Plot
The story centers around Frances Benedetto (Mary Stuart Masterson), who desperately escapes from the clutches of an abusive marriage. After years of living under the increasing violence of her husband, Bobby (Anthony LaPaglia), Frances takes her son, Robert (Will Rothhaar), and flees from their New York home to a small town in Florida. After enrolling Robert in school there, she befriends her son's P.E. coach, Mike Riordan (Sam Robards). Several months pass, and the two fall in love, but with the unshakable fact that Frances still lives under the terrorizing thought that her husband will eventually find her.
After she unknowingly appears on national television, her husband, an officer of the NYPD, is able to track her down. He attacks her in her home and kidnaps Robert from his school. Mike, after realizing that Frances, now under the alias of Beth Crenshaw, failed to pick Robert up, makes his way to her home and finds her pummeled and unconscious on the floor of her kitchen. Five years pass, and Frances has since never seen her son. She has married Mike and they have a daughter together. The film ends with Robert finding Frances's sister, and Frances receiving a phone call that implies that she will soon be reunited with her son.
Nashville is a 1975 American satirical musical comedy-drama film directed and produced by Robert Altman. The film follows various people involved in the country and gospel music industry in Nashville, Tennessee, over the five-day period leading up to a gala concert for a populist outsider running for president on the Replacement Party ticket.
Anthony LaPaglia is an Australian actor. He has won three AACTA Awards, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Lantana (2001) and Balibo (2009), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Nitram (2021).
Some Kind of Wonderful is a 1987 American teen romantic comedy-drama film directed by Howard Deutch and starring Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Lea Thompson. It is one of several successful teen dramas written by John Hughes in the 1980s.
Mary Stuart Masterson is an American actress and director. After making her acting debut as a child in The Stepford Wives (1975), Masterson took a ten-year hiatus to focus on her education. Her early film roles include Heaven Help Us (1985), At Close Range (1986), Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), and Chances Are (1989). Her performance in the film Immediate Family (1989) won her the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress, and she earned additional praise for her roles in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and Benny & Joon (1993).
Frances Payne Bolton was a Republican politician from Ohio. She served in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Ohio. In the late 1930s Bolton took an isolationist position on foreign policy, opposing the Selective Service Act in 1940, and opposing Lend-Lease in 1941. During the war she called for desegregation of the military nursing units, which were all-white and all-female. In 1947 she sponsored a long-range bill for nursing education, but it did not pass. When the draft was resumed after the war, Bolton strongly advocated the conscription of women. Pointing to their prominent role during the war, she said it was vitally important that women continue to play these essential roles. She saw no threat to marriage, and argued that women in military service would develop their character and skills, thus enhancing their role in the family. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Bolton strongly supported the United Nations, especially UNICEF, and strongly supported the independence of African colonies.
Blue Sky is a 1994 American drama film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Jessica Lange, Tommy Lee Jones, Powers Boothe, Carrie Snodgress, Amy Locane, and Chris O'Donnell. It tells the story of a nuclear coverup. It was adapted by Rama Stagner, Arlene Sarner and Jerry Leichtling. The original music score was composed by Jack Nitzsche.
The Listerdale Mystery is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by William Collins and Sons in June 1934. The book retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6). The collection did not appear in the US; however, all of the stories contained within it did appear in other collections only published there.
Looking for Alibrandi is a 2000 Australian coming-of-age film directed by Kate Woods and written by Melina Marchetta. The film is set in 1990s Sydney, New South Wales and features a cast of Australian actors, including Pia Miranda as Josephine Alibrandi, the film's main character; Anthony LaPaglia as her father, Michael Andretti, who left her and her mother before her birth; and Kick Gurry as Josie's love interest, Jacob Coote. The film won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film in 2000.
The Stepford Wives is a 1975 American satirical psychological thriller film directed by Bryan Forbes. It was written by William Goldman, who based his screenplay on Ira Levin's 1972 novel of the same name. The film stars Katharine Ross as a woman who relocates with her husband and children from New York City to the Connecticut community of Stepford, where she comes to find that the women live lives of unwavering subservience to their husbands.
Gerald William Abrams is an American television producer who has produced many TV movies starting in the mid-1970s.
Chances Are is a 1989 American romantic comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and starring Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan O'Neal, and Mary Stuart Masterson in Panavision. The original music score was composed by Maurice Jarre.
The Black Bull of Norroway is a fairy tale from Scotland. A version titled The Black Bull of Norroway in the 1870 edition of Popular Rhymes of Scotland was reprinted in an Anglicised version by Joseph Jacobs in his 1894 book More English Fairy Tales.
Gardens of Stone is a 1987 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on a novel of the same name by Nicholas Proffitt. It stars James Caan, Anjelica Huston, James Earl Jones, D. B. Sweeney, Dean Stockwell and Mary Stuart Masterson.
Peter Masterson was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. He made his Broadway debut in November 1967 in The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald, playing the title character. Although he got good notices, the play closed after nine performances.
Carlin Elizabeth Glynn was an American singer and actress. Most notable for her work as a theater performer, she is best known for her Tony Award-winning performance, as Mona Stangley, in the original 1978 production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She is also known for her roles in John Hughes' Sixteen Candles (1984) and Peter Masterson's The Trip to Bountiful (1985), which is based on the play of the same name, by Horton Foote. Glynn was the mother of actress Mary Stuart Masterson.
Chameleon is a direct to video film from 1995 starring Anthony LaPaglia. The film was directed by Michael Pavone. Pavone wrote and produced the film with Dave Alan Johnson.
Love Lives On is a fact-based TV film that aired on ABC on April 1, 1985. It was directed by Larry Peerce and starred Mary Stuart Masterson.
Holding the Man is a 2015 Australian romantic drama film adapted from Timothy Conigrave's 1995 memoir of the same name. It was directed by Neil Armfield and stars Ryan Corr and Craig Stott, with supporting performances from Guy Pearce, Anthony LaPaglia, Sarah Snook, Kerry Fox and Geoffrey Rush. The screenplay was written by Tommy Murphy who also adapted the memoir for the stage play.
Mary Queen of Scots is a 2018 historical drama film directed by Josie Rourke and with a screenplay by Beau Willimon based on John Guy's 2004 biography Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart. The film stars Saoirse Ronan as Mary, Queen of Scots, and Margot Robbie as her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn, David Tennant, and Guy Pearce also star in supporting roles.
5th Ward The Series is an American television drama series written, produced, and created by director Greg Carter and premiered on Urban Movie Channel on March 2, 2018. The series is based on director Greg Carter's first movie Fifth Ward (1997). It is centered around the life of Mina, a single mother of two struggling to make ends meet; as well as several additional locals and town officials residing in the historical district of Houston's Fifth Ward and serves as a prequel with season one consisting of six episodes airing weekly. It stars Carl Anthony Payne and Mýa with a feature ensemble cast of Brittany Bullock, Corr Kendricks, Nephew Tommy, Christopher Jefferson, Chris O'Neal, Gary Sturgis and Lew Temple. 5th Ward The Series along with other UMC's original series had a preview screening at the 26th Annual Pan African Film Festival on February 10, 2018. The series was renewed for a second season which premiered on July 30, 2020.
