Connie Nelson Movies
- 2003
The "D.C. Sniper" case was still very much in the news when this Law & Order episode first appeared in the spring of 2003. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) race against time to track down the unknown gunman who has randomly picked off four victims in broad daylight. Once the suspect is in hand, Assistant District Attorneys McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Southerlyn (Elisabeth Rohm) are shocked by the revelations attending the arrest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
The real-life legal case that inspired the 1990 film Guilty by Suspicion would seem to be the source material for this episode. The detectives investigate the reasons behind a wealthy woman's comatose condition. Key players in this sordid drama include the woman's husband David Moore (David Dukes), her daughter Debbie (Marin Hinkle), and an "unrelated" third party. "Stiff" originally aired in tandem with another episode, "Vaya Con Dios," on May 24, 2000, bringing the tenth season of Law & Order to a close. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
The victim of a probable mugging dies, whereupon the detectives launch a homicide investigation. The trail of clues leads to the planned circumcision of Alison Martin (Emmy Rossun), the daughter of an American father (Cotter Smith) and an Egyptian mother (Ava Haddad). The outcome of the story is triggered by the ethnic and religious schism between Alison's parents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
- NR
Two women have a sudden and unexpected revelation about their sexuality -- and each other -- in this bittersweet comedy-drama. Dinah (Connie Nelson) is a math teacher and girl's basketball coach at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, a public school in a straight-laced Texas community. Dinah is in her early 40s and has settled comfortably, if grudgingly, into single life, while Carly (Dee Hennigan), who works as a secretary at the school, is about the same age and stuck in an unsatisfying relationship with Ron (Gary Carter), who is also on the school's staff as an algebra instructor. Dinah and Carly have known each other casually for some time and never gave each other much thought, until one day, when Carly hears a rumor that Dinah is having an affair with Ron. Carly confronts Dinah after basketball practice, and Dinah assures her that there's no truth to the gossip and then offers to teach her the fine points of the game. The two women sense something is in the air, and when they impulsively kiss, it finally dawns on them that they're attracted to each other. Before long, Carly decides to leave Ron, and she and Dinah go public with their romance. The reaction, however, is anything but charitable; both women become the subject of a wave of gossip and mean-spirited jokes, and after a highly contentious PTA meeting, they loose their jobs (which is bad news for the principle, since Dinah's team was on a winning streak). While Carly's young son is puzzled but accepting of his mother's decision, her teenage daughter Val (Lisa Peterson), still coming to terms with her feelings about boys, is confused and alienated by her mother's new lifestyle, and all the more upset when her boyfriend Jamie (Esteban Powell) breaks up with her in the wake of the flap over Carly's decision. Dinah, meanwhile, has to deal with the unwelcome attentions of male members of the faculty who want to "convert" her back to heterosexuality. Dee Hennigan has also appeared as a member of the stock company on the popular children's television show Wishbone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Connie Nelson, Dee Hennigan, (more)
- 1980
Getting a late start due to the 1980 Hollywood actors' strike, the fifth and final season of Eight is Enough makes up for lost time with a frantic 90-minute opening episode, in which Susan Bradford Stockwell (Susan Richardson), one of the eight children of journalist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten), delivers the family's first grandchild, named Sandra Sue in honor of Susan's stepmother (Betty Buckley)--who of course prefers the nickname "Abby" to her given name. While the arrival of Sandra Sue is a high point in the lives of Susan and her professional-ballplayer husband Merle (Brian Patrick Clarke, things aren't quite so jubilant later down the line when Merle suffers an injury that injures his career. This is the season that Ralph Macchio joins the cast as Abby's troubled nephew Jeremy, who takes a bit of time adjusting to his new surroundings when he is brought into the Bradford household after his father drops out of sight. Also new to the cast is John Louie as Melvin, the geekish best friend of youngest Bradford son Nicholas (Adam Rich). Major developments this season include the breakup of the marriage between oldest son David Bradford (Grant Goodeve and his wife Janet (Joan Prather), though the couple eventually considers patching things up. Also, Abby lands a job as guidance counselor in a tough inner-city school; daughter Elizabeth (Dianne Kay) moves in with her boyfriend; the Bradfords are forced to economize when Tom is laid off during a newspaper strike; daughter Nancy (Dianne Kay) finds that her chosen career as an actress and model is fraught with professional perils and pitfalls; son Tommy (Willie Aames) and his pal Ernie (Michael Goodrow) return from college with a new "sophisticated" outlook on life; and later on, Tommy proposes to girlfriend Ellen (Tara Nutter) when he learns she is pregnant. The series concludes with a tense battle over legal custody of Jeremy between the Bradfords and Jeremy's irresponsible dad (George Ralph Dicenzo). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Patten, Betty Buckley, (more)
- 1970
- R
The Hard Road is a 1970s exploitation flick posing as a crusading expose. Connie Nelson plays a "nice" girl who goes from bad to worse after she becomes pregnant. Kicked out of school and virtually driven from her home, Nelson finds solace in drugs. She starts out with pot, graduates to the hard stuff, and ends up selling her body in order to support her habit. This is your brain on drugs: any questions? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Connie Nelson, Catherine Howard, (more)
- 1970
At least Angels Die Hard strives to be something different. The usual motorcyle bums are in attendance, but this time they're the heroes rather than the antagonists. The storyline, concerning a mine cave-in in a small community, bears traces of the 1931 German film Kammeradschaft. Though on the outs with the community, the bikers prove to be heroes as they aid in the rescue of the trapped miners. But don't be lulled into thinking that Angels Die Hard is family fare: it still carries an R rating. The familiar faces dotting the film's cast include R. G. Armstrong, William Smith (what would a biker flick be without William Smith?) and Dan "Grizzly Adams" Haggerty. Filmed in 1970, Angels Die Hard was not given a general release until 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Baker, William Smith, (more)
- 1969
In this actioner, a government agent must stop a South American arms-smuggling operation that has been providing firearms to a fanatical sect in Texas. Along the way he meets a wanderer who helps the undercover agent join the gang. The drifter begins impersonating a sailor and meets a prostitute whose lover receives the smuggled arms. The sailor manages to hook up with the head smuggler. When he finds the agent stabbed and dying beneath a dock, the sailor realizes their whole cover is about to be blown. Still he helps the gun runner move the arms ashore; he then kills the ring leader and his gang, and blows up their ship. When he gets back on shore he finds that the hooker and her boyfriend have been killed. The wounded agent is very impressed with the drifter's good work and offers him more, but the drifter is disgusted by it all and wanders away. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
