Feature Films, TV Movies, TV Shows, Documentaries, Newsmagazines, Holiday Programming and Special Events - https://archive.org/details/@james_e_woods OR https://archive.org/details/@tvrepeater OR https://archive.org/details/@tvrepeater_christmas
The title character is a wild horse who is tamed by young Molly, the daughter of rancher Don Megowan (no relation).
A story of a minister who is unhappy in his marriage.
A naive young marine shocks his family when he returns home on leave accompanied by a worldly older woman whom he introduces as his wife. Patty Duke in one of her best, based on a true incident.
An American art student is trapped while visiting wartime Paris.
In 1985, "The Key to Rebecca" was adapted into a film, directed by David Hemmings and starring David Soul as Alex Wolff and Cliff Robertson as Maj. William Vandam. Filmed in Tunisia and shot as a two-part, four-hour TV movie, the first part of which aired on WPIX on April 29, 1985, with the second part airing on May 9, 1985. Produced by Taft Entertainment in association with Castle Comb Productions, it was later shown in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and several other countries in which the novel had been popular. Nice locations, fair story.
Based on the real life event, this film claims to have had access to top secret Home Office files and believe that their ending is the correct solution to the age old mystery. Interesting take on a true story.
The second TV-movie based on the works of detective novelist William Bayer. Richard Crenna, who first played NYPD detective Richard Janek in 1985's "Doubletake", is back, now as a functionary of Internal Affairs. He has been assigned to solve the murder of a woman who may have been the victim of a kinky serial killer who'd flourished in Saigon 12 years earlier. Meanwhile, Janek's ex-boss (Lee Richardson), now a jailbird, gives Janek the tip that several cops may be illegally selling guns. "Internal Affairs" was originally telecast in two parts in November of 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The made-for-TV "Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North" was heralded by the following ad copy: "Patriot. Zealot. Husband. Soldier. Honored. Accused." Add to that "Pedantic" and "Plodding" and you've summed up the film. Presented in two parts, the film traces the career of Oliver North (David Keith) from his years at the US Naval Academy, on to his tour of duty in Vietnam, and ending up with a post on the National Securities Council. Part Two of Guts and Glory covers the Iran-Contra affair, but is forced to leave the denouement open-ended, since North's guilt or innocence was still being deliberated when the film premiered on April 30 and May 2, 1989. The audience is permitted to draw its own conclusions, though Ollie North is no more warm and fuzzy on film than he was in real life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Allied prisoners tunnel out of a stalag, then return to avenge fellow escapees executed by the Nazis.
This is the story of an attorney in the South who suddenly finds himself embroiled in politics, a particularly controversial murder trial and a public battle with a vindictive journalist - all at the same time. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
Two-part miniseries set in the world of TV evangelism, about a down-and-out rock singer who is hired by a church to improve ratings and donations. Sister Ruth is an immediate hit, and the Church of the Companions of Christ has never been so successful, but an investigative reporter challenges Ruth to the scrutiny of TV cameras. Church officials become worried that Sister Ruth's colorful past will be exposed.
The crew of a Polaris submarine, on a training mission simulating an attack on Russia, is stricken by toxic poisoning. One of the poison's effects is to make its victims hallucinate, and the sub's captain imagines that he has been given an order to actually attack Russia.
Captain Jeff MacDonald, a renowned and an ambitious surgeon at Fort Bragg army base, appears to be a happily married father of two. When the MP enter MacDonald's house in response to his desperate emergency call they find him injured and his wife and daughters murdered. He reports a gang of drugged 'hippies' raided the house and attacked the family. As a massive search for the suspects yields no leads, investigators focus on some inconsistencies in MacDonald's account and he becomes their prime suspect. Excellent, based on a true story.
The two-part TV movie "Emma: Queen of the South Seas" stars the incredibly lovely Barbara Carrera. The film is based on the true story of Samoan princess Emma Coe. Part One takes place in the 1860s, as teenaged Emma (Rebekah Elmaloglou) dreams of an exotic life beyond the confines of her hated convent school. In part two, the grown-up Emma (Carrera), now ensconced in Samoa, valiantly defends her country against British colonization. Hal Holbrook and Thaao Penghlis play the most significant men in Emma's life. Syndicated to independent TV outlets, "Emma: Queen of the South Seas" was first telecast the week of April 23-29, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When a first-classman's insignia is found on the riverbank near the drowned body of plebe David Hand, the specter of murder casts a shadow of scandal across the U.S. Grant Military Academy. General Hedges, the headmaster of the school, is determined to keep the beleaguered school out of the headlines and attempts to cover-up the likelihood of murder by wielding his considerable influence to pass it off as a simple drowning. This is done in spite of forensic reports that show, shortly before his death, David Hand participated in "consensual sexual relations" with another man. Letters from the dead boy, which the Army Intelligence Department "confiscates" from his sister's New York apartment, implicate Ry Slaight as the first-classman with whom David was in love. As General Hedges says, "You cannot have a murder without a murderer." He offers Slaight the opportunity to "go quietly" which means he would be washed out into the infantry and quickly bound for Vietnam. Professing his innocence in the matter, Slaight refuses the invitation at which point General Hedges threatens to court-martial him on a point of "honor." Enlisting the aid of Elizabeth Hand, the dead boy's sister, Slaight sets out to find the first-classman with whom her brother was involved -- the first- classman who killed her brother.
Two corpses are found in different locations with their heads severed and exchanged. Frank Janek is called on to head the team of detectives investigating. Meanwhile, Janek is trying to find out why an old friend and colleague committed suicide, which eventually leads to a romantic situation with photographer Caroline Wallace and the discovery of some major corruption among his superiors, all of which has little or nothing to do with the murder story.
Based on a true story, this film depicts the life of Theodore Robert Bundy, the serial killer. In 1974, after having murdered several young women, he leaves Seattle for Utah, where he is a law student and where other girls disappear. It takes the cooperation of a number of police forces to work efficiently on this case. Soon, but not soon enough, the police eliminate endless possibilities and close in on him. Bundy is tried in the media and his good-boy attitude brings him sympathy but also the hatred of many. Very good TV movie, there is a good rundown on wikipedia.
A fictionalized account of how the 1929 stock market crash hurt the elite and the struggling, and the forces that may have caused the crash.
Romulus and Remus are two CIA agents, their direct instructor is John Elliott.
On 9/12/83 two Australians were arrested at Penang Airport in Malaysia carrying 179 grams of heroin.
Two-part TV movie that resurrected virtually every "racetrack" cliche known to man. Widowed Cheryl Ladd heads to Kentucky to start up a horse farm. Her wicked neighbor is Wayne Rogers who seeks Ladd's downfall. Faithful farm manager Brian Kerwin won't let Rogers stand in the way of Ladd's dream. Anthony Andrews hangs around as a Harlequin romance-style Irish rake with a dark secret. And what would a horse-farm movie be without Mickey Rooney? Part One of "Bluegrass" raised a stir upon its February 28, 1988 debut, with a brief shot of horses mating. But it was the foaling sequence in Part Two that really made the headlines. All tangled plotlines knot together in the second half of "Bluegrass". Part Two, first telecast on Leap Year day in 1988, Ladd literally bets the ranch on the Kentucky Derby, while mysterious Irish stranger Anthony Andrews reveals his (gasp!) terrible secret. One of the film's highlights was the genuine birth of a foal. The poor animal looked so shaky that the network issued an official statement insisting that the newborn horse survived. When the truth came out (the foal didn't make it), the producers were heartily condemned by animal activist groups -which may be why all current films bear the closing disclaimer about no animals being injured during shooting. "Bluegrass" was directed by Simon Wincer, who later helmed the epic miniseries "Lonesome Dove". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Originally telecast the same evening as "A Father's Revenge" and "The Murder of Mary Phagan": January 24, 1988, which may well stand as one of the bloodiest evenings in TV history. The setting for "Body of Evidence" is a small cloistered Massachusetts town. When a serial killer begins decimating the female population, police inspector Tony Lo Bianco and forensic pathologist Barry Bostwick conduct an investigation. Only Bostwick's new wife Margot Kidder suspects that it is her seemingly benign husband who may be the murderer - and she's slower on the uptake than the viewers. Though set in New England, "Body of Evidence" was filmed in Calgary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Fashion designer Marian falls in love and marries attorney Edward. Her idyllic romance and marriage are shattered when she learns that Edward is the son of a powerful and feared mafia family. Edward's family begins to impose its illegal and dangerous activities upon Marian and her friends. When her best friend is murdered after confronting Edward's family, she wants out and begins to fight against the family's ominous power and reach. Corny but cool.
Disney-esque charmer about a modern day youngster, obsessed with aviation as his daredevil grandfather had been, and determined to go back in time with the old-timer next door, ex-partner of the boy's granddad, to stop the long ago flyers' daring attempt to be the first across the Atlantic during the roaring '20s - a flight that cost him his life. Peter Coyote as the flyer, Art Carney as the aged, tale-spinning neighbor, and Huckleberry Fox as the boy who travels to 1927 in a time machine gave writer/director Mark Rosman's story, commissioned by The Disney Channel, the aura Uncle Walt would have loved. "The Blue Yonder" was retitled "Time Flyer" when it made its network debut on "The Disney Sunday Movie" in February 1986.
Four young Hawaiian men find Hester Murdoch on the beach naked, beaten and near death. When Hester's politically influential mother finds out what really happened, she fears a scandal and forces her daughter to blame her rescuers for the assault.
Documentary detailing the events surrounding the hearings held by the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1940s and 1950s to investigate alleged Communist infiltration in Hollywood. Uses interviews, archival footage and clips from Hollywood films.
Supposedly the Beatles tried to stop this film but it's not that bad considering they were casting for lookalikes rather than acting ability. Filmed in Liverpool, it follows the birth of the Beatles from their beginnings in Liverpool then to Hamburg and finally to America. A large focus of the film is on the days in Hamburg and Stu Sutcliffe. Pete Best was a technical consultant and the music is by the noted tribute band, "Rain". This is the only Beatle biopic made while John Lennon was alive. 
A family goes to the mountains for a few days, and there they meet... Bigfoot!
This story focuses on the changing relationship between two women, a mother and her daughter-in-law, over a 14 year span. The first (Colleen Dewhurst) is a domineering, self righteous and flamboyant former opera star who has alienated her son (Michael Nouri), a self-centered artist. His wife (Farrah Fawcett) is a bright school teacher, who has trouble dealing with either of the two. The film looks at the first meeting of the two women before the marriage and moves forward in time with the mother-in-law interfering in the couple's marriage to the point of causing a separation. However, 14 years after the initial meeting, the mother has a devastating stroke and it is the daughter-in-law who steps in to help her and strives to give her the courage to survive. The film is about the wasted time that exists with many human relationships. A beautiful movie, compassionate with a full story arc.
'THE BETTY FORD STORY,' ON ABC
The singular life of Beryl Markham - renowned aviatrix, author and adventurer - is depicted.
Former Los Angeles police lieutenant Bill Battles is hired by Hawaii State University to not only become head of the campus police, but assistant coach in charge of special teams for the school's football team. However, a few days after he arrives, his brother Allan dies in a suspicious car accident. Bill then finds out that his brother was working on a forty year old murder mystery. With the aid of Allan's daughter Shelby, her quarterback boyfriend Deacon and the team's kicker, a hustler named Tuliosis, Bill continues his brother's investigation. However, Bill and his team might just become the killer's next victims. Unsold William Conrad pilot movie.
Banyon is an A-number-one detective yarn set (very accurately) in the 1930s. Robert Forster, emulating John Garfield in virtually every scene, plays private eye Miles C. Banyon. Right now he's in dutch because a beautiful young woman has been found murdered--and Banyon's gun was the murder weapon. This state of affairs plunges the detective into a maelstrom of deceit and double-cross involving (among many elements) a Winchell-style radio commentator (Jose Ferrer), a paroled big-time gangster, a scar-faced assassin, and a Nazi Bund camp. Once he solves the main mystery, Banyon is faced with the unhappy Maltese Falcon task of exposing a close friend as a murderer. First telecast March 15, 1971, Banyon spawned a brief TV series one year later, with Robert Forster still in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Mary Beth Whitehead, the genetic mother, was artificially inseminated with William Stern's sperm, becoming surrogate mother of the child. Despite what was stated in the surrogacy contract, Mr. Stern's wife, Elizabeth, was not infertile, but rather she had multiple sclerosis and was concerned about potential health implications of carrying a child.
TV REVIEW; 'ANN JILLIAN STORY,' ON NBC
A homespun minister (Andy Griffith) and his family move to a small town where he tries to win the support and trust of his new congregation. A wonderful family movie.
The fact-based TV movie "The Ambush Murders" was adapted from a book by Ben Bradlee Jr.
Alfie returns, up to his old womanizing ways, until he meets his match in sophisticated magazine editor Abby. His pursuit is complicated by his encounter with Norma and the fact that a jealous husband won't let him forget about his time with his wife Fay. Great follow up to the original and superstar Rula Lenska is just fabulous!
Aaron's son is killed in a car accident as he and his girlfriend are expecting their first child.
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Tracey Thurman was a real-life Connecticut housewife who, throughout her marriage, suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of her husband. The beatings culminate in a single bloody night when Buck Thurman stabs his estranged wife 13 times. She survives--barely--and Buck is arrested. Having failed to get proper protection from the local police force, Tracey successfully sued the officers in 1989. The long-range result was the Thurman Law, which called for mandatory arrests in wife-beating cases in Connecticut and several other states. Nancy McKeon, who plays Tracey Thurman in A Cry for Help, starred in the film in the hope that it would prevent Buck Thurman's early release from prison. A Cry For Help: The Tracy Thurman Story first aired on October 2, 1989; Thurman was scheduled for release in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
