Jenny Sullivan Movies

An epic-Western in the grand tradition, the made-for-cable The Trail to Hope Rose stars Lou Diamond Phillips as Keenan Deerfield, a half-Indian outlaw just released from prison. Determined to start life anew, Keenan takes a grueling rock-mining job in a town controlled by the odious Driggers family, headed by flint-eyed patriarch Samuel Drigger (Warren Stevens), with the coldblooded Gerald Rutledge (Richard Tyson) as the family's chief henchman. Keenan's fellow workers are treated like slaves and forced to live in squalor, but none dare complain lest they meet with one of the many convient "accidents" that have befallen anyone who dares stand up to the Driggers. With stoic fortitude, Keenan waits for the right moment to strike a blow for justice, benefiting from the moral support of the town's honest but ineffectual Marshal Toll (Lee Majors) and good-natured farmer Eugene Lawson (Ernest Borgnine). The plot thickens when Keenan falls in love with Gerald's "woman," the pregnant Christine Beckford (Marina Black), and when one of Keenan's past associates, A.J. Foster (David Shackelford), rides into town intent upon stealing the Drigger mine's payroll. The rather endearing old-fashioned quality of the film is enhanced by the location-shooting at the Paramount Ranch, a reconstructed western town in Agoura, CA. The Trail to Hope Rose first aired July 4, 2004, on the Hallmark channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Made for television, Winnie is adapted from the fact-based book Winnie: My Life in the Institution by Jamie Paster Bolnick. Meredith Baxter-Birney plays Winnie Sprockett, who at age 6 is adjudged moderately retarded and confined to an Iowa mental institution. After being locked away for 30 years, Winnie campaigns for her release, attempting to write a book of her experiences. At one point she escapes with a fellow patient (David Morse). Through the intervention of a compassionate administrator (Barbara Barrie), Winnie is at last allowed to re-enter the outside world. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this sprawling television miniseries, originally aired in May 1983 on NBC, a race of seemingly human-like aliens arrive en masse on Earth. These "Visitors" promise cooperation and friendship -- then launch a clandestine takeover of the planet by accusing the entire scientific and medical community of conspiring to destroy them, then finally "benevolently" seizing power. Inspired by Sinclair Lewis' It Can't Happen Here, a 1935 account of a fictional fascist takeover of America, V uses a huge ensemble cast and an elliptical method of storytelling to trace the contact between humans and the Visitors, from the arrival of 50 giant flying saucers in low Earth orbit to the first major victory of the underground resistance that opposes the aliens. Major characters include Mike Donovan (Marc Singer), a television cameraman who leverages his experience filming in various war-torn locales to help expose the Visitors' true nature; news anchor Kristine Walsh (Jenny Sullivan), his sometime girlfriend, who allows her ambitions to cloud her journalistic judgment and becomes a pawn of the alien invasion; Juliet Parrish (Faye Grant), a young biochemist who finds herself thrust into the role of resistance leader; Abraham Bernstein (Leonardo Cimino), the patriarch of a Jewish family divided between the lessons of the Holocaust and the need to survive; Elias Taylor (Michael Wright), a petty thief who joins the resistance after the Visitors kill his doctor brother, Ben (Richard Lawson); and Robin Maxwell (Blair Tefkin), the surly eldest daughter of a scientist (Michael Durrell) who finds his family the target of harassment and intimidation. The Visitors, who assume common human first names as their monikers, include supreme leader John (Richard Herd); sultry science and security officer Diana (Jane Badler); hunky Brian (Peter Nelson); and gentle Willie (Robert Englund). V was written and directed by Kenneth Johnson, who initially envisioned the project as a less fanciful story of fascist aggression; when his pitch to NBC seemed to be faltering, Johnson allegedly added the alien angle extemporaneously, securing himself a green light and NBC a sweeps-week hit. The success of V spawned a second miniseries, V: The Final Battle, and a weekly TV series that lasted 19 episodes from 1984 to 1985. Johnson ended his association with the world of V halfway through production on the second miniseries, but his work on the Alien Nation TV spin-off years later would resurrect many of the themes of V. Actor Singer was already known to sci-fi fans as star of The Beastmaster, while Englund would go on to portray Freddy Krueger in countless Nightmare on Elm Street films. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

While staying with the family of Brett Harper (Charles Cioffi), from whom he hopes to purchase a horse, Charles (Michael Landon) is approached by Brett's two children. The younger Harpers beg Charles to help them prevent their parents from splitting up. But since Brett has become a drunken recluse due to the death of his favorite son, even someone as perceptive and compassionate as Charles may not be able to mend things between Brett and his long-suffering wife, Leslie (Jenny Sullivan). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of four dramatic miniseries carried by NBC under the blanket title Best Sellers, Captains and the Kings was adapted from a novel by Taylor Caldwell. Covering a time span from 1857 to 1912, this was the saga of the Irish-immigrant Armagh clan, with emphasis on the rags-to-riches career of Joseph Armagh (Richard Jordan). Achieving fame and prominence (if not full-fledged social acceptance) through a Byzantine series of investments in the oil industry, the elder Armagh was obsessed with the notion of having one of his sons become the first Irish-Catholic President of the United States (does this story sound vaguely familiar?). Along the way, Joseph and his offspring indulged in innumerable romantic liaisons, extramarital and otherwise. Featured in the all-star cast is Patty Duke Astin, who won an Emmy award for her portrayal of Bernadette Hennessey Armagh. Captains and the Kings was broadcast from September 30 to November 18, 1976 in seven installments, two of which ran 120 minutes, and the other six lasting 60 minutes -- a total of nine hours' air time in all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Three tons of narcotics are stolen by dealer Sam Hibbing (Claude Akins). To recover the drugs, and to ruin both Hibbing and his higher-ups, the IMF concoct an undermining scheme that once again requires agent Casey to pose as a criminal's daughter. Filmed on location in San Francisco, this episode was highlighted by a superbly photographed motorcycle chase, and also by the first appearance of series regular Greg Morris' mustache. Jenny Sullivan, daughter of actor Barry Sullivan, appears as the "real" Margaret Hibbing. Written by Lou Shaw, "Speed" first aired on February 16, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Myrna Loy guest stars as Andrea Wollcott, a pioneering feminist author. Over the years, Andrea has made many enemies--one of whom apparently hates her enough to fire a few gunshots at her. Assigned by Ironside (Raymond Burr) to protect Andrea, Fran (Elizabeth Baur) is thrilled at meeting one of her idols...at least at first. Meanwhile, Ed (Don Galloway) falls in love with the Great Lady's granddaughter April Morris (Jacqueline Scott), leading to unanticipated complications. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"What do we do now?" Director Michael Ritchie and executive producer/star Robert Redford satirically explore the machinations and manipulations of media-age political campaigns in this cynical political drama. Rumpled left-wing California lawyer Bill McKay (Redford), the son of a former governor (Melvyn Douglas), is enlisted by campaign maestro Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) to challenge Republican incumbent Crocker Jarmon (Don Porter) for his Senate seat. McKay agrees, but only if he can say exactly what he thinks. That approach is all well and good when McKay does not seem to have a chance, but things change when his honesty unexpectedly captivates the electorate. As McKay inches up in the polls, Lucas and company start to do what it takes to win, leaving McKay to ponder the consequences of his political seduction. Working without studio interference from a script by Jeremy Larner, a speechwriter for 1968 Presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy, Ritchie enhanced the behind-the-scenes realism of Larner's insights with a realistic, cinéma vérité approach. He orchestrated a campaign parade for "candidate" Redford that drew such a considerable unstaged audience that local politicians wanted to draft Redford for a real election. Redford's resemblance to the telegenic Kennedys, and his character's resonance with the future career of California governor Jerry Brown, only emphasized how close to the bone The Candidate was (and is). Released the fateful year of Richard Nixon's reelection, the film garnered accolades, if not substantial box office; Larner won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and thanked the "politicians of our time" for inspiration. Creating a documentary fiction about the semi-truths manufactured to market a candidate, The Candidate shrewdly exposed the effects of the media on the increasingly cynical political process, posing unanswerable questions that have become all the more pressing with every soundbite-ruled election. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Also known as "Mike's Hippie Friends Come to Visit," this episode proves that even Mike has his limits when it comes to human behavior. Archie is appalled when Mike and Gloria invite their flower-child friends Paul (Jack Bender) and Robin (Jenny Sullivan) to "crash" at the Bunker home. He is even more incensed when he learns that Paul and Robin aren't married. At first a bastion of liberality, Mike slowly realizes that some of the "beautiful people" aren't quite so beautiful when seen close-up -- and besides, Robin's refusal to communicate with words is really annoying! Scripted by series co-star Rob Reiner, Philip Mishkin, Don Nicholl, and Bryan Joseph from a story by Reiner and Mishkin, "Now That You Know the Way" first aired on February 23, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a desperate effort to escape from his Mafia bosses, Walter Hazlett (Tim O'Connor) hijacks a plane and demands to be flown to Cuba. Hoping to save the life of a wounded man on board the plane, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) tries to persuade Hazlett to give himself up. Meanwhile, Hazlett's daughter Ginny (Charlotte Stewart), who can't bring herself to believe that her father is a criminal, is targetted by Mob kidnappers who plan to use her to bring her father out in the open. Dabney Coleman is seen as the plane's beleagured pilot, while future M*A*S*H regular Larry Linville also plays a key role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Johnny Taylor (Murray MacLeod) makes the rounds in Hollywood trying to peddle a screenplay given to him by his American army buddy in Vietnam. His attempts prove to be fruitless as he drifts into the life of a hermit on a Malibu beach. Johnny saves Diane (Lori Martin) from a motorcycle gang and discovers her father Vance Patton (William Windom) is a top film producer. She tries to convince daddy dearest to give the young man a shot at writing for films, but he refuses and castigates his daughter for being involved with an unknown. Vance ignores his wife Gloria (Jan Sterling) and Johnny is pursued by the homosexual agent Mori Thompson (Jan Murray) before the motorcycle gang returns for another round of fun and games. An LSD montage and a semi-nude exotic dancer spices up this feature about the hopes and shattered show-business dreams in a tarnished Tinseltown. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide