Elizabeth Schoene Movies
After numerous delays and second thoughts, Aunt Rose (Peggy Rea) has accepted the marriage proposal of her longtime beau Stanley (William Schallert), and a wedding date is set. But the nuptuals may be permanently postponed when Rose's attack of "heartburn" proves to be something much more serious. Elsewhere, Cindy (Leslie Winston) grows weary of being just another housewife, and demands that Ben (Eric Scott) allow her to get a job--with surprising results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Freed from a Japanese POW camp and safely returned to Walton's Mountain, Ben intends to enter the postwar working world as a professional engineer. His dad John (Ralph Waite), however, wants Ben to give up his plans and become a full partner at the family lumber mill. The situation changes dramatically for both father and son when word comes that Olivia Walton's health has taken a turn for the worse. This episode marks the final series appearance of Ralph Waite. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
While on furlough, Jim-Bob (David W. Harper) is pursued by an impulsive lass named Kathy (played by a very young Jennifer Jason Leigh), who insists that she is pregnant--and that Jim-Boy is the father. And half a world away, Ben (Eric Scott) is having a great deal of difficulty curbing his rebellious streak as he sits out the war in a Japanese POW camp. It can be argued that the problems of both Walton brothers are resolved by episode's end--though one of them still has a long way to go before he's completely out of the woods. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Even though Germany has been defeated, the war in Japan rages on--and Ben Walton (Eric Scott) is in the thick of things. Back at home, Ben's wife Cindy (Leslie Winston) begins having ominous dreams in which her husband is in danger. Alas, her premonition comes true when she receives word that Ben has been captured by the enemy. Meanwhile, in liberated Paris, John-Boy (Robert Wightman) falls in love with a beautiful Frenchwoman named Simone (Anita Jodelsohn)--and as a result, he may decide to remain in Europe for good. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the conclusion of The Waltons' two-part Season Nine opener, John Walton (Ralph Waite) faces a long jail term for helping to conceal murder suspect Harley Foster (Hal Williams) from the authorities. Despite his own dilemma, John is determined to prove that Harley is an innocent victim of racial prejudice. Meanwhile, the budding romance between John's daughter Elizabeth (Kami Cotler) and Drew Cutler (Tony Becker) hits a snag when she begins neglecting him to spend more time her horse Molly. And in faraway Paris, the girlfriend of Jason Walton (Jon Walmsley) helps him locate his war-correspondent brother John-Boy (Robert Wightman). The episode closes with a stunning national tragedy which has a profound impact on the people of Walton's Mountain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Robert Wightmanbecomes a regular in the role of John-Boy Walton (which he'd previously played on a recurring basis, replacing Richard Thomas) in the ninth and final season of The Waltons. The two-part season opener (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode) takes place during the final months of WW2, as John Walton (Ralph Waite) tries to clear his friend Harley Foster (Hal Williams) of a long-standing murder charge. Convinced that Harley's original trial was biased, John is willing to put his own reputation--and freedom--on the line to prove the man's innocence. Elsewhere on Walton's Moutain, storekeeper Ike Godsey (Joe Conley) and his formidable wife Corabeth (Ronnie Claire Edwards) have a spirited argument over a woman's "proper place" in a male-oriented society. And as the newly-uniformed Ben Walton (Eric Scott) is headed for the war in the Pacific, his brothers John-Boy and Jim-Bob attempt to connect up with each other in Paris--an effort that seems doomed to failure! Jason Moses in seen in the role of Harley Foster's stepson Josh, replacing Todd Bridges, who of course had moved on to Diff'rent Strokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide







