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
Up until its surisingly mundane finale, A Lawless Street is one of the best of the Randolph Scott westerns of the 1950s. Scott plays famed marshal Calem Ware, whose strenous activities on behalf of law and order have exacted a toll on his personal life. Keeping the peace in the town of Medicine Bend, Ware hopes to someday be reconciled with his ex-wife Tally Dickinson (Angela Lansbury), now a touring musical comedy star. Just as Tally arrives in Medicine Bend, Ware is forced to deal with big-time criminals Thorne (Warner Anderson) and Clark (John Emery), not to mention their hired gun Baskam (Michael Pate). Will he do his duty and rid the town of his outlaw element, or will he hang up his guns as Tally wants him to? One of the highlights of A Lawless Street is a lively saloon-hall number performed by Angela Lansbury, who is quite a dish in her revealing stage wardrobe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Angela Lansbury, (more)
- 1949
Viewers who know Gale Storm only through her chaotic comic performances on TV's My Little Margie and Oh Susanna will be surprised by her subdued dramatic performance in Abandoned. Storm plays Paula Consodine, who comes to Los Angeles in search of her missing sister. Newspaperman Mark Sitko (Dennis O'Keefe), investigating on Paula's behalf, discovers that the sister is dead, a supposed suicide. The whole thing seems a bit fishy to Sitko, and indeed it is: the girl's death was engineered by a black-market adoption racket, headed by one DeCola (Will Kuluva). Paula bravely offers to act as bait to draw the criminals out, a formidable task given the presence of such secondary villains as Raymond Burr and Mike Mazurki. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis O'Keefe, Gale Storm, (more)
- 1961
Paroled after serving 20 years for robbery, Harry Beggs (Crahan Denton) returns to his hometown, hoping to patch things up with his wife, Edith (Jeanette Nolan). Harry has managed to save 1,636 dollars during his sentence, and with this he hopes to jump-start his life. Unfortunately, he meets a sexy young girl (Susan Silo) at a bar -- and by the time he leaves, his money is gone. This is disturbing enough, but not nearly so disturbing as what happens when Harry finally arrives at Edith's doorstep. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
The mother (Jeanette Nolan) of teenager Sharon Trotter (Dorothy Provine) is appalled by the fact that Sharon is having an affair with a much older married man, Ben Nelson (Robert Alda). Worse still, Ben has been stringing Sharon along, promising that he will get a divorce from his wife (Fay Wray), but refusing to do so. This sordid state of affairs inevitably results in a murder -- giving Mrs. Trotter ample opportunity to avenge her daughter's honor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Eccentric Sadie Grimes (Jeanette Nolan) demands an exorbitant price (fifty thousand dollars!) for her dilapidated house. The reason? Sadie's criminal son, Michael (James Drury), was killed in the house after hiding 200,000 dollars in stolen money somewhere on the premises. When prosperous-looking Mr. Waterbury (Robert Emhardt) expresses a desire to purchase the house -- even at the outrageous price -- Sadie's suspicions are aroused. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Carol Lynley makes her first significant TV appearance in this episode, which also represents an early directorial effort by Robert Altman. Lynley is cast as Janice, a psychotic 17-year-old girl who uses a thirtysomething lout named Tex (Vince Edwards) as a pawn in her scheme to rid herself of her nagging aunt, Mae (Jeanette Nolan), so that she can marry her impoverished boyfriend Stan (Stephen Joyce). At episode's end, it appears that the conniving Janice has outsmarted herself...or has she? ~ 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
- 1957
April Love is a musicalized remake of 1944's Home in Indiana. Pat Boone stars as a potential juvenile delinquent who is sent to work on a Kentucky farm. When he meets apple-cheeked local girl Shirley Jones, Boone decides that mending his ways might be an option. Before long, he is devoting himself to the task of training a horse to become a winning trotter. Nominated for an Academy Award, the film's title song proved to be one of Pat Boone's most durable hits. April Love benefits from its actual Lexington, Kentucky locations, lovingly photographed in CinemaScope and Deluxe Color by Wilfred Cline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat Boone, Shirley Jones, (more)
- 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)
- 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
- 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)
- 1966
Hoss Cartwright saves Old Charlie (John McIntire, the town's premiere spinner of tall and outlandish tales, from a knife-wielding outlaw. Determined to prove himself a hero, Charlie takes credit for killing the outlaw, even though the brothers of the dead man have sworn revenge. Does Charlie truly have the guts to back up his self-aggrandizing tales of courage, or will Hoss have to bail him out a second time. Written by Robert and Wanda Duncan, "Old Charlie" was a true family affair: In addition to John McIntire, the supporting cast included McIntire's wife Jeannette Nolan as Annie, and their son Tim McIntire in the dual roles of Billy and George Barker. The episode originally aired on November 16, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
This dull House of Wax variant involves a claw-handed escaped maniac (Patrick O'Neal), who rampages through late 19th-century Baltimore on a mission of vengeance. Hot on his trail are the proprietors of a "House of Horrors" wax museum and their Mexican dwarf sidekick Tun-Tun. Initially conceived as a TV movie, this tepid horror-thriller was instead spiced up with additional gore and violence for theatrical release. Apparently this was still not enough, as the producers then decided to add a few William Castle-type gimmicks -- the "Fear Flasher" and "Horror Horn" -- to prepare audiences for upcoming bouts of onscreen bloodletting. Unfortunately, no such device was employed to warn viewers of imminent boredom. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cesare Danova, Wilfrid Hyde-White, (more)
Juvenile actor Henry Thomas, late of E.T., is the star of Cloak and Dagger. Given to telling whoppers, Thomas finds himself in a boy-who-cried-wolf dilemma when he overhears two spies plotting to smuggle valuable info out of the US. When he can't get his own father Dabney Coleman to believe him, Thomas turns disconsolately to a computer game called "Cloak and Dagger" and begins to fantasize, imagining that he is in cahoots with secret agent Jack Flack, also played by Coleman. Finally coming to grips with the fact that the mythical Jack Flack cannot help him this time, Thomas takes on the spies with the help of his schoolmates, who are also "Cloak and Dagger" addicts. Cloak and Dagger is a heavily disguised remake of 1949's The Window; both are based on the Cornell Woolrich story The Boy Cried Murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Thomas, Dabney Coleman, (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
- 1964
Again behind enemy lines, Hanley (Rick Jason) and Caje (Pierre Jalbert) assume the task of rescuing a headstrong French nun named Sister Therese (Jeanette Nolan) and the three convent girls in her care. Thing of it is, the ladies don't want to be rescued: The girls insist upon returning to their ailing Mother Superior, while Sister Therese is determined to retrieve a precious religious icon called The Infant of Prague--which happens to be in the hands of the Nazis! Filmed earlier in Season Two, this episode was held back from telecast until Easter Week of 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
After registering well in supporting roles in such Bob Hope farces as Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number and Eight on the Lam, raucous comedienne Phyllis Diller attempted to carry a picture all by herself. Alas, Did You Hear the One About the Travelling Saleslady? proved to be as bad as its title. Borrowing elements previously utilized in Joan Davis' Travelling Saleswoman (1950) and the Ginger Rogers-Carol Channing vehicle The First Travelling Saleslady (1956), the film casts Diller as a player-piano saleslady, dispatched to the Wild West. TV-sitcom perennials Bob Denver and Joe Flynn offer their usual overplayed support; at times they're funnier than Diller, though that's not saying much. The film's highlight is a cattle stampede, which should give you some idea. Did You Hear the One... was scripted by John Fenton Murray, soon to be a mainstay of such Sid & Marty Krofft kiddie fare as The Bugaloos and Lidsville; compared to the Diller film, the Krofft stuff was a step upward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Diller, Joe Flynn, (more)
- 1958
Lt. Friday (Jack Webb) and Sgt. Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate the disappearance of a Mrs. Muller. It seems that just before the woman vanished, paroled murderess Annie Joplyn (Jeanette Nolan) was released in Mrs. Muller's custody. Contrary to her reputation, Annie is eager to help the detectives in their investigation--a bit too eager, as far as Friday is concerned! This episode is based on "The Big Thank You", the Dragnet radio broadcast of March 9, 1950. ~ 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
- 1956
This very lightweight comedy focuses on young orphan Willie Taylor (Tim Hovey). Upset with the prevarications of the adult world, Willie launches a truth-telling campaign at school, with the blessings of his pretty teacher Joan Madison (Maureen O'Hara). Things begin to get dicey when Willie publicly reveals a slightly dishonest real-estate deal mastermined by his Uncle Arthur (Barry Atwater). Crusading reporter Ernie Miller (John Forsythe) transforms little Willie into a big celebrity, and in so doing wins the love of Joan. A good supporting cast helps smooth over the lumpier passages of Everything but the Truth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maureen O'Hara, John Forsythe, (more)
- 1966
Jeanette Nolan guest stars as the imperious and extremely bossy mother of Fort Courage commander Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry). No sooner does she arrive at the fort than Mrs. Parmenter is complaining about the slackness of the troops and telling Wilton how best to run things. Naturally, Mrs. P.'s presence threatens the crooked business activities of O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and Agarn (Larry Storch), so much so that they aren't too keen about organizing a rescue party when the old lady ventures into Indian territory (pity the poor Indians!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- PG
Though it strains credibility to the breaking point, the made-for-TV Goliath Awaits proved a ratings success when it was first syndicated via "Operation Prime Time" on November 16, 1981. Mark Harmon plays oceanographer Peter Cabot, who intends to salvage valuable treasures from the ocean liner Goliath, which was sunk by a German U-boat during World War II. Descending into the ocean depths, Cabot stares into one of the portholes of the Goliath--only to see someone staring back at him! Through a fluke, the submerged Goliath's air supply has remained intact for nearly forty years, and a tiny group of survivors (and their progeny) live in an idyllic society ruled by benevolent despot John McKenzie (Christopher Lee). But when Cabot announces that he intends to rescue the denizens of the Goliath, McKenzie's benevolence quickly evaporates. Originally telecast in two 2-hour installments, Goliath Awaits was also made available as a ten-episode miniseries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Randolph Scott is the commander of a Confederate raiding party. They rob a Yankee gold shipment and are told by a dying Union soldier that the war ended a month ago. Knowing that they will now be forced to face criminal charges, they hide out but are soon under attack by a gang of bandits who want the gold they stole. Well done, tense western with a good, dry sense of humor. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Donna Reed, (more)
- 1962
Immediately upon arriving in the West, Eastern-educated Maya (Jena Engstrom) engages the services of Paladin (Richard Boone). Maya wants to determine the whereabouts of her mother Alice (Jeanette Nolan), who had abruptly cut off her school tuition after sending her a series of increasingly ominious letters. Paladin quickly ascertains that Alice is the owner of a rowdy saloon--and that her unsavory past may well have caught up with her in a potentially disastrous fashion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
After a jade chess set owned by the uncle of hotel bellhop Hey Boy (Kam Tong) is stolen, Paladin (Richard Boone) agrees to track down the thieves and reclaim the loot. Riding to a lonely Montana town in hopes of intercepting the outlaws, Paladin spends the night in a rundown boarding house owned by Ma Warren (Jeanette Nolan). Before long, the original mission is all but forgotten as Paladin becomes enmeshed in a star-crossed romance between Ma's daughter Nancy (Lisa Gaye) and her would-be husband Chuck Anderson (Corey Allen, previously seen as James Dean's "chickie run" rival in Rebel Without a Cause). Future Bonanza costar Dan Blocker shows up in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
