Pamela Bellwood Movies

Director Henry Jaglom once again casts his quirky gaze on a common female obsession in this comedy drama. Holly (Victoria Foyt) owns a small and upscale boutique in Santa Monica, and has just learned that her accountant and significant other, Adam (Bruce Davison), has betrayed her -- even worse than cheating on her, he's run off with three month's worth of rent, and she has only a few days to raise the money or lose her space. With Mother's Day approaching, Holly is hoping for a big weekend to save the day, but she has other problems to contend with as she has to patch up a misunderstanding with her mother (Lee Grant), who offers to refer her to a loan shark, and her daughter (Mae Whitman). Meanwhile, with Adam out of the picture, Holly finds herself flirting with Miles (Rob Morrow), the long-suffering boyfriend of one of her customers. And in the midst of the buying frenzy, many of Holly's customers share their feelings about shopping and the role it plays in their lives. Leading lady Victoria Foyt co-authored the screenplay with director Jaglom (who is also her husband). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Timid Annie O'Keefe (Mädchen Amick) undergoes a successful heart transplant operation. While recovering, Annie undergoes a curious change in personality. The reason? It seems that the heart donor, outgoing socialite Suzanne Hawks (Monique Parent), had been murdered, and her killer is still at large. Gradually taking over Annie's brain and body, the down-but-not-out Suzanne is determined to bring her murderer to justice. Essentially a tour de force for the versatile Mädchen Amick, the made-for-cable Heartless was initially telecast by the USA network on November 5, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sheriff Metzger (Ron Masak) investigates when Vivian Proctor (Pamela Bellwood), one of Cabot Cove's best-liked and busiest housewives, is implicated in the murder of a well-known womanizer who has been found dead in a cheap motel. Although Vivian is widely regarded as the "perfect" wife and mother, her keys and a lurid personal note have been found next to the body of the victim--and she refuses to explain why. It soon develops that Vivian was leading a double life...and it falls to her friend Jessica (Angela Lansbury) to help untangle Vivian's web of lies and find out who the real killer is. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A quaint, stagebound little horror film from Charles Band's Empire Pictures, Cellar Dweller stars Jeffrey Combs (fresh off his glorious turn as Herbert West in the Empire-produced Re-Animator) as a '50s horror-comic artist who falls prey to one of his own creations -- a ferocious demon he based on a drawing from an arcane book of spells and curses. The story picks up again in the 1980's, where the late artist's palatial home has been converted into a combination boarding house and art academy led by Yvonne De Carlo. One of the students pursues her obsession with reviving the "Cellar Dweller" comic series herself, delving into Combs' old studio for inspiration, and eventually discovers the same occult manuscript secreted in the basement. History repeats itself (naturally) and the creature emerges to stalk and maul anew. This admittedly cool concept and the rather effective monster are dampened a bit by a flippant, tongue-in-cheek attitude (a more ominous, Lovecraftian tone would have been more effective), but makeup-man-turned-director John Buechler shows a definite flair for imbuing his beast with a suitably sinister personality. Observant fans of Charles Band's body of work (yes, they do exist) should spot the numerous visual references to other Band films. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Season five of Dynasty had famously concluded with the notorious "Moldavian Massacre," in which the entire cast was mowed down by machine-gun bullets at the wedding of Alexis' (Joan Collins) daughter Amanda (Catherine Oxenberg) to Prince Michael of Moldavia (Michael Praed). After keeping viewers in suspense as to who survived the carnage, the series launched its sixth season with the happy news that none of the major characters was killed. Though this proved to be a relief to the series' legion of fans, it also marked the beginning of a precipitous drop-off in ratings, from an all-time high throughout the fifth season. This loss of viewers also had a negative effect on the new Dynasty spin-off series, The Colbys. Be that as it may, there was plenty to hold the interest during Dynasty's sixth year on the air, starting with a wild kidnapping plot engineered by Krystle Carrington's scheming niece Sammy Jo (Heather Locklear) and slimy movie producer Joel Abrigore (George Hamilton). As originally conceived, the delightfully despicable Alexis was to have been the kidnap victim, but when Joan Collins briefly ankled the series over a contract dispute, the action was rewritten so that it is Krystle (Linda Evans) who is snatched -- while a lookalike actress named Rita (also Linda Evans) impersonates Krystle, doing her job so well that she even fools Krystle's hubby, Blake (John Forsythe), in the boudoir! New characters this season include Alexis' authoress sister Caress Morell (Kate O'Mara), whose novel "Sister Dearest" is a tell-all tome about...guess who; Christopher Cazenove as Ben Carrington, Blake's long-estranged younger brother; and the Fallmont family: Senator Buck Fallmont (Richard Anderson), his wife, Emily (Pat Crowley), and their son, Clay (Ted McGinley), who falls in love with the redoubtable Sammy Jo. Season six comes to rousing climax as Blake tries to strangle Alexis, and Steven Carrington's (Jack Coleman) seriously disturbed wife, Claudia (Pamela Bellwood), coming to grief (and leaving the series!) by vengefully setting fire to her father-in-law Blake's resort hotel La Mirage. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season four of Dynasty found the series enjoying the peak of its popularity; after that, things could only go downhill -- and alas, they did. On the docket for this season are the Herculean efforts by Denver oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) to regain his financial empire after being systematically undermined by his vengeful ex-wife, Alexis (Joan Collins). Elsewhere, Blake's sexually confused son, Steven (Jack Coleman), vacillates between his long-suffering wife, Claudia (Pamela Bellwood), and his new boyfriend, Luke Fuller (William Campbell). Meanwhile, Blake's oversexed daughter, Fallon (now played by Emma Samms, taking over from Pamela Sue Martin), disappears, prompting her lovesick ex-husband, Jeff (John James), to embark upon a nationwide search, leaving his present spouse, Kirby (Kathleen Beller), in the lurch. New to the series in season five are Billy Dee Williams as Brady Lloyd, the record-executive husband of Blake's half-sister, Dominique (Diahann Carroll); Ali MacGraw as high-profile photographer Lady Ashley Mitchell, with whom Blake briefly dallies; and in his last TV role, Rock Hudson as millionaire horse breeder Daniel Reece, whom Blake's wife, Krystle (Linda Evans), takes up with in her hubby's absence. The most prominent of the series' newcomers is Catherine Oxenberg as Alexis' long-lost daughter Amanda. It is Alexis' engagement to Prince Michael of Moldavia (Michael Praed) that sets the stage for Dynasty's fourth-season cliffhanger finale: the infamous "Moldavian Massacre." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Choices of the Heart (aka In December the Roses Will Bloom Again) recounts the life and death of Irish lay missionary Jean Donovan. Together with three American nuns, the 27-year-old Donovan (here played by Melissa Gilbert) was murdered in El Salvador in 1980. Constructed in a complex flashback-flashforward style, the film shows how Donovan went from a selfish, materialistic girl to a champion of human rights. Martin Sheen plays the priest who is instrumental in Donovan's turnaround. The increasing demand for the US to withdraw its support of El Salvador's military-oriented government is a secondary but vital ingredient to the full dramatic impact of this made-for-TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Scriptwriters Robert Malcolm Young, Sue Grafton and Stephen Humphrey transposed the Agatha Christie story Sparkling Cyanide from its veddy British locale to the plush environs of Pasadena for this 1983 TV-movie adaptation. Leading character Anthony Andrews is still a Briton, mingling with the rich and famous. Seeking glamour, Andrews finds only depravity and death as several of the glitterati drop dead due to poisoned champagne. The motives are the oldest and most reliable: avarice and jealousy. Sparkling Cyanide was filmed at the same time as Caribbean Mystery, another Christie adaptation utilizing the same producer, director and scenarists. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The ratings for Dynasty continued to soar as the nighttime soap opera pursued its fourth season on ABC. The big news this year is the return of Denver oil millionaire Blake Carrington's (John Forsythe) bisexual "black sheep" son Steven, formerly played by Al Corley but now portrayed by Jack Coleman. Reported killed in a horrible accident in Indonesia, Steven was saved by the Herculean efforts of a team of physicians -- including a plastic surgeon, hence his astonishing "new look." Steven spends most of the season enmeshed in a bitter custody battle with father Blake over little Danny, his son by wife Claudia (Pamela Bellwood). Meanwhile, Blake has plenty of non-custodial headaches thanks to his vengeful ex-wife, Alexis (Joan Collins), who succeeds in toppling his financial empire. Also showing up for the first time at the tail end of season four is African-American pop singer Dominique Deveraux (Diahann Carroll). And how does Dominique fit into the series' hitherto all-white shenanigans? Well, it seems that thanks to a long-ago indiscretion by Blake Carrington's father, Dominique is actually Blake's half-sister -- and like everyone else in the Carrington orbit, she has shown up to demand her share of the estate. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ever climbing to the top of the ratings heap -- thanks largely to the introduction of the magnificently malevolent Alexis Carrington Colby (Joan Collins) in its second season -- Dynasty serves up even more soap opera skullduggery for its third year on the air. New to the proceedings is mysterious stranger Michael Torrance (Gordon Thomson), who by his own admission turns out to be Adam Carrington, long-lost son of Alexis and her former husband Blake Carrington (John Forsythe). Kidnapped in infancy, Adam has shown up at this critical moment to demand his rightful share of the Carrington millions, even as Alexis is scheming to financially ruin Blake and destroy the life of his current spouse, Krystle (Linda Evans). Also introduced during season three is Kirby Anders (Kathleen Beller), daughter of the Carringtons' butler, Joseph (Lee Bergere), who in effect becomes one of the family when she weds Alexis' stepson Jeff Colby (John James) -- who in turn has just divorced Blake's libidinous daughter, Fallon. Likewise appearing for the first time is Krystle Carrington's ex-husband, tennis pro Mark Jennings (Geoffrey Scott), who in future episodes would rescue mortal enemies Krystle and Alexis from a fiery demise -- then would himself be murdered mysteriously. Finally, season three marks the first appearance of Neil McVane (Paul Burke), an unscrupulous congressman who would ultimately emerge as a cross-dressing killer! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

There is good news and bad news for Denver oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) as Dynasty launches its first season. The good news is that Blake is about to wed his former secretary, Krystle Jennings (Linda Evans); the bad news is that the Carrington oil empire is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, thanks to a major Mideast political crisis. And there's more trouble in store for Blake as the season progresses. Breezing into town to express their disapproval of his marriage are Carrington's children by a previous marriage: bisexual family "black sheep" Steven Carrington (Al Corley) and rapacious Fallon Carrington (Pamela Sue Martin), who will apparently sleep with anything in trousers. As Steven causes profound embarrassment for his major dad via his romance with boyfriend Ted, Fallon is besmirching the family name by fooling around with her sleazy chauffeur Michael, and later outrages her dad by marrying Jeff Colby (John James), the son of Carrington's hated business rival Cecil Colby (Lloyd Bochner). Meanwhile, Krystle's ex-lover Matthew Blaisdel (Bo Hopkins) hopes to win back his sweetie before the marriage -- and never mind that Matthew is employed as Blake's head geologist. As for Matthew's unstable wife, Claudia (Pamela Bellwood), she has taken it upon herself to "straighten out" the sexually confused Steven Carrington. On top of all this, the Blake-Krystle nuptials are nearly ruined when another of Blake's rivals, wildcatter Walter Lankershim (Dale Robertson), interrupts the ceremony with a shotgun. Season one ends on a cliffhanger, as Blake stands trial for the murder of Steven's lover Ted -- and a mysterious veiled lady appears out of nowhere as a witness for the prosecution. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

There are no cliff-hanging moments in Serial, but there's plenty of laughs in this trenchant comedy comment on 1970s lifestyles. Martin Mull plays the father of a Marin County family that succumbs to every silly fad coming down the pike. Mull tries to distance himself from his family's idiocies, but it's always the man who pays the piper. The film, based on a collection of newspaper essays by Cyra McFadden, is neatly tied up with a Capraesque ending allowing Mull to finally prevail. Some of the best moments involves Mull's tiltings with his trend-happy neighbor Bill Macy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, a female television executive is assigned the difficult task of fixing up a failing series. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi