Betty White Movies
Actress Betty White got her start in local Los Angeles television as the "telephone girl" for video emcee Al Jarvis. By early 1950 she was one of the stars of the daily, five-hour series Hollywood on Television. One of the highlights of this program was a husband and wife sketch titled "Life With Elizabeth," which when committed to film and syndicated nationally in 1953 became White's first starring TV sitcom. She went on to headline her own network variety series in 1954, then co-starred with Bill Williams in the weekly TV domestic comedy Date With the Angels (1957), which without Williams was retitled The Betty White Show in early 1958. For the next 15 years she made guest appearances on various variety and quiz show efforts, and toured the straw-hat theatrical circuit in such plays as Critics Choice and Who Was That Lady, often appearing opposite her husband, TV personality Allen Ludden. Two years after hosting the 1971 syndicated informational series The Pet Set, she guest-starred as libidinous "Happy Homemaker" Sue Ann Nivens on the fourth season opener of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. This Emmy-winning episode led to White being cast as an MTM regular; she remained with the series until its final episode in 1977. She then starred on her own short-lived sitcom (again titled The Betty White Show) before returning to the guest-star circuit. In 1985, she joined the cast of TV's The Golden Girls as middle-aged grief counselor Rose Nyland. This top-rated program lasted seven seasons before metamorphosing into the rather less successful Golden Palace (1992). White was a regular on the 1995 series Maybe This Time, and in 1997 she won an Emmy for her one-shot appearance on The John Laroquette Show. Though she has starred and co-starred in several made-for-TV movies, Betty White had appeared on the big screen only once, as a Margaret Chase Smith-like senator in Otto Preminger's Advise and Consent (1962). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1955
Included are four Christmas episodes from '50s television shows: A Date with the Angels, Racket Squad, The Ruggles and Dragnet. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Rita Rudner was both co-writer and co-star of this multi-plotted romantic comedy, set in a bed and breakfast in the middle of Southern California's wine country. In the course of the film's 90 minutes, a number of curiously matched couples will find true romance -- and sometimes even true happiness. Standout performances amongst the star-studded cast include Rita Rudner's turn as a pregnant food critic, Jack Lemmon as a desperate concert promoter, and Dudley Moore as a lonely vintner. Made for cable television, A Weekend in the Country debuted June 12, 1996, on the USA network; a mildly R-rated version was later prepared for home video release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faith Ford, Christine Lahti, (more)
The first of Allen Drury "all names changed to protect the guilty" political novels, Advise and Consent was brought to the screen by producer/director Otto Preminger. The film hinges upon the appointment of Robert Leffingwell (Henry Fonda) to Secretary of State. Leffingwell has been hand-picked by the President (Franchot Tone), meaning that there'll be a battle on the Senate floor between adherents of and opponents to the current administration. Among the participants are veteran Dixiecrat Charles Laughton, freshman Senator Don Murray and powerseeker George Grizzard. Burgess Meredith also shows up as a man who is brought into the Senate to "prove" that Leffingwell is a communist. To neutralize Murray, Grizzard threatens to dredge up a homosexual incident in Murray's past, which results in the latter's suicide. Advise and Consent is a slow and old-fashioned film, coming to life only when Laughton and Grizzard are on screen--and in the climax, in which the fate of Leffingwell's appointment is left in the hands of acting President Lew Ayres. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, (more)
- 1990
This medical instructional video is produced by the American Red Cross. Taking the viewer first through a twenty-question test on proper procedures for life-threatening medical emergencies, with an included test score card, the video then shows the recommended medical procedures for each depicted Emergency. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 2005
This heartwarming made-for-cable "road" picture begins in Chicago, where widowed grandmother Annie Eason (Betty White, convincingly portraying a 69-year-old while herself in her eighties!) wants to grant the final request of her husband Elliott: To release his ashes from the top of "Annie's Point"--3000 miles away. Embittered over having to manage his late father's business, Annie's son Richard (Richard Thomas) flatly refuses to take her to Annie's Point, so she goes instead with her free-spirited granddaughter Ella (Amy Davidson). Their odyssey turns into a frantic and sometimes funny chase after Annie goes on a gambling spree in Las Vegas, prompting Richard to hotly pursue his mother with the intention of having her institutionalized. Annie's Point made its Hallmark channel bow on January 22, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
The "before" version of Patty Duke is obese and slovenly. Emerging from a "fat farm," the "after" version of Patty Duke discovers that her husband (Bradford Dillman) has been playing the field while she's been trying to shed her excess poundage. Duke then takes up with a handsome artist (Art Hindle), who gives her new incentive to lose weight, even though he's made it clear that her physical appearance isn't all that important to him. His jealousy aroused, Duke's hubby tries to win her back, but she soon learns that he hasn't really changed a bit. The made-for-TV Before and After was initially broadcast October 5, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patty Duke, Bradford Dillman, (more)
A man looking for a woman just like himself ends up with someone quite different in this farcical comedy. Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a lawyer who is having trouble getting his life back on track after his wife, Kate (Jean Smart), divorces him; he's also adjusting to his new status as a single father. Looking for companionship, Peter tries an internet dating site and virtually meets "lawyer-girl," an attractive and single fellow attorney. Peter makes a date with her, but the woman who arrives at his door turns out to be Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah), who not only isn't a lawyer, she turns out to be an escaped convict. Charlene is also a brash and brassy African-American, while Peter is perhaps the most tightly wound white guy in L.A. Charlene explains to Peter that she's strung him along because she's innocent of the crime for which she was convicted, and she needs a top-notch attorney to help prove her case. Peter isn't the least bit interested at first, but Charlene isn't the sort of woman to take "no" for an answer, and in time she wears him down and agrees to help. As Charlene moves into Peter's home, she helps him to loosen up and unleash his inner groove, which quite surprises Kate, and her down-to-earth advice comes in handy for Peter's son and daughter. But Charlene may end up going too far when Peter is asked to entertain Mrs. Arness (Joan Plowright), a wealthy woman looking for a new law firm. Bringing Down the House also features Eugene Levy as Howie, one of Peter's friends who takes a keen interest in Charlene, and Betty White as one of Peter's neighbors. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, (more)
- 1991
In this romance, a widowed businesswoman, believing she has an incurable disease begins a series of romantic encounters only to discover that she has been misdiagnosed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 2006
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Star Trek star William Shatner settles into the celebrity hot seat, opening the floodgates for a series of relentless barbs by eager friends and colleagues in this installment of the popular Comedy Central Roast series. The tranya flows, the band rocks, and the insults fly as a series of celebrities including Clint Howard, George Takei, Jason Alexander, Jeffrey Ross, Nichelle Nichols, Fred Willard, Betty White, and Kevin Pollak all line up to take a shot at the man who would boldly lead television viewers to realms where no man, or woman for that matter, had gone before. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Shatner
- 1998
- G
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In this direct-to-video sequel to the 1993 movie Dennis the Menace (which was based on Hank Ketcham's long-running comic strip), mischievous youngster Dennis (Justin Cooper) wants to help his eternally frazzled next-door neighbor Mr. Wilson (Don Rickles) celebrate his birthday, but Mr. Wilson is already feeling his age, and the lively Dennis only makes Wilson feel that much older -- and the arrival of Dennis's spry Grandfather (George Kennedy) doesn't help. Eager to feel younger, Mr. Wilson soon falls prey to a con man (Carrot Top) who sells him a variety of bogus youth-restoring potions. Dennis the Menace Strikes Again also features Betty White as Mrs. Wilson, and Dwier Brown and Jaqueline Steiger as Dennis's parents. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The 90-minute TV special Eunice reunites the "family" originally created for the weekly variety series The Carol Burnett Show. Carol Burnett plays Eunice, the frustrated, viper-tongued, ever-envious wife of dyspeptic, long-suffering Ed (Harvey Korman, who also directed). Eunice carries on a ceaseless battle with her cranky, obnoxious mother (Vicki Lawrence), who considers the day wasted if she can't spread a little gloom amongst her loved ones. The special is constructed in the form of a three-act play. Act One, set in 1955, delineates Ed and Eunice's courtship, and also introduces Eunice's easily hurt brother Philip (Ken Berry). Act Two takes place in 1963, with Philip encouraging Eunice to head to New York in pursuit of an acting career, which comes to naught when, in Act Three, she self-indulgently chooses a life of booze and broken dreams. And Act Four occurs in 1978, with the death of Eunice's unlamented mother (a character later revived for the TV sitcom Mama's Family) and the invasion of her snooty, judgmental sister Ellen (Betty White). Alternately hilarious and heartrending, Eunice was first telecast March 15, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Organized by New York's Museum of Television and Radio, this impressively assembled tribute to the funny women boasts a stellar all-female cast, drawn from half a century's worth of video entertainment. Hosted by Megan Mullally (Will & Grace), the special uses rare film clips and interviews to pay homage to such iconic figures as Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Burnett, Bea Arthur, and especially the woman who started it all, Lucille Ball. A number of veteran comediennes are in attendance, along with the newer crop of "girls." Amidst the hilarity, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Seinfeld) offers a poignant paean to the late Gilda Radner. Great Women of Television and Comedy was originally broadcast by NBC -- which may explain the preponderance of guest stars from that network's then-current sitcom manifest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
