the man. Although the premise smacks of contrivance, the development and the outcome are touchingly realistic -- and all too human. Filmed in Toronto, the made-for-cable Her Best Friend's Husband premiered March 11, 2002 on the Lifetime Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Jane Doe:'Til Death Do Us Part is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as suburban housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. This time around, Armand Nostrum (Tom Castranova), a notorious illegal arms dealer serving a life term in prison, apparently dies of heart failure just before he was to blow the whistle on the others in his operation. Kathy--code name "Jane Doe"--is brought into the case when Nostrum's body disappears from the prison hospital, despite the tightest of security measures. As she tries to figure out what has happened and why, the possibility arises that the "dead" man was anything but! This is the episode in which Kathy is finally permitted to tell her husband Jack (William R. Moses) of her covert activities--and in the bargain, our heroine honors us with a lengthy and very broad imitation of a "typical" Mafia princess! Jane Doe: 'Til Death Do Us Part first aired March 11, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as suburban housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. When the Declaration of Independence is stolen while on display at a Los Angeles bank, NSA higher-up Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) calls in Kathy--code name "Jane Doe"--in hopes of figuring out who did it. It's a standard "locked room" mystery which Kathy manages to figure out in no time flat, but the murder of the chief suspect and the kidnapping of the suspect's wife makes things a bit more complicated. As she endeavors to crack the case, Kathy must also deal with her neurotic husband Jack (William R. Moses) as he adjusts to working in the same office with a former girlfriend, and she must contend with the jealousy of her NRA cohort, case officer Helen Morrison (Tamlyn Tomita). Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't made its first TV appearance on February 24, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Lea Thompson is both star and director of this made-for-cable movie, another entry in the Hallmark Channel's series about a suburban housewife who leads a double life as a government agent. Not long after he is fired from the staff of a billionaire cereal-company mogul, former Central Security Agency operative Jim Monroe (Dorian Harewood) is found floating in a lake, the apparent victim of an accidental drowning. Suspecting foul play, CSA head Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) prevails upon his former colleague Cathy Davis (Lea Thompson) to investigate. Assuming her CSA identity as "Jane Doe", Cathy quickly deduces that Monroe was killed 48 hours before his alleged drowning. There's only one problem with this theory: Monroe was seen on a nationally telecast interview at the exact time of his death! In her efforts to crack the case, Cathy must once again delicately balance her high-risk espionage activities with her "normal" marriage to the long-suffering Jack Davis (William R. Moses). Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall was first seen on March 4, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
