Alan Metzger Movies
Ten years after the sudden and mysterious "death" of her husband, Patrick (Jay O. Sanders), Elizabeth "Peachy" Welch (Margaret Colin) comes into possession of disturbing evidence that Patrick may still be alive. Even worse, it appears that Patrick faked his death and has assumed a new identity -- and is now the patriarch of a whole new family. Angered over the fact that Patrick has forced her to live a hardscrabble life as a single mother for over a decade, Elizabeth prepares for a showdown with the man who left her and their children in an advanced state of financial ruin. An unexpectedly sentimental finale caps the made-for-TV The Familiar Stranger, in keeping with the factual story upon which the film was based. The production first aired over the Lifetime cable network on March 12, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Colin, Jay O. Sanders, (more)
- 2001
Inspired by a true story, this made-for-TV drama follows two women who find themselves wrongly accused under a broadly worded child protection law, and now must fight for their lives and reputations. Jennifer Bradley (Mare Winningham) is a mother of three living in Cincinnati, and Carrie Dixon (Felicity Huffman) is one of Jennifer's best friends -- and also the godmother of her children. Carrie works as a photographer and brings a camera along when she comes to Ohio to pay Jennifer a visit. One morning, while the kids are running about as Jennifer tries to get them dressed, Carrie pulls out her camera and takes photos of the children playing. The children are only partially dressed in the pictures, and when she takes the film in to be processed, Carrie is accused by an overly zealous lab employee of producing child pornography. When the identity of the children becomes known, Jennifer is accused of being an accomplice, and despite the protests from both women that the pictures are simply family photos and perfectly innocent, both find themselves having to defend themselves in court. For Carrie, losing the case would mean a long stretch in jail and the end of her career, while for Jennifer defeat would mean an even worse fate -- losing the custody of her children. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mare Winningham, Felicity Huffman, (more)
- 1999
This made-for-cable biopic is a slightly campy recounting of the lives, careers, and inbred rivalry between twin-sister gossip columnists Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren -- both characters played by Wendie Malick, in what one critic described as "a weird tour de force." Covering a period between the early '50s and the late '90s, the film begins with the childhood of Ann and Abby (née Esther and Pauline Friedman), growing up Jewish in the heart of WASP country (namely, Sioux City, IA). Their subsequent lives develop in an eerily simultaneous fashion, as both are married in a dual ceremony, both launch their journalistic careers, and both achieve national success at almost exactly the same time. Fiercely competitive, the two women strive gallantly to be as "different" as possible, yet the vast reading public continues to refer to them both in the same breath, though those same readers are almost evenly divided in following the advice dispensed individually by Ann and Abby. As it turns out, the rift between the sisters can only be repaired when they learn to follow their own advice. With so much attention lavished on the two protagonists, it is nothing short of amazing that the ladies' husbands and children are given any screen time at all. Covering its four-decade time period in typical movie-shorthand fashion (virtually every scene takes place during a famous historical event), the film leaves the viewer breathless, though probably no more knowledgeable about what really made Ann and Abby tick than when the story began. Take My Advice: The Ann and Abby Story first aired July 19, 1999, on the Lifetime channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendie Malick, Robert Desiderio, (more)
- 1998
Army doctor Carmen Travis (Judith Light) is hot on the trail of a killer virus. Tracing the source of the scourge from Africa to a government facility in Alabama, Carmen and her assistant Holly Parker (Pamela Reed) abruptly run up against the stone wall of conspiracy. It seems that the virus is the unfortunate residue of a genetic-restructructing experiment involving identical twin children--and the higher-ups who have concocted the experiment as a means to carry out future biological warfare have no intention of allowing Carmen to tell what she knows to the world. Carriers was telecast in Germany two months before its American TV debut over the CBS network on October 27, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judith Light, Pamela Reed, (more)
- 1998
- NR
- Add Michael Jordan: An American Hero to QueueAdd Michael Jordan: An American Hero to top of Queue
Michael Jace stars in this made-for-TV movie about the life and career of basketball superstar Michael Jordan, following him from his early days as a struggling high school athlete to his multiple championships with the Chicago Bulls, when he became one of the most acclaimed players in the history of the game. Michael Jordan: An American Hero also stars Ernie Hudson and Debbie Allen as Jordan's parents and Robin Givens as his wife Juanita. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Jace
- 1998
Having walked out on her cheating husband Jeff (Esai Morales), Terry Silva (Janine Turner) moves in with her best friend Elaine Greer (Joanna Cassidy). This set-up proves most untenable when Terry finds out that Elaine is Jeff's longtime mistress! Vowing to exact revenge on both Jeff and Elaine, Terry fakes her own death--intending to frame her husband and her faithless friend for murder! Yet another variation on the old Diabolique formula, the made-for-TV Circle of Deceit was clearly conceived to showcase the versatility of Northern Exposure star Janine Turner, who also served as one of the project's producers. The film first aired over ABC on January 29, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Former Brat Packer Andrew McCarthy stars in this emotional drama about a widowed man's fight for the child he loves. When Keith (McCarthy) and Kim (Teri Polo) made plans to adopt a baby, they never expected Kim to suddenly die of cancer, leaving Keith with the tasks of both grieving for his loss and battling with a system that is resistant to make the adoption final. Based on a true story, Change of Heart also stars Michael Learned. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Childless couple Keith and Kim Lussier (Andrew McCarthy and Teri Polo) have seemingly had their prayers answered when they are placed in charge of 3-month old foster child Brittany. When the couple decides to adopt the child, it is Kim who seems most enthusiastic about her prospective parenthood, while the noncommittal Keith assumes a "whatever" posture. And then, disaster strikes: Kim is diagnosed with cancer. When it seems as though she'll recover, the adoption agency elects to allow the couple to continue caring for Brittany--and in the process Keith, who has had to take full responsibility during Kim's convalescence and treatment, grows to dearly love Brittany and proves to be an ideal apart. Alas, Kim goes into remission and dies, whereupon the agency falls back on its long-standing policy that no single parent be permitted to adopt. Keith long, agonizing legal battle to win full custody of Brittany serves as the climax to the fact-based TV movie A Father for Brittany (home video title:Change of Heart, which originally aired March 15, 1998, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew McCarthy, Michael Learned, (more)
- 1996
Jack Wagner stars in this made-for-TV drama as Nick Rawlings, a Dallas-based commercial airline pilot with (to say the very least) a well-populated private life. But bluntly, Nick is a serial bigamist, with one wife named Jobeth (Shelley Hack) in Dallas and another named Alison (Joan Severance) in Chicago--and a young fiancée named Miriam (Nicole Eggert) in Hawaii. Though he has managed to keep the various women in his life from finding out about one another via a sophisticated system of high-tech subterfuge, Nick's chickens start coming home to roost when Jobeth begins wondering about a bill for a $9000 anniversary present which she has never received. Though based on a true story, the film ends on a note of comic irony that would not be out of place in a Billy Wilder picture! Frequent Flyer first aired March 10, 1996 on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Having all but given up on her incorrigible son, Rusy (Ryan Phillippe), single mom Marianne Dobson (Jane McDougall) in the prestigious Milgram Academy. Marianne is confident that Milgram, famed for its ability to mold "the leaders of tomorrow," will straighten Rusty out. But the boy soon learns to his horror that the Academy is run by the shadowy practioners of a particularly sinister form of mind control. "Straight and Narrow" first aired on February 23, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on a true story, the made-for-TV For My Daughter's Honor concerns a torrid sexual relationship between 14-year-old Oklahoma high schooler Amy Dustin (Nicholle Tom) and the school's popular football coach Pete Nash (Gary Cole), who so far as the rest of the community is concerned is an above-reproach family man. Even allowing for the possibility that the affair was at first consensual, Nash becomes frighteningly possessive of Amy, so much so that she breaks her vow of secrecy and tells the authorities about Nash's infidelities. Unfortunately, there are few in town who are willing to take Amy's word against Nash--and those that do believe the story are convinced that Amy "came on" to the coach. With her daughter's reputation in ruins Amy's mother Betty Ann Dustin (Mary Kay Place) valiantly carries on a crusade to see that Nash is punished for his behavior and that justice is belatedly done. Based on Skip Hollandsworth's newspaper article "The Seduction of Jane Doe", For My Daughter's Honor (home video title: Indecent Seduction) made its CBS debut on November 20, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicholle Tom, Gary Cole, (more)
- 1995
Connie Sellecca portrays another 1990s woman in peril in this made-for-television thriller. Sellecca stars as Sharon Blake, a successful career woman who has a passionate affair with a possessive man (Gregory Harrison). When she tries to break off the relationship though, she uncovers the dark side of her former lover, who starts stalking and harassing her. Harrison (Trapper John, M.D.) is effectively creepy as the obsessed, spurned ex-lover. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Connie Sellecca, Gregory Harrison, (more)
- 1995
In the aftermath of a student's suicide, a schoolteacher finds herself socially ostracized and facing criminal charges. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Michael Bowen, (more)
- 1994
Although Tom Weston (Gerald McRaney) has nurtured a lifelong fantasy about having great power and influence over people, the bitter truth is that Tom has never become anything more than a Michigan truck driver. Nonetheless, Tom persists in his efforts to live out his ambitious dreams, leading him to betray his wife Nancy (Peggy Lipton) and inaugurate a torrid affair with impressionable Bobbi Gilbert (Jodie Bissett), a woman half his age. Entering into a bigamous marriage with Bobbi, Tom feels he has no other choice but to murder Nancy--in as savage a manner as possible. Inspired by a true story, the made-for-TV Deadly Vows was first seen over the Fox network on September 13, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
An engineer tries to save people trapped on a nuclear-war-ravaged planet in this made-for-cable science-fiction fare. Stephen Baldwin stars as Adams, an engineer who is dumped onto a sand planet of the future, where the harsh conditions lead to constant fighting and brutality. The inhabitants have reverted to primitive tribal societies. He tries to teach the those left about farming and irrigation in hopes of saving them from destruction, but soon learns that peace cannot be had so easily. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Former Bewitched TV-star Elizabeth Montgomery plays against type and stars as a murderess in this made-for-television movie. Based on the book Preacher's Girl by Jim Schutze, Montgomery stars as the real-life killer Blanche Taylor Moore who was caught by authorities in 1989. The movie chronicles her transformation from the innocent 1950s daughter of a preacher into the serial killer known for poisoning her husbands with arsenic. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, David Clennon, (more)
- 1992
TV journalist (and recovering alcoholic) Marcy Singer (Suzanne Somers) is promised an Exclusive by anonymous phone an caller. Singer is advised to show up at a well-known bar at an appointed time. Once she's arrived, she finds six corpses awaiting her. Investigating, Singer follows the trail of evidence to an unexpected-and all-too-close-source. Joe Cortese and Michael Nouri co-star in this made-for-TV melodrama. Exclusive originally aired October 4, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Suzanne Somers, Michael Nouri, (more)
- 1992
When a decorated New York City policeman voiced his opposition to an accused cop killer's death sentence, his co-workers ostracized him in this true story. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1992
This made-for-TV cop drama is deliberately reminiscent of Joseph Wambaugh's previous video success Police Story. LA Law star John Spencer plays a big-city cop with deep and serious emotional problems. His inner turmoil is exacerbated when he plunges into a troublesome murder case. Among the many personal demons with which the cop is wrestling is the memory of how a brief act of impulsiveness in his past led to tragedy. From the Files of Joseph Wambaugh: Jury of One debuted November 29, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Spencer, Eddie Velez, (more)
- 1991
Because sources gave contradictory information on this made-for-TV film--two different plot synopses from two different sources--the information here is based on the scattered TV listings found for the film. Mare Winningham plays Jamie Hurd, a young mother whose life is put in danger by a photograph. The picture reveals vital evidence pertaining to a recent mob hit. Jamie comes into possession of the fatal snapshot when her order is mislabeled at the local camera shop. And so it goes for the next 97 minutes. Fatal Exposure debuted February 6, 1991, over the USA Cable Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mare Winningham
- 1990
A rich businessman, his wife and son are involved in illegal transactions as Kojak investigates. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Telly Savalas
- 1990
In this made-for-cable chiller, a psychopath provides himself with a veritable smorgasbord of victims by masquerading as a member of the California Highway Patrol and bedeviling the residents of a small desert town during his vacation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Skerritt, Michael Parks, (more)
The made-for-TV Murder C.O.D. has a plot almost as complex and clever as its psychotic "protagonist." William Devane plays an adroit hitman who selects his victims before he's been hired to kill them. His modus operandi is to approach the person or persons who'd most benefit from the murder, then charge a $100,000 fee to go through with the plan. Patrick Duffy is the cop on the case, who periodically runs out of breath trying to keep up with the slippery Devane. While Duffy loses the acting sweepstakes to Devane, the viewer can be assured that Duffy's character in Murder C.O.D. will emerge triumphant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
