Jeanette Nolan Movies
California-born Jeanette Nolan racked up an impressive list of radio and stage credits in the 1930s, including a stint with Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre troupe. She made her film debut in 1948 in Welles' MacBeth; her stylized, Scottish-burred interpretation of Lady MacBeth was almost universally panned by contemporary critics, but her performance holds up superbly when seen today. Afterwards, Ms. Nolan flourished as a character actress, her range extending from society doyennes to waterfront hags. She appeared in countless TV programs, and played the rambunctious title role on the short-lived Western Dirty Sally (1974). Nolan made her final film appearance playing Robert Redford's mother in The Horse Whisperer (1998). From 1937, Jeanette Nolan was married to actor John McIntire, with whom she frequently co-starred; she was also the mother of actor Tim McIntire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1988
A pile of human bones found at a construction site reopens one of Los Angeles' most notorious unsolved murders: the "Black Dahlia" case of 1947. Veteran movie tough guy Lawrence Tierney) is cast as Doyle, the original investigating detective on the case. Once Doyle has come out of retirement to help Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) piece the new clues together, it becomes apparent that the "Black Dahlia" killer is still alive and at large--and that he was also responsible for another unsolved murder on Doyle's watch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
This is the first of four "Day in the Life" episodes, in which Harry (Harry Anderson) must judge a huge number of cases before a predetermined deadline. In this instance, Harry wants to dispense justice to 200 defendants in order to beat a midnight "general amnesty" ordered by a retiring federal judge. Among those appearing before Harry is NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff, who pleads on behalf of a Nielsen family that doesn't want to go to jail before they get a chance to watch Misfits of Science! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The Magnificent Five, a group of winos, steal the $4,000 intended to buy a stained-glass window for St. Dominic's by a bag lady. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1985
Much to the surprise of the Night Court staff, Dan Fielding's parents, whom he insisted were dead, show up in New York City, fresh from Paris, Texas. It quickly becomes obvious why Dan (John Larroquette) had tried to obliterate his parents' existence: Not only are they "trailer trash", but they're also Democrats! Cast as the elder Elmores (not "Fieldings", but "Elmores"--and Dan isn't really "Dan" either!) are real-life husband and wife John McIntire and Jeanette Nolan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), it looks like the wedding of Quincy (Jack Klugman) and Emily (Anita Gillette) will have to be postponed definitely. After all, Quincy cannot be bothered with mundane domestic details while he is busily investigating the possibility that elderly nursing-home resident Edna Brackett (Jeannette Nolan) murdered her husband after being given psychotronic drugs. Finally, the exasperated Emily issues an ultimatum to Quincy: get out of the lab immediately, or the wedding is off. (Incidentally, if you think that Quincy will at long last reveal his first name during the ceremony...think again). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
In the first episode of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single, two hour "very special" episode), Quincy (Jack Klugman) and his fiancee Emily (Anita Gillette) are at last prepared to march down the aisle and tie the knot. While Emily is busily discussing details with wedding planner Winslow (Carole Cook), Quincy (Jack Klugman) is sidetracked by the autopsy of an old man (John McIntire) who apparently died of natural causes in a nursing home. Alas, it looks like the wedding will have to be put on hold when the dead man's widow (Jeannette Nolan) comes forward, insisting that she murdered her husband. (Trivia note: guest stars Nolan and McIntire were married in real life). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
In this Civil-war era western set in a Missouri mining town, respectable women and floozies join forces to keep renegade Union soldiers from destroying their community. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The Disney animated feature The Fox and the Hound tells the story of a friendship between traditional enemies. Tod is a fox whose parents have died. His best friend is a hunting dog named Copper. As Copper grows up, he learns that it is his job to hunt foxes. Tod's caretaker Widow Tweed takes Tod to live in a game preserve where he falls madly in love with Vixey. Copper and his owner eventually enter the preserve to hunt Tod, and eventually Copper must decide between duty and friendship. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, (more)
- 1979
The elderly residents of a nursing home tire of being oppressed and stage a revolution in this made-for-television comedy. Following the ensuing riot they rush out and commandeer a passing train to go out for a few final adventures. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harold Gould, Strother Martin, (more)
- 1978
The Baldwin sisters are visited by their young cousin Mary Frances Conover (Stacey Nelkin), who has been living in a convent. When Jim-Bob (David W. Harper) falls in love with Mary Frances, she is faced with a tough decision: whether to return the boy's affections, or to remain faithful to her lifelong dream of becoming become a nun. Meanwhile, Ben hires a likeable new lumberyard worker named Beau (Bruce French), who is harboring a disturbing secret. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Earl Hamner Jr. of The Waltons fame cowrote the teleplay for Lassie: The New Beginning with Jack Miller. The venerable female collie is now owned by two orphan children (Shane Sinutko and Sally Boyden). She accompanies the kids on a hazardous journey from Arizona to Southern California in search of their only living kin. You won the bet--Lassie does rescue the children in the (ta da!) nick of time. John McIntyre and Jeanette Nolan costar in this 100-minute TV movie. Lassie: The New Beginning was first telecast in two parts on September 17 and 24, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Reilly, Lee Bryant, (more)
- 1978
The Conspirators was one of four Columbo feature-length TV specials irregularly scheduled during the 1977-1978 TV season. The titular conspirators are Irish political terrorists, funded by Americans. Clive Revill is an Irish poet who murders an arms dealer (Bernard Behrens) while the poet is gunrunning to his compatriots in Ireland. The murderer is certain that he's thoroughly covered her tracks--until Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) shambles onto the scene. Columbo: The Conspirators was filmed at a time when Peter Falk was insisting that he would hang up the lieutenant's raincoat for good; no way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
When an "I'm-just-makin'-money" developer plops his new ski lodge at the foot of a mountain, the locals warn him about snowslides. So it's not too long before a gigantic avalanche buries the lodge and all the snow bunnies in it. Rock Hudson plays the ski lodge owner and Mia Farrow is his couch-hopping wife in this disaster film. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Mia Farrow, (more)
- 1976
Former policewoman Dorothy Uhnak wrote the book upon which this 150-minute TV movie was based. The central characters of Law and Order are the male members of an Irish-American family--three generations of police officers. The bulk of the drama concerns the conflicts between Deputy Chief of Public Affairs Brian O'Malley (Darren McGavin) and his Vietnam-vet son (Art Hindle), who has become a beat cop. In addition to his problems at home, Chief O'Malley must contend with rumors of departmental corruption. Law and Order was designed as the pilot film for a Police Story-style series with a family slant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
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The third and final TV-movie in the "Joshua Cabe" saga, this ABC effort stars John McIntire as rascally rancher-turned-sheriff Joshua Cabe, a role played by Buddy Ebsen in the original The Daughters of Joshua Cabe) and by Dan Dailey in The Daughters of Joshua Cabe Return. This time out, Cabe is accused of a murder he didn't commit and carted off to jail, there to await hanging. Coming to his rescue are Joshua's "daughters"--actually three unrelated shady ladies named Charity (Liberty Williams), Ada (Renne Jarrett) and Mae (Lezlie Dalton)--who devise a brilliant and thoroughly unbelievable escape plan. The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe aired on May 29, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Tony Musante has the unenviable task of portraying the least appealing paraplegic hero in TV-movie history in Desperate Miles. Musante plays Joe Larkin, a disabled Vietnam vet who wants to prove to the world that neither he nor his incapacitated brethren are helpless. To do this, he takes to the highway in his wheelchair, bound and determined to complete a 130-mile journey. His progress is threatened by a mean-tempered truck driver (John Chandler), who tailgates Larkin's chair, honks his horn, and screams things like "You think you're someone special?" Unfortunately, Larkin is such a strident and obnoxious character that the audience may be inclined to sympathize with the driver. This is not a hindsight observation: many critics turned thumbs down on the well-intentioned Desperate Miles when it was first broadcast on March 5, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Susan Clark won an Emmy for her performance as legendary woman athlete Babe Didrickson (1916-1956). The film starts in Port Arthur, Texas, with teenaged Babe depriving herself of a social life in order to excel at track and field. Her well-honed skills and fierce competitive spirit win Babe a slot at the Los Angeles-based 1932 Olympics. Able to excel in practically any sport, Babe becomes a pro golfer, tennis player and billiard champ. In 1940, she meets and marries roughhewn ex-wrestler George Zaharias (played by Alex Karras, Clark's real-life future husband), who becomes her mentor and manager. Despite the anticipated career and personal conflicts, George stays by Babe's side for the next sixteen years, ultimately buoying her spirits during her three-year ordeal with terminal cancer. Babe was adapted by Emmy nominee Joanna Lee from Babe Didrickson Zaharias' autobiography This Life I've Led. Footnote: for a glance at the real Babe Zaharias in action on the golf links, see the Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn vehicle Pat and Mike (52). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
The central "character" of the Disney made-for-TV movie The Sky's the Limit is a battered old biplane. The aircraft comes in handy when a spry old farmer (Pat O'Brien) makes an effort to "reach" his truculent grandson (Ike Eisenmann). It so happens that the farmer was a World War I ace, and as such promises to take the boy up in the air for a crop-dusting session. Next step: get the biplane into flying shape. Also starring Lloyd Nolan and Jeanette Nolan (no relation), The Sky's the Limit premiered as a two-part Wonderful World of Disney episode on January 19 and 26, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Actually, Hijack has nothing to do with the Wild Blue Yonder: instead, the story involves two truckers (David Janssen, Keenan Wynn) hauling a mysterious cargo from LA to Houston. The U.S. government won't tell our heroes what they're carrying in their eight-wheeler, but someone knows what it is, and that someone is well armed and very dangerous. Hijack was first broadcast September 26, 1973, while most of the country was watching a Bob Hope special on a competing network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
With the child-welfare authorities breathing down his neck, orphaned teenager George Morgan (played by future ChiPs costar Larry Wilcox) desperately tries to hold his family together. Going on the run with his younger siblings, George is forced to steal medicine for his ailing sister--and as a result, faces charges of kidnapping and homicide. Joining Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) as the obligatory Adult Authority Figures in this tense episode is Jeanette Nolan in the role of a judge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
When John (Randolph Mantooth) predicted that this Wednesday would be a "weird" one for Rampart Hospital, he wasn't kidding. The case log includes a feisty 80-year-old woman (Jeanette Nolan) who sprains her ankle while dancing at her own birthday party, a panicky hooker who hauls her cardiac-victim "John" into the hospital, a near-fatal case of hiccups, a teenager (played by a young, uncredited William Katt) who tries to put himself into a deep-freeze, and a parachutist who ends up in a high tree. And have we mentioned the snakes on the golf course? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
In her final acting appearance, Susan Hayward is ironically cast as a research doctor who can no longer face up to the notion of dealing with death on a daily basis. Recently widowed, Dr. Maggie Cole is on the verge of giving up her job and going into seclusion. She is shaken back to reality by crusty but lovable "street doctor" Lou Grazzo (Darren McGavin), who coerces Maggie into accepting a job at a Chicago slum clinic. At first adjusting admirably to her new surroundings, Maggie undergoes a devastating assault to her emotions when she befriends a teenaged leukemia patient. Written by real-life M.D. Sandor Stern and originally telecast by ABC on September 27, 1972, Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole was supposed to have been the pilot for a weekly series, but plans for this project were abandoned after the death of star Susan Hayward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
John McIntire is cast as Michael "Doc" Lacy, a lifelong criminal whose career stretches back to the Dillinger era. Having never truly succeeded in his chosen profession, Lacy escapes from prison in hopes of pulling off one last "dream" robbery. Inasmuch as the old man's target is a huge military payroll, the FBI takes a more than passing interest in his movements. Appearing as Lacy's wife Helen is John McIntire's real-life spouse Jeanette Nolan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
First telecast January 5, 1971, Alias Smith and Jones was the pilot for the popular TV series of the same name. This genial rip-off of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Kid Curry, two notorious Western bandits who have become folk heroes because of their refusal to kill anyone. Heyes and Curry would like to go straight; the governor offers them that opportunity, provided they can stay out of trouble for one year. Assuming the aliases of Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones, Heyes and Curry begin their "retribution" process as tellers in a very tempting, very unguarded bank. Perennial guest star Susan Saint James provides the feminine angle in this tongue-and-cheek effort. Alias Smith and Jones ran until January 1973, by which time Roger Davis had replaced Pete Duel, who committed suicide on the last day of 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Longstreet was the pilot for one of the better "gimmick" detective series of the 1970s. The title role of Michael Longstreet is played by James Franciscus. Longstreet is a New Orleans insurance investigator who has been permanently blinded in a mysterious bombing which has killed his wife. As he recuperates and trains himself to function in a sighted world, Longstreet determines to avenge his wife's death by continuing his detective work and tracking down his assailant. Longstreet's closest companions are his female braille instructor (Martine Beswick in the pilot, Marliyn Mason in the series) and Pax, his seeing-eye dog. Longstreet was created and produced by Stirling Silliphant of In the Heat of the Night and Naked City fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
