Leslie Winston Movies
Lead actress, onscreen from the '80s. ~ All Movie Guide- 1996
This arty Canadian drama centers on a young Vietnamese woman who marries a petty thief she does not love so she can emigrate to Canada. The rest of her family moves there too, but none of them find a particularly happy life, though Lucky, Lulu's husband, would do anything to insure his wife's happiness, even if it is self-destructive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A Toronto family of East Indian immigrants seeks to gain a foothold in the Canadian world in this 1992 production. The patriarch (Saeed Jaffrey) is a postal worker struggling to make ends meet, while his nephew (played by writer/director Srinivas Krishna) makes trouble both in the family and on the streets of Toronto. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Saeed Jaffrey, Srinivas Krishna, (more)
In this black comedy, the mysterious death of the owner of an amusement park prompts his widow to sell the property to a group of mobsters, the DiMaurios. When the DiMaurios take over, they lower everyone's salary and fire the park's clown mascot, Bruce Burger (David Lander). With his job taken away, the clown loses it and begins to stage his revenge. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Windom, David L. Lander, (more)
In this racy made-for-TV comedy, a handsome hunk (Mark Harmon) does more than merely plumb the pools of beauteous Bel Air housewives and lonely women. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
A Wedding on Walton's Mountain has no John-Boy (Richard Thomas) or Olivia (Michael Learned),but does feature five regulars from the long-running TV series: Ralph Waite as John Walton, Ellen Corby as Grandma, Mary Elizabeth McDonough as Erin, Jon Walmsley as Jason and Judy Norton-Taylor as Mary Ellen. The year is 1947, and the wedding is Erin's, about to tie the knot with lumberman Paul Northridge (Morgan Stevens). Erin's ex-boyfriend (Louis Welch) threatens to gum up the works, but with the help and support of her family the girl is successfully wed. The first of several Waltons TV movies following the demise of the series in 1981, The Wedding on Walton's Mountain turned out to be an unexpected ratings magnet. It assured the Faithful that there would be many minings of the Waltons vaults for future made-for-TV specials--the most recent of these appearing in early 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The second of three TV-movie spinoffs of the long-running series The Waltons, Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain marked the return of actress Michael Learned in the role of Olivia Walton, a part she had relinquished when her contract expired one year before the original series' cancellation in 1981. Still consigned to a tuberculosis sanitorium, Olivia has only a few scenes in the film, though she does return to Walton Mountain in time to help her daughter Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) weather a crisis. It appears as if Mary Ellen, newly wed to longtime beau Jonesy (Richard Gilliland) will be unable to have children, thanks to an auto accident; meanwhile, the rest of the Walton clan has problems of their own, including son Ben's (Eric Wilton) efforts to restore harmony between himself and his own wife Cindy (Leslie Winston). Of the original Waltons cast, only Richard Thomas, Ellen Corby and the late Will Geer were absent from the proceedings. Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain debuted May 9, 1982, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Walmsley
- 1982
Featuring a reunion of most of the cast of the long-running family series, The Waltons, this touching drama centers on the attempt of the now grown and scattered brood of Olivia and John Walton to regroup for an old fashioned family holiday. Unfortunately, John-Boy is not among them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Quincy (Jack Klugman) races against time to locate and neutralize the mysterious neurological disease that has already claimed three lives on a luxury liner. Though some of the pasengers have managed to escape to shore, the ship is now quarantined and prohibited from docking at any port. Thus Quincy must not only stem the epidemic, but also track down those on dry land who may still be spreading it--and worse yet, his own girlfriend Janet (Diana Muldaur) is now gravely ill. Originally telecast over a two-week period, Slow Boat to Madness has since been syndicated as a single two-hour "TV movie." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
In the first episode of a two-part story, Quincy (Jack Klugman) and his lady friend Janet (Diana Muldaur) are enjoying a luxury cruise to Tahiti, when tragedy strikes. One man suddenly jumps overboard and drown, while another is murdered--and the murderer subsequently dies himself. It turns out that a mysterious but deadly illness is rapidly spreading throughout the cruiser...and unless Quincy is able to isolate the source of the disease, no one will ever set foot on shore again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Kanji (Tetsuya Takeda) and Hiroshi (Tatsuo Nadaka) are two non-conformist Japanese tourists who have decided to see the American Southwest by thumbing their way through the area. Kanji has harbored two goals for a long time now: he wants a liaison with a blond woman and he would like to shoot a gun. Happily, he gets both wishes on this trip. Hiroshi is not so lucky -- he becomes a target for a female con artist and a man who finds him attractive. Avoiding the worst-case scenario, the two friends get to know Tammy (Leslie Winston), a young and pretty woman who has run away from home. They invite her to Tokyo to earn a living modeling and are willing to pay her way. Before those plans can be put into action, the duo are robbed of most of their cash and face an important decision: should they abandon Tammy and just go home, or stick with their plan of getting her to Tokyo? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tetsuya Takeda, Leslie Winston, (more)
- 1979
Walton's Mountain may be in for a name change when both the Baldwins and the Godseys come across evidence that their families, and not the Waltons, were the first to settle on the mountain. The Baldwin sisters are so certain that they will be able to prove their "ownership" that they begin formulating plans for a gala Founder's Day celebration -- only to have their bubble burst by dear old Grandma Walton (Ellen Corby). Elsewhere, Jason (Jon Walmsley) is under great pressure to compose a classically-based piece for his final examination at Klineberg Conservatory. This final episode of The Waltons' seventh season is capped by the touching "closure" narration of the adult John-Boy Walton, which was written by series creator Earl Hamner under the assumption that the series had been cancelled by CBS (It wasn't). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
John (Ralph Waite) discovers that the new owner of the Dew Drop Inn is his former sweetheart Callie May Jordan (Dorothy Tristan). Once everyone else finds this out, they begin to worry that John might "forget himself" with Callie May in the absence of his wife Olivia -- which, as it turns out, is just what Callie May is hoping for. Despite his preoccupation with converting his pool emporium into a canteen for soldiers, Ike Godsey (Joe Conley) takes it upon himself to explain the facts of life (so to speak) to the amorous Callie May. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Performing an autopsy on a teenage prostitute who has committed suicide, Quincy (Jack Klugman)characteristically takes a personal interest in the case. It seems that the victim had been killed after seeing "Uncle Harry" (Alan Manson), the man who led her into prostituation, persuading an even younger girl to appear in a pornographic film. Taking it upon himself to break up an insidious kiddie-porn ring, Quincy simultaneously tries to save a group of runaway kids from falling into the clutches of the "Uncle Harrys" of the world. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
The Walton family is unpleasantly surprised when Ben (Eric Scott) comes home at the ungodly hour of 3 a.m. in the company of his girlfriend Cindy (Leslie Winston, in her first series appearance). No sooner has the family adjusted to this development than Ben drops the big bombshell: he and Cindy have just gotten married! In the days that follow, the suspicions of the younger Walton kids are aroused concerning the reason that Ben made so sudden a decision, while the fiercely independent Cindy balks at being ordered about by her new husband. Elsewhere, Corabeth Godsey (Ronnie Claire Edwards) is in for a bit of a letdown when she purchases a fountain that she had loved as a youth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
The TV adventure series B. J. and the Bear premiered as a midseason replacement on February 10, 1979. Greg Evigan starred as B.J. McCay, a wildcat trucker who'd do anything for a price, as long as it was honest. He travelled the length and breadth of the country in the company of his pet chimp "Bear." In the 90-minute pilot episode, B.J. is framed for a crime he didn't commit by his perennial enemy, corrupt Southern sheriff Elroy P. Lobo (Claude Akins). He is busted out of jail by toothsome female inmates JoAnn Harris and Randi Oakes. The B.J. and the Bear series proper ran until 1981, by which time Sheriff Lobo had turned honest, thus smoothing the road for the spin-off series Lobo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The longest (26-1/2 hours), most expensive ($25 million) and most complicated (four directors, five producers, five cinematographers, almost 100 speaking parts, several hundred extras) project made for television up to that time, Centennial was shown in two- and three-hour installments over a period of four months. An adaptation of James Michener's best-selling novel, it told the story of the settling of the American West by looking at the founding of the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado, from the settling of the area in the late 18th century to the present. Emmy-nominated for film editing and art direction, it boasts of sterling performances from Richard Chamberlain as frontiersman Alexander McKeag, Robert Conrad as the French-Canadian trapper Pasquinel, and a surprisingly powerful performance from former football star Alex Karras as compassionate but iron-willed immigrant farmer Hans Brumbaugh. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1977
John Boy, Ben, and the rest of the rosy-cheeked Walton clan are back for this Christmas-oriented heartwarmer, which involves the family's efforts to help two WWII refugees from England contact their mother. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Esther Williams stars in this button-cute musical about a health-conscious family of swimmers who fall in with con man Windy Weebe (Jack Carson). The Higgins family decides to swim the English Channel in order to raise money to purchase a prize bull for their Arkansas farm. As she practices for the English Channel swim, Katie Higgins (Esther Williams) gets lost in the fog and is rescued by wealthy wine merchant Andre Lanet (Fernando Lamas), and she falls for him hard. The film is distinguished by a climactic English Channel swim and an animated underwater cartoon sequence with Williams and animated MGM contract players Tom and Jerry reprising the Arthur Schwartz and Johnny Mercer tune "In My Wildest Dreams." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, (more)
