Season for Miracles, A (1999) TV Movie

When her sister overdoses a woman has her niece and nephew threatened with foster care at Christmas time.

This is a Hallmark Hall of Fame production; season 49, episode 2.



A Season for Miracles  (1999) TV Movie
Cast: Carla Gugino, Kathy Baker, David Conrad, Laura Dern, Patty Duke, Lynn Redgrave

Fatal Judgement (1988) TV Movie

A Massachusetts nurse is accused of exercising fatal judgment in this made-for-TV movie. While tending a seriously ill cancer patient, the nurse administered a generous dose of morphine. The patient died, which is why the woman is now on trial for murder. Joe Regalbuto and Tom Conti co-star as, respectively, the nurse's loving husband and a two-fisted defense attorney. Based on a true story, "Fatal Judgment" first aired October 18, 1988 - precisely one half hour after the debut of Roseanne, which proved not to be a case of fatal judgment. ~ Hal Erickson

Fatal Judgement (1988) TV Movie
Cast: Crystal McKellar, Dana Gladstone, Jo Henderson, Joe Regalbuto, Patty Duke, Tom Conti

Fight for Life (1987) TV Movie

TV REVIEWS; 'FIGHT FOR LIFE,' ON ABC

By JOHN CORRY

Published: March 23, 1987

"FIGHT FOR LIFE" ponders a moral question: What does God want us to do? It doesn't answer, of course -how could it? - although Jerry Lewis soliliquizes just like Tevye. Mostly, though, the two-hour movie, on ABC at 9 o'clock tonight, wants to be heart-warming. Intermittently, it is.

The movie, based on a real-life story, stars Mr. Lewis and Patty Duke as the parents of an adopted 6-year-old daughter (Jaclyn Bernstein) who is stricken by a grave form of epilepsy. As Bernie Abrams, a Columbus, Ohio, optometrist, Mr. Lewis must wrestle with medical and governmental bureaucracy. The drug that can help his daughter is not legally available; it is still being tested.

In fact, "Fight for Life" is examining a solemn modern dilemma. Witness the decision last Friday by the Food and Drug Administration to approve distribution of the drug AZT for AIDS patients. The approval process, beginning with test-tube experimentation, took more than two years. This was relatively speedy; approval usually takes far longer. Meanwhile, patients suffer and die.

On the other hand, in the absence of careful testing, a drug like thalidomide may be sold. It causes severe birth defects. The drug in the ABC movie is sodium valproate, which is used to treat myoclonic epilepsy. In 1977, when the movie begins, sodium valproate was being prescribed in Britain, but was still being tested here.

Hence the agonizing situation: Mr. Lewis and Miss Duke are supposedly watching their daughter, stricken by 15 seizures a day, risk permanent retardation. American doctors cannot help, but a British specialist can. "Fight for Life" is dealing with a serious human problem.

It's hard for a movie like this to go entirely wrong, especially when its cast is so competent. Grant that Mr. Lewis labors under the burden of old comic performances; a comedian's image is present in his walk, speech and pendulous lower lip. Still, Mr. Lewis gives an effective performance, even when he's alone in a snowy field - "I do my best thinking here; I feel close to God" - and so does Miss Duke.

Nonetheless, "Fight for Life" - directed by Elliot Silverstein and written by Charles Rosin and Tom Nesi -doesn't move us the way it should. Maybe it's too self-conscious. Mr. Lewis and Miss Duke play Orthodox Jews; their best friend (Gerard Parkes) is a Roman Catholic priest; their daughter's doctor (Morgan Freeman) is a black paraplegic. All that ecumenicism does seem just a shade artificial.

Meanwhile, the British specialist (Barry Morse) says, "Eh, what, what?" and fears that "someone pinched my brolly." He's endearing, but we don't believe him. "Fight for Life" is straining.

Credit the movie, however - a production of Fries Entertainment, produced by Ian McDougall - with a responsible view of medicine. It takes pains to say that sodium valproate doesn't cure epilepsy, only that it may be helpful in some cases. At the same time, the movie gives the F.D.A. its say; drug approval is a difficult process.

The movie ends with Mr. Lewis quoting the Talmud. Then we get a printed coda: The F.D.A. approved the distribution of sodium valproate in 1978; Congress acted to make certain medicines more easily available in 1983. "Fight for Life" does not always work as drama, but there's no questioning its earnest intention.

Fight for Life (1987) TV Movie

Cast: Barry Morse, Jerry Lewis, Morgan Freeman, Patty Duke

Best Kept Secrets (1984) TV Movie

Trials and tribulations of a police officer's wife. Patty Duke in yet another great role.

Best Kept Secrets (1984) TV Movie

Cast: Albert Salmi, Amanda Peterson, David Clennon, Frederic Forrest, Howard Hesseman, Meg Foster, Pat Petersen, Patty Duke, Pepe Serna, Peter Coyote

Miracle on the Mountain: The Kincaid Family Story (2000) TV Movie

A staunch professional executive and his wife coerce their rebellious teens and their older sister to take a plane trip for a weekend in the mountains.

Miracle on the Mountain: The Kincaid Family Story (2000) TV Movie

Cast: Armando Valdes-Kennedy, Elisabeth Rosen, Ingrid Torrance, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Kene Holliday, Kevin McNulty, Natasha Melnick, Patty Duke, William Devane, William Sanderson

George Washington (1984) TV mini-series

The early life and career of the American General and President through his participation in the Revolutionary War.

George Washington (1984) TV mini-series

Cast: Barry Bostwick, David Dukes, Hal Holbrook, Jaclyn Smith, James Mason, José Ferrer, Lloyd Bridges, Patty Duke, Richard Kiley, Robert Stack, Trevor Howard

I Love Liberty (1982) (TV)

An all-star salute to American ideals, commemorating the 250th anniversary of George Washington's birth. Barbra Streisand performs "America the Beautiful" with the U.S. Air Force Band in England; Robin Williams performs a monologue as the American flag; and the Muppets play members of the Continental Congress. Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys.

From the Los Angeles Sports Arena, this is a production of the great Norman Lear. Opens with a young lad from the Pasadena Boys Choir singing his little heart out, then a long, long roll call (should Jane Fonda and Barry Goldwater ever coexist?) leading to the legendary Burt Lancaster delivering his take on liberty. The final grand scene is a group-sing led by the legend Helen Reddy with everyone literally holding hands. A fun watch just the same.

I Love Liberty (1982) (TV)
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Jane Fonda, Martin Sheen, Patty Duke, Robin Williams, Helen Reddy, Shirley MacLaine

Hail to the Chief (1985) TV series

Julia Mansfield is the first woman to be elected President of the United States.

Weird, ahead of it's time show with an impotent ("You're my Commander in Chief!") ex-astronaut husband played by the legendary Ted Bessell, a gay personal secretary and other quirks. Fun to hear the word "Homo" on TV, really pricks the ear. This is a Susan Harris show, similar to "Soap" or "Benson", even the theme music is the same lilting type ditty. One funny note, during the first episode the Prez (Patty) says to her husband, "I didn't intend to be President but the law says when the President can't fulfill his obligation the Vice-President takes over". Get it? She wasn't a popularly elected President, she came in through the side door. Read into that what you will. One nice touch was the artistic hand drawn frames used in the title sequence. Very classy, like they don't do no more.
 
AVAILABLE EPISODES 
Season 1, Episode 1
9 April 1985

Hail to the Chief (1985) TV series
Cast: Alexa Hamilton, Burton Gilliam, George Wyner, Glynn Turman, Herschel Bernardi, Joel Brooks, Pat Hingle, Patty Duke, Richard Paul, Ricky Paull Goldin, Rose Marie, Ted Bessell

Karen's Song (1987) TV series

When Fox launched its primetime schedule in 1987, most critics believed that "Karen's Song" and George C. Scott's "Mr. President" were the young network's best chance at success. Both starred Oscar winners and had innovative concepts. However, neither show lasted longer than a season. Instead, "Married with Children" , a sitcom often overlooked by critics and network executives, became Fox's break-out show.

AVAILABLE EPISODES

Season 1, Episode 4

Do You Want To Know A Secret?

8 August 1987

Season 1, Episode 11

Seems Like Old Times AKA Heart Attack II

12 September 1987

Karen's Song (1987) TV series
Cast: Lainie Kazan, Lewis Smith, Patty Duke, Teri Hatcher

Violation of Sarah McDavid, The (1981) TV Movie

Sarah McDavid, an idealistic young teacher, takes a job in a rough high school.









The Violation of Sarah McDavid (1981) TV Movie
Cast: Ally Sheedy, Eric Stoltz, Fran Bennett, James Sloyan, Ned Beatty, Patty Duke, Richard Venture, Robert Picardo, Vernee Watson-Johnson

Time to Triumph, A (1986) TV Movie

Tv Movie Dramatizes Family`s Triumphs
January 5, 1986|By Brian Kaufman, Staff Writer

The real stars of A Time to Triumph, a CBS television movie about the hard times and conquests of Concetta and Chuck Hassan, probably won`t be able to find the show on their cable box Tuesday night. Concetta and Chuck Hassan are living in Seoul, South Korea. But the former Margate couple have dealt with missing the network premiere of their life story much the same way they`ve dealt with life itself. They`ve found a way to overcome. ``They want me to tape it on the VCR and send it to them,`` the Hassans` 14- year-old daughter, Jo Ellen, said Friday from Savannah, Ga. Although Jo Ellen, now a typical freshman at an all-girl parochial school, doesn`t have a role in the film, it was her childhood heart condition that foreshadowed the events that changed her family forever. Jo Ellen`s grandfather, Boca Raton resident Arthur Lattavo, remembers well what happened. ``She was the third daughter,`` Lattavo said. ``And when she was 5 weeks old they learned she had a hole in her heart.`` Shortly after that, Concetta`s 37- year-old husband, then manager of Bachelors III and the owner of a clothing store, had a series of heart attacks, Lattavo said. Within six weeks the family had lost its comfortable middle-class standard of living and was on welfare, according to Judy Kauffman, co-producer of the movie. ``Concetta said she even would collect soda bottles to buy rice to feed to the children,`` Kauffman said. Jo Ellen got better and Chuck didn`t get any worse, but the family was broke. Concetta, a homemaker with limited job skills, didn`t really know what to do. But she did what she could - she joined the Army. The rest is Hollywood. At 32, Concetta marched and crawled through Alabama mud and boot camp at Fort McClellan. After basic training, the family moved to West Berlin, where Concetta was an administrative specialist for the Army. Chuck, weakened and unable to work, cleaned house, sipped coffee with Army wives and raised the children. A few years later, Concetta decided to challenge herself again. She learned to fly Huey helicopters, the largest used by the Army. And in Seoul, she`s still flying them today. ``The Army stuff is interesting. We`ve got a lot of good shots of her flying the helicopter in the movie, but it`s really a love story,`` Kauffman said. ``That they stuck together through it all.`` The made-for-TV movie ``is a drama based on a true story,`` according to Grace Koener, press representative for CBS Entertainment, so some details have been changed. Instead of a club manager in Fort Lauderdale, Chuck is a construction worker in Columbus, Ga., ``because we didn`t want any distinguishable locale,`` Kauffman said. ``In a two-hour movie there`s not enough time to get every move,`` Kauffman said. Chuck did work as a construction worker at one time, she said. The movie was shot during September and October in Alabama and Georgia, and Concetta flies the helicopter in the movie. Patty Duke, best known for her performance in The Miracle Worker, plays Concetta in the movie. Joe Bologna, who starred in Blame It On Rio and appeared in My Favorite Year, plays Chuck. Jo Ellen isn`t sure who plays her part in the movie, but she doesn`t really care, either. ``I`m just glad something good has finally come out of all of it,`` Jo Ellen said. ``My mom`s worked very hard and she deserves all the credit that she gets.`` The story airs at 9 p.m. Tuesday on WTVJ Channel 4.

A Time to Triumph  (1986) TV Movie
Cast: Dara McGarry, Denise Mickelbury, Jackie Welch, Joseph Bologna, Julie Bovasso, Patty Duke

One Woman's Courage (1994) TV Movie

When a jury frees a killer, the woman who testified against him fears for her life. ~ Sandra Brennan

One Woman's Courage (1994) TV Movie

Cast: Debra Sharkey, Dennis Farina, Geoffrey Blake, James Farentino, Keith Szarabajka, Margot Kidder, Patty Duke

No Child of Mine (1993) TV Movie

A young couple with twins discover one of the babies has Down's syndrome. Realizing that she has difficulties coping, the mother decides to place the child with a family that has experience with similarly afflicted children. The child's grandparents object, as they believe he will be better suited with his birth family. As the grandmother starts fighting for custody of the child, she awakens old hostilities between herself and her daughter that affect the entire family.

No Child of Mine (1993) TV Movie

Cast: G.W. Bailey, Marshall R. Teague, Megan Leitch, Patty Duke, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Susan Blakely, Tracy Nelson

Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive (1992) TV Movie

So how would you feel if you moved into a new house only to find that the toilet flushed of its own accord, the television set turned itself on and lights turned themselves off, the garage door misbehaved, shadows climbed the walls, and the place was a museum of creepy noises, spooky music and sinister camera angles, not to mention the wind, storm and creaking branches outside? That's what Patty Duke and David Selby are up against in "Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive." "The toilet flushed again," somebody says. Well, better that than the television set turning on to this channel.

Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive (1992) TV Movie

Cast: David Selby, David Soul, Patty Duke

Matter of Justice, A (1993) TV Movie

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.



A Matter of Justice (1993) TV Movie
Cast: Alexandra Powers, Charles S. Dutton, Cole Hauser, Kyla Pratt, Martin Sheen, Patty Duke