Made4TV Movies: HUNTERS ARE FOR KILLING (1970)

 

Why the Hell isn't this on DVD/Blu Yet? -- Number 107   

HUNTERS ARE FOR KILLING (1970 CBS-TV)  Original Air Date: March 12, 1970.  Starring Burt Reynolds, Melvyn Douglas, Martin Balsam, Suzanne Pleshette, Larry Storch, Peter Brown, Jill Banner, Ivor Francis, A Martinez, Angus Duncan.  Written by Charles Kuenstle.  Directed by Bernard Girard.

Nine years after a vehicular manslaughter conviction that killed four (including his brother) and three years after his release from prison for it, former football hero Reynolds returns to his northern California home town.  Burt gets a mixed reception.  Martinez and Banner idolized him as kids and fellow winery child Brown thinks he was innocent; stepfather Douglas, police chief Balsam (also the father of Burt's now married ex Pleshette), Banner's father Francis and shady club owner Storch are among those far less thrilled to see Burt return days before his thirtieth birthday.

Douglas blames Burt for the death of his "real son" who was killed in the crash (shades of Pa Cox!) and Balsam doesn't want Pleshette's "happy" marriage threatened by the man he sees as beneath his daughter.  The latter is right to feel threatened, as we can clearly see Pleshette is Burt's alpha widow.  She may have competition from Banner, whose bad boy syndrome has Francis' nerves on ice.  So is Storch, who was pressured to help put Burt away in the first place.

It's a pre-mustache Burt in the second of his made for TV movies, months away from his second stab at TV series stardom (DAN AUGUST) and given a juicy role as Douglas' long-estranged son.  Reynolds' charisma keeps HUNTERS ARE FOR KILLING afloat despite a sometimes shaky script (this was actor Kuenstle's first, and only two followed) and a sometimes bombastic Jerry Fielding score. 

Here Burt lives up to Martinez' assessment that he was born under a bad sign almost immediately: targeted for a robbery before he even reaches town, he finds himself accused of assault and grand theft auto by Balsam before he even finishes his first cup of coffee in it.  Brown learns that even offering honest employment results in harassment by the cops and when one of Reynold's detractors turns up dead, guess who Balsam's first suspect is.  So much for gridiron heroism.

Burt's motivation for returning is an inheritance that his late mother kept secret from her husband (60 acres of wine country) via a dummy trust, but Kuenstle leaves too many incentives unsolved.  Why didn't Reynolds return for his mother's funeral if he's been out three years?  Kinda makes him seem like the mercenary that his foes say he is, yet nothing in his character other than stoicism suggests him as such (i.e. he's a teetotaler and won't touch a married woman or the much younger Banner despite both readily making themselves available).  Why did she have such affection for Reynolds when he wasn't even her natural son?  The revelation of Douglas and Reynolds' real relationship before the final act sheds some light, but opens up more questions than the script can answer. (One also has to think Storch was really visionary, if his discotheque has been in business as such for nine years in 1970!)

It's mostly heavy drama, not always convincing, until the final twenty minutes when Burt finds himself the subject of a manhunt.  While not living up to the action promised by its title, HUNTERS ARE FOR KILLING boasts a great cast like many of the fine made for TV films of its era.  Douglas and Balsam are both in fine form, with the former months away from a Best Actor nomination (I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER) and the former four years after an Oscar win.  Storch is far sleazier than in any of his LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE guest appearances, and naturally missed after his three scenes.  Pleshette is the woman Burt left behind--why, Burt, why?

Not to be overlooked is Judy Banner as jailbait tempting both Burt and Storch--having far more success with the latter with tragic (offscreen) results.  She is unfortunately better known today for her untimely death (in 1982, only 36) and relationship with Marlon Brando than for her too-brief (1967-72) acting career but showed real potential in THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST and SPIDER BABY on the big screen.  This is a rare chance to catch her work (only 15 imdb.com credits)--she's not just a one-note troublemaker here, but isn't given much more to do than that.

HUNTERS ARE FOR KILLING is watchable with fine direction, but bogged down by confusing scripting and fails to transcends the limitations of its era on the small screen.   Wine country locations a solid plus in what is ultimately an agreeable enough time-waster.  

So...why isn't this on DVD/Blu yet?

It was rather ubiquitous throughout the 1970's and 1980's on local stations thanks to Reynolds' later superstardom (he only made three made for TV films before DELIVERANCE and FUZZ elevated him to the big-screen full time) but as its star faded, so did those once readily available Movies of the Week from local stations.  

Why it should be on DVD/Blu:

It's still well worth seeking out for fans of Reynolds, Douglas or Banner and a real hoot for us Larry Storch fans.  Banjo lessons--really, Larry!

"She's a Cop. Oh Yeah!": Get CHRISTIE LOVE

Welcome to The Horn Section's contribution to The Classic TV Detectives Blogathon, hosted by our friends over at the Classic TV Blog Association!  Be sure to check out all the posts here on some of television's all time greatest sleuths, both private eyes and police.

The investigator we're spotlighting belongs to the latter category.  She's a cop.  (Oh yeah!)  A true prime time pioneer, played by a beautiful star who charmed us and then walked away from it all at age 27.  Without further ado--GET CHRISTIE LOVE!

Teresa Graves as Detective Christie Love

With the twin successes of Pam Grier's COFFY and Tamara Dobson's CLEOPATRA JONES at the box office in the summer of 1973, the time seemed ripe to bring an African-American heroine to network television.  The source material for David L. Wolper's pilot was provided by former New York City detective turned bestselling novelist Dorothy Uhnak. After 14 years on the force, Uhnak found success with a trilogy of novels about Detective Second Grade Christie Opara.  George Kirgo (DON'T MAKE WAVES) adapted the second Opara book, The Ledger, changing the white protagonist's race, location (to Los Angeles) and name--to Christie Love.

The limitations of network standards circa 1974 ensured that the resulting GET CHRISTIE LOVE! would bear more of a resemblance to the PG rated JONES than the R rated COFFY, but other factors were in play as well.  Being a cop, Christie would work within the system (like intelligence agent Jones) while Grier's Coffy (and later, FOXY BROWN) dispensed vigilante justice.  Foxy Brown memorably told us her black belt was in "bar stools", but Detective Love shared Cleopatra Jones' aptitude in martial arts.

One final similarity came about unintentionally, when Cicely Tyson (the original choice to play Detective Love) passed on the pilot film--officially, due to a scheduling conflict with her Emmy-winning AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MISS JANE PITTMAN--and the role was accepted by Teresa Graves.  While no one could tower over the bad guys like 6'2" model Tamara Dobson, 5'10" Graves shared the CLEOPATRA JONES star's above average height, age (5'3" Tyson was also two decades older) and slim physique.

Teresa Graves' solo LP (1970)

Teresa Graves was born in Houston, TX but moved to Los Angeles at age five.  In high school she was a 4.0 student active in both glee club and drama society, and it was her vocal talent that brought her to the attention of Doodletown Pipers founder George Wilkins in 1966.  Graves elected to take his offer to join the singing group over a fully paid music scholarship to U.S.C. and spent the next three years touring North America with the Pipers.  It was with the group that she made her initial television appearances.

In "Downbeat for a Dead Man"

 While Graves was soon to become the first African-American female to star in a dramatic series, it was her comedic talents that first brought her into households on a weekly basis.  She was cast in the notorious LAUGH-IN ripoff TURN-ON (cancelled after a single episode on February 5, 1969), then joined  LAUGH-IN itself--still the nation's # 1 show in the Nielsens--for the 1969-70 season.  Her third series was another sketch comedy, NBC's THE FUNNY SIDE (opposite John Amos) in 1971.  It was the telefilm (and pilot) GET CHRISTIE LOVE! that gave the stunning performer top billing for the first time when it premiered to strong ratings on the ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week on January 22, 1974 (immediately following the second episode of some new sitcom called HAPPY DAYS).

Detective Love here!

Christie Love (Graves) is the lone female detective assigned to Captain Reardon (Harry Guardino) of the LAPD.  Our introduction to Love finds her on Sunset Boulevard posing as a prostitute--a guise utilized by the aforementioned Pam Grier characters.  However, this opening scene is atypical, for both the Detective and her series.  (Note: all comments that follow are my observations based on the TV-movie and the eight subsequent episodes I've watched recently--a significant sample, but not a complete one.  I still have 14 more to go.)

Christie Undercover

Titillation was never a David Wolper trademark, and while Love looks enticing in her outfit for her undercover work, she's also dressed about as modestly as a prostitute could be while remaining convincing.  This was the shortest skirt we'd see Graves wear on the show, and subsequent disguises were considerably more dignified (one exception: her "heroin dealer" in Emperor of Death Street).  Once Christie has her man, it's made clear that the only reason she's been impersonating a hooker was to trap a criminal who is a major concern--a serial killer.  So rather than what the viewer expects at first--that she's relegated to the humiliating assignment of arresting solicitors (due to her gender, race or both)--Detective Love is in fact a valued member of the force who is simply the best choice to apprehend a very dangerous perp.

Christie encounters one prospective John en route to the entrapment, and after his price haggling is firmly rejected, he retaliates by yelling the N-word at her.  But this is the slur's only appearance in the movie (or, AFAIK, the subsequent series), and once it's trotted out, Detective Love dispatches it and the delivering bigot with a cool two word retort.  We will observe Christie facing sexism on the job (Pawn Ticket for Murder) but little to no racism--not even, surprisingly, from the criminals she arrests.  A tad idealistic, perhaps, but still a refreshing approach for Wolper to take.  Equally novel is the utilization of Seventies slang, in that it mostly comes from Reardon (sounding just like a teen's father trying to be hip) and the villain's squeeze (played by Louise Sorel)--not our hero.

Louise Sorel

The GET CHRISTIE LOVE! telefilm doesn't skimp on the action.  A half dozen fatalities, with no fewer than three different informants meeting a violent end--the first in an exploding boat before we even meet our protagonist.  We have the requisite car chase as well, despite the fact that our heroine drives a Beetle.  Detective Love also dispatches two foes via martial arts in the first fifteen minutes, to mixed results.  While the nighttime struggle with the sex offender is effectively staged and edited, Christie's hotel fight in Miami has an exciting commencement but concludes in somewhat awkward fashion.

Harry Guardino---nightcap, ladies?

While she can take care of herself physically and verbally, Christie Love mainly relies on smart, determined sleuthing to get the job done.  And afterwards, she uses her memorable catchphrase: "You're under arrest, Sugar!"  Captain Reardon grumbles a lot, but he's also turning on the charm throughout.  In the coda, he's hoping (for the second time) that Christie will invite him in for a "nightcap" after he chivalrously walks his ace Detective home.  The workplace sexual tension was certainly not unusual for the era, but the attempted swirling was--this was a full year before THE JEFFERSONS gave U.S. prime time its first interracial couple on a weekly basis.

When wits and karate fail, there's always this third option.

Graves stressed that Detective Love "wouldn't be a superlady".  She told the Lakeland Ledger's Dan Lewis that Christie "will use her wits" and "not necessarily feminine charms" to get out of tough situations.  She and Wolper both envisioned that Christie Love would be "more Columbo than Mannix" when the pilot was picked up for by ABC for its Fall 1974 schedule.  The star was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness in January 1974, and her newfound faith resulted in a number of requests for the episodes to follow.  Graves did not wish to perform kissing scenes and in general asked that the show's sex and violence be toned down even further.  Given that GET CHRISTIE LOVE! was scheduled at 10 PM Eastern Time on Wednesdays, it made competing for that time slot's audience (generally used to spicier content) more difficult.  Comparisons to NBC's racier POLICE WOMAN (also a 10 PM offering, on Fridays) would be inevitable.

Harry Guardino did not return for the series, and departing with him was any hint of attraction between Christie and her boss.  On the weekly series, Reardon would be a married man played by Charles Cioffi.  While Cioffi is a dependable character actor (and ten years younger than Guardino), his Matt Reardon seemed even older than his predecessor's, coming across as more of a stock "exasperated boss".  All in all, Cioffi's Captain was 180 degrees from the one played by the ruggedly virile Guardino.

Charles Cioffi and Teresa Graves

Andy Romano returned as Christie's partner for the series, but his character (Sgt. Greenburg) was renamed Caruso.  (Caruso's backstory was fleshed out a bit in For the Family Honor.)   Female African-American NYPD detective Olga Ford was hired as a technical advisor for the series, with a number of scripts inspired by Ford's real cases.  (Though it must be noted that Ford told writer Wesley Hyatt years later that her input was "minimal" at best and ended after only a few early episodes.  A sixteen year veteran at the time, Ford retired after 25 years on the force in 1983.)

Cioffi, Graves, Romano (L to R)

Graves and Wolper might have aspired to make Love a female COLUMBO, but GET CHRISTIE LOVE! lacked the distinctive writing that helped make the NBC stalwart so popular.  With envelope pushing content also missing, the sexy sleuth quickly faced a weekly struggle in the Nielsens.  ABC re-tooled the show at mid-season in an effort to boost the ratings.  Glen Larson took over behind the camera, and Cioffi and Romano were replaced by Jack Kelly (yup, Bart Maverick himself) and a young Michael Pataki in front of it.

With her third and final boss, Captain Ryan (Jack Kelly)

Kelly and Pataki proved to be solid additions, but there was one particularly ill-advised change that coincided with Larson's arrival: the show's theme song.  Replacing some of the montage was expected--the cast had changed, after all.  But the new producer missed the mark when he discarded Luici de Jesus' driving intro in favor of a much more generic sounding instrumental piece co-written by Larson himself (with Stu Phillips).

You be the judge.  Would you have replaced this theme song:

With this one?

Well, your mileage may vary, but IMO:

No way, Sugar!

With all the turnover and other production problems, GET CHRISTIE LOVE! usually went exactly as far as Teresa Graves could carry it--which was often a long way.  That the series is so well remembered four decades after its single season is a tribute to its star's charisma and talent.  Graves received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series in the winter of 1975 (and overseas, won Best Foreign Actress at TP de Oro) but it wasn't enough to save GET CHRISTIE LOVE! from cancellation.  Her well received performance seemed like a springboard to major stardom, but Ms. Graves elected drop out of show business altogether and dedicate her life to her religion.

Many expected her to return to performing someday, but GET CHRISTIE LOVE! would remain her TV swan song.  Tragically, Teresa Graves was killed in a fire at her Hyde Park home in 2002.  It would be a mind boggling 37 years before ABC would have its second hour-long dramatic series headlined by an African-American actress (Kerry Washington's 2012 hit Scandal).

37 years???  Are you kidding me???

The feature-length GET CHRISTIE LOVE! pilot has been ubiquitous for a decade now, thanks to its lapsed copyright--you can find it on YouTube, at Amazon Prime and on bargain DVD's everywhere.  The series has been harder to find, but Centric did bring it out for a two day marathon last August to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary.  Hopefully, the network will give us an encore presentation soon, or even move Christie to its regular schedule on weekends.  (hint, hint!)
 
While this is Christie Love's first appearance here at The Horn Section, it's far from her last, Sugar!  We'll be starting our GET CHRISTIE LOVE! Episode Guide with the next installment, eventually working our way through all 22 episodes of the late, great Teresa Graves' most famous role.  Thanks for stopping by today, and be sure to check out the rest of the posts from my fellow Classic TV Bloggers over at the Classic TV Detectives Blogathon! 

Still Don't Know Why the Hell they aren't on DVD.....

....but they made my list of VHS Gems over at Rupert Pupkin Speaks!  

Mr. Pupkin started a new series of guest posts, and if you'll peruse, you'll find numerous gems worth seeking out that made it to VHS back in the day, but remain unavailable on DVD.  You know, kinda like we do here one at a time. Except you get multiple leads each post!

My list is Seventies-centric, since I saw so many films from the decades since on the lists of others.  No matter which film era or genre is your fave, you'll likely find something new to seek out on the VHS Gems series.  Thanks again to Mr. Pupkin for the invite! 

And as always while you're there, be sure to check out more of Rupert's finds in other categories.  He's a great source for what is available at The Warner Archive.  Happy hunting, and stay tuned for more reviews here.

Film Review: DR. COOK'S GARDEN (1971)

"Why the Hell isn't this on DVD yet?" -- Number 82   





DR. COOK'S GARDEN (1971 ABC-TV/Paramount) Starring Bing Crosby, Frank Converse, Blythe Danner, Barnard Hughes, Thomas Barber, Staats Cotsworth, Bethel Leslie, Abby Lewis.  Directed by Ted Post.


Der Bingle is a kindly G.P. in a Greenfield, arguably the most beloved person in this idyllic area.  How idyllic?  The town boats a very low crime rate and few unpleasant citizens.  Greenfield is about to host recent medical school graduate Converse, returning to visit high school sweetheart Danner and mentor Crosby.  The budding young doctor is pleasantly surprised by his home town's evolution into a paradise---and increasingly concerned about the number of abrupt, mysterious deaths occuring in heavenly Greenfield.

Originally airing as the ABC "Movie of the Week", DR. COOK'S GARDEN seems more relevant with the passage of time with the real world bringing us Doctors Kevorkian and Shipman and (even more recently) debate over the possibility of "death panels" in the decades since.  Art Wallace (SHE WAITS) adapted from a play by Ira Levin, whose STEPFORD WIVES also explored a seemingly perfect town with a sinister forces at work under the veneer.

As was often the case for this Golden Age of telefilms, brevity is a plus, with few moments wasted.  In what would turn out to be his acting swan song (and only TV Movie) Crosby gives one of his best performances in a decidedly atypical role.  Posthumous revelations about Crosby's personal life exposed the actor's dark side, but at the time DR. COOK'S GARDEN aired he was as easygoing and beloved by the general public as the titular character is to Greenfield's citizens. 

While the subject matter hasn't dated, the method of storytelling has, surprising for a film directed by the usually reliable Ted Post (GO TELL THE SPARTANS, THE BABY).  Post unfortunately provides two spoilers in the first four minutes, which kills most of the suspense before the opening credits. Granted, this was the pre-VCR and MTV early Seventies, but even taking that into account these scenes are particularly unsubtle and intrusive.  The former is Crosby's lone lapse into hamminess, but at least it's wordless and pretty brief.

Crosby's Dr. Cook is calm and rationalizing as his describes the thought he puts into his decisions, and admits that marking the "R" is always difficult for him.  His unfailing composure adds creepiness that helps make up for the missing uncertainty and almost raises this otherwise average tale into the must-see category.  Two decades before Alec Baldwin brazenly declared himself God in MALICE, Crosby let actions speak louder than his downright humble words possibly could, giving us a thriller more than interesting enough to watch despite its deficiencies. 

So....why isn't this on DVD yet?

DR. COOK'S GARDEN certainly left an impression, as many viewers still fondly recall it after all these years. Too bad it has fallen victim to a double whammy in regards to a potential release.  Made for TV movies from the early 1970's remain underrepresented on DVD, with TRIBES, MY SWEET CHARLIE and THAT CERTAIN SUMMER just a few from the top tier that are still missing.  Making things worse for the GARDEN is Paramount's consistently spotty history at getting its vintage titles on disc.

Why it should be on DVD:

Just a notch below the era's best telefilms, DR. COOK'S GARDEN is an absolute must for Bing Crosby's fans and boasts strong, STEPFORD-like production values.  It's been M.I.A. from cable for two full decades like much of the rest of its made for TV brethren (DUEL and BRIAN'S SONG seem to be the rare exceptions) and could really use a remastering and a rediscovery.

DR. COOK'S GARDEN is on YouTube, but in a mediocre (at best) print (as you can tell from the screen captures) with out of sync sound.  This is one venerable Movie of the Week that deserves better.

Film Review: BRING ME THE HEAD OF DOBIE GILLIS (1988)

 



"Why the Hell isn't THIS on DVD yet?" -- Number 73






BRING ME THE HEAD OF DOBIE GILLIS (1988 CBS-TV/Twentieth Century Fox) Starring Dwayne Hickman, Bob Denver, Sheila James Kuehl, Connie Stevens, Scott Grimes, William Schallert, Tricia Leigh Fisher, Kathleen Freeman, Steve Franken.  Directed by Stanley Z. Cherry.


Hickman returns as the titular character from the 1959-1963 sitcom.  Now married to Kuehl (as Zelda) and running the Gillis Grocery and Pharmacy, he no longer pines for a creamy, dreamy girl. Instead, newly widowed and wealthy Stevens (taking over for Tuesday Weld as Thalia) wants him---and wants him badly enough to single-handedly solve the town’s considerable economic woes if he’ll reciprocate. When Stevens is rebuffed, she puts a $50,000 bounty on his head, hence the title.

If that isn’t enough to send a man back in front of the town park’s statue of THE THINKER again, there’s the return of good buddy Denver (successful enough to have his own chauffeur) and the romantic entanglements of son Grimes. Grimes is truly a chip off the old block: chasing a blonde beauty while brainy Fisher, the daughter of wealthy banker Franken (Dobie-Do’s high school nemesis Chatsworth) chases him.  Sound familiar?

The major strength of BRING ME THE HEAD OF DOBIE GILLIS is its faithfulness to the source material.  After James Komack's thoroughly misguided 1977 attempt to revive the series, this second reunion benefited from greater creative control by Hickman (at the time semi-retired from acting as a CBS production executive).  Denver, James, Franken and Schallert all returned, and while first choice Rod Amateau was not approved by Fox, director Cherry helmed multiple episodes of GILLIS (and GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, with Denver).

The REAL "Bobby D".  Take that, DeNiro!

As a result, the distinctive and familiar style of the 1959-1963 series returned intact.  Hickman breaking the fourth wall, the malapropisms and bongos from Denver, the short clipped scenes...all here, along with the never ending battle over the cash register, handed down from father (Frank Faylen had passed away) to son.  The plot itself is even lifted from the fourth season episode "A Little Murder Between Friends", which was Weld's swan song on DOBIE.

Weld was the lone living cast member (unless you count Warren Beatty) not to return, and while Stevens does a decent job, she isn't Tuesday.  BRING ME THE HEAD OF DOBIE GILLIS also suffers from the feeling of being padded at 100 minutes, a common problem for all sitcoms with half-hour stories stretched out to feature length.  Denver's hippy-dippy song is dopey fun, but Grimes' was already dated when the film aired and the proceedings get mighty silly during the final reel, even by the original series' often surrealistic standards.  Speaking of Grimes, how did Dobie and Zelda produce a red-haired child?  I know, I'm nitpicking.

As a one-shot reunion, this one is an agreeable time-passer.  There was talk of reviving GILLIS on a weekly basis when the reunion aired in February 1988, but no revival came to pass, and BRING ME THE HEAD ended up being the show's final word.  Probably just as well.  After seeing Dobie as the quintessential romantic for 147 episodes in his youth, it would have been a little disheartening to see him lecturing son Grimes to "go for the money" on a weekly basis in his middle age.  Plus a full-time revival clearly would have focused on the teenagers in the youth-obsessed prime time of its era.
   

So....why isn't this on DVD yet?

Probably the same thing keeping THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS itself off DVD: the Max Shulman estate and Fox haven't been able to come to terms.  As is always the case in these situations, the fans are the losers.

Why it should be on DVD:

Okay, so BRING ME THE HEAD OF DOBIE GILLIS isn't any great shakes as a standalone movie and is overlong at 100 minutes.  It's still a reasonably enjoyable visit with old friends, and if RETURN TO THE BATCAVE (the 2003 BATMAN reunion) can be released as a standalone while issues with the original series get sorted, why not DOBIE?

THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS itself in full season sets is a far better candidate for a DVD release.  Since I brought that up, this reunion movie would be a perfect bonus feature for a season set.  THE PATTY DUKE SHOW's third and final season included a similar add-on, with 1999's STILL ROCKIN' IN BROOKLYN HEIGHTS reunion telefilm included in the set.

Fox, surviving Shulmans.....get this resolved already!  We DOBIE fans are getting tired of worn out VHS tapes and YouTube searches.

Film Review: SISTER, SISTER (1982)

 




"Why the Hell isn't this on DVD yet?" -- Number 68

SISTER, SISTER (1982 20TH CENTURY FOX/NBC-TV) Starring Diahann Carroll, Rosalind Cash, Irene Cara, Paul Winfield, Dick Anthony Williams, Robert Hooks, Kristoff St. John, Albert Popwell.  Directed by John Berry.

With both parents deceased, the three Lovejoy sisters have inherited the North Carolina house they were raised in. Carroll is the eldest, a prim, proper, conservative churchgoer who harbors feelings of guilt about concealing a relationship with her minister Williams (who has political aspirations and a divorce that is still pending).  Carroll maintains the rules of the house with an iron fist in her late father's memory, but her younger sisters don't have such fond memories of him.

Self-described prodigal daughter Cash is a divorced mother returning home with her sassy son St. John's after many years of estrangement.  At 20, Cara is the baby, resentful of Carroll's heavy hand and the knowledge that her father wanted a boy.  Against Carroll's wishes, she dreams of pursuing a skating career.  The vagabond sibling's return shakes up Carroll's orderly world as Cash urges Cara to live for herself and (unaware of her older sister's secret) makes a play for Williams.

SISTER SISTER was the first feature length solo teleplay by Maya Angelou (GEORGIA, GEORGIA) and reunited Carroll and Berry after their Oscar-nominated collaboration in CLAUDINE.  The film also featured rising star Cara, hot off her success in FAME.  NBC was perennially the last place network during the Silverman era, and with the talent involved you'd think SISTER, SISTER was welcomed to the airwaves as a prized sweeps event.  Instead, it was produced in 1979 but inexplicably shelved for three years.  When it finally aired the film was dumped onto the schedule in the summer of 1982, premiering in the midst of the reruns and busted pilots.

Carroll starred in two Angelou TV projects (the other was 1979's WHILE THE CAGED BIRD SINGS) back to back to close out the decade.  Her role here bears similarity to Mary Tyler Moore's cold, fixated, but frail mother in the following year's Oscar-bait, ORDINARY PEOPLE.  Carroll is repressed and controlling, unwittingly driving away many people she cares about with the latter quality.  Guilt-ridden over her secret affair, she projects her image, protects her father's, and is in denial about both.  Carroll's restraint anchors the film effectively.

While CLAUDINE brought Carroll an Oscar nomination in 1974, it curiously did not lead to further silver screen leads, just several TV movies with top billing, including this one.   Both Cash (CORNBREAD, EARL AND ME, MONKEY HUSTLE) and Cara (AARON LOVES ANGELA, SPARKLE) actually appeared in more features during the latter half of the 1970's.  A key theme in Angelou's script is small town relocation as an antidote to the more unsavory elements of a large city: a stated reason for Cash's return is her desire to get her son away from drug experimentation in Detroit.  The author would return to this subject matter in her 1998 directorial debut, DOWN IN THE DELTA.

If SISTER, SISTER has a key flaw, it's the abrupt, too pat "happy ending", something that seems a little forced and was far too common for made for TV movies from the era.  Not that this is a major gripe: there's fine work here from all involved.  No getting around it, NBC dropped the ball big time in its reticence to air and promote SISTER SISTER.  Both the film (Best Television Movie) and Cara (Best Actress) won NAACP Image Awards in 1982 and SISTER, SISTER found a loyal following almost immediately that has grown in the three decades since.

So....why isn't this on DVD yet?

It gets mentioned a lot around here, but made for TV movies from the 1970's and 1980's have a spotty history at best in making it to DVD, even some of the most acclaimed (see earlier reviews).  But at least MY SWEET CHARLIE and TRIBES (to name two) received VHS releases.  SISTER SISTER has never been released to home video in any format.

Why it should be on DVD:

It's long past time for Fox to rectify this well-loved sleeper's lack of availability: in spite of its lack of availability.  SISTER, SISTER has many devoted fans who relate to its themes of sibling rivalry and family devotion.  It is arguably one of the best-remembered chick flicks of the 1980's.  Carroll, Angelou and Cara could all contribute to extras, which would be welcome.  NBC's treatment of SISTER, SISTER was a puzzler, since Carroll was already a proven ratings winner for the network (JULIA made Nielsen's top 10 in 1968-69).

She has less screen time than Carroll and Cash, but Cara gives the most critically acclaimed performance.  At the time Cara seemed poised for major stardom as both a singer and actress, but she disappeared from theatres after a supporting role in CITY HEAT, the poorly received CERTAIN FURY (with Tatum O'Neal) and her 1986 marriage.  SISTER, SISTER offers the opportunity to see her at her peak.