Made-For-TV Movie Club Podcast

Wife, Mother, Murderer (1991), starring Judith Light, is based on the very strange story of Marie Hilley. Hilley murdered her husband by poisoning him with arsenic. When she tries the same with her daughter and gets caught, she flees and assumes a new identity. After marrying her second husband under the assumed identity of Robbi Hannon, she fakes her own death and comes back, pretending to be Rob...

Violation of Trust (1991) is also known as She Says She’s Innocent. Justine, a popular high school teacher has a popular football player boyfriend, Ryan. After Ashley tells Justine that Ryan was cheating on her with Vicky, Ashley and Justine confront Vicky. Vicky ends up dead, but was it murder? And did Justine kill Vicky? Justine’s mother fights for her innocence and the truth is more chilling th...

The miniseries False Arrest (1991) is based on a book by the same name by Joyce Lukezic. Lukezic, a mother of three, is married and owns a successful business. Her life is turned upside down and she is left to fight for her freedom when she is arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder but is later acquitted.   https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101854/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 https://www.imdb.com/n...

A 41-year-old married Tufts professor becomes obsessed with a 21 year old prostitute and murders her. This tv movie (1986) is based on the murder of Robin Benedict in 1983.  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091201/  https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001077/?ref_=tt_cl_t_1  https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001077/awards/?ref_=nm_awd  https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0949744/?ref_=tt_cl_t_2 ...

This made-for-tv movie from 1988 tells the sad story of Pauleen Anderson, who moves to LA shortly after high school and becomes a porn star, only to have her life end in tragedy. Based on the true story of Colleen Applegate, aka Shauna Grant.  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096091/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0497593/?ref_=tt_cl_t_1 https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0227039/?ref_=tt_...

Also known as A Clean Kill, mystery novelist Richard Mannhart’s wife is murdered when her brakes are cut and the car drives off a cliff. Did Richard confess by writing about it in his upcoming novel, or was Richard’s student and lover, Katie, responsible for Laura’s demise? You don’t need to watch Her Married Lover from 1999. We did that for you! #mftvmcpodcast https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181804...

Tom Weston wants to marry his girlfriend Bobbi Gilbert. The only problem? He's already married to Nancy, and doesn't want to lose everything in a divorce. So, what is his backup plan? Marry Bobbi without a divorce and then kill Nancy. In a final twist, one of Tom's two wives does end up dead while Tom is in jail awaiting trial. Based on a true story. You don't need to watch the movie to listen to...

After Peggy Blankenship finds out her husband, Stan, is having an affair with her friend Candy Morrison, Morrison brutally kills a pregnant Peggy. Once Morrison becomes a prime suspect, she confesses, claiming self-defense. This movie is based on the brutal murder of Betty Gore in Wylie, Texas by her supposed friend, Candy Montgomery on June 13, 1980. #mftvmcpodcast https://www.imdb.com/title/tt00...

In this “Made for TV Movie Event” John Travolta stars as Tod Lubitch, who was born without an immune system and must spend his life living in a sterile environment (a “bubble.”) Though he is protected from deadly germs, he desires normal relationships, including one with the girl next door. The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976) is Travolta’s first feature-length film. http://every70smovie.blogspot....

This tv movie from 1994 stars Olivia Newton-John and Gregory Harrison. Julia Stonecypher, a widow with two young children, loses her job just before Christmas. Brian Harding, a banker from the big city, comes to repossess her home. After he is injured in a car accident, Julia lets him recuperate in her home. Will there be a Christmas romance? Well, the title. So. Join us in The Clubhouse for this...

Since it first aired in 1977, Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas has been a family favorite here in the U.S. Muppets Emmet Otter and his Ma are poor, but they have each other. As Christmas is coming, Emmet wants to buy his mom a new piano, and she wants to buy him a new guitar. In this version of “Gift of the Magi” they each sacrifice something for the other in an attempt to win a talent contest to...

A Loony Tunes Thanksgiving is a combination of two specials. Up first is Bugs Bunny’s Thanksgiving Diet (1979.) Trying to help his patients work on their diets, Dr. Bugs Bunny helps patients Yosemite Sam, Sylvester and more! Next, Daffy Duck’s Thanks-for-Giving (1980) finds the hapless duck scheming to get praise for having spread so much joy over the years. IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt03362...

A Thanksgiving Reunion with The Partridge Family and My Three Sons from 1977, is to say the least, strange. It is part variety show, part “Where are they Now” and not even a little bit tv movie. Despite the fact that the two shows never actually had a crossover episode, they reunited for this special. It’s designated as a tv movie on IMDB, so we watched it. You don’t have to, but it’s weird enough...

To continue our spooky October tv movie reviews series, we review and recap Killer Bees (1974) starring Kate Jackson and Gloria Swanson in her final performance on film. What secrets do the Van Bohlen family have and what is with those bees? Join us as we talk about this tv movie horror film, our third review of a movie starring Kate Jackson. #mftvmcpodcast IMDB TV Tango http://www.tvtango.com/lis...

We break our own rules for this episode! While it’s not a tv movie, it’s tv-movie adjacent. We review and recap your favorite 1970s teen amateur sleuths with the two-part episode The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Meet Dracula (Parts I and II)! This is the first of several crossover episodes that includes several big stars of the time including Paul Williams, Lorne Greene and Bernie Taupin! Oh, did Beth...

Murder in New Hampshire (1991), starring Helen Hunt, tells the story of Pam Smart, who preyed upon a 16-year-old boy and manipulated him and three of his friends to murder her husband. #mftvmcpodcast b9ECJWM7fJnsj1CuxLXe IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102484/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000166/?ref_=tt_cl_t_1 https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0020354/?ref_=tt_cl_t_2 https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000...

We are reviewing and recapping another Tracey Gold movie for this episode! Face of Evil (1996) also stars Shawnee Smith, who plays Jeanelle Polk. Jeanelle's new roommate, played by Gold, is a runaway bride and possibly a serial killer. But because she is so manipulative, will she also seduce Jeanelle's very wealthy father? Will her lies and deceit catch up to her before killing again?

Our Summer TV Movie Extravaganza concludes with a review of The Capture of Grizzly Adams (1982). Though the series ended in 1977, this movie is considered the series finale, according to Wikipedia. Grizzly Adams' wife dies and he must go into town for his daughter. However, he is a man wanted for murder, and a posse is on his tail. Will he escape with his life? You don't need to watch the movie! W...

The Summer TV Movie Extravaganza continues with our review of MacGyver: The Lost City of Atlantis (1994), which was released two years after the original series ended. MacGyver joins his good friend and former professor Atticus to find the Lost City of Atlantis. They are joined by Kelly Carson, a professor of archeology and old friend of MacGyver and Atticus. Will they find the Lost City and its t...

BONUS EPISODE! We review our third bonus episode - a review of the ABC Afterschool Special “Dear Lovey Hart: I Am Desperate.” Sophomore Carrie Wasserman reluctantly becomes Lovey Hart, an advice column for the lovelorn for her school’s newspaper. But, it soon becomes clear that her advice may not be helping her readers. #MFTVMCPodcast IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0352280/ https://www.imdb.com...

Continuing with our Summer TV Movie Extravaganza, we review The Greatest American Hero TV pilot movie. Teacher Ralph Hinkley and FBI Agent Bill Maxwell are chosen to team up and save the world by unknown persons in a UFO. Ralph is given a suit with supernatural powers, but he loses the instruction manual. Will they be able to stop a murder plot that will have worldwide repercussions? This tv movie...

BONUS EPISODE! We review our second bonus episode a review of the ABC Afterschool Special “The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon.” Duffy Moon, a small, bullied middle schooler starts his own business called “Duffy Moon, Inc.” He uses his newfound “Cosmic Awareness” that he learns from Dr. Flamel. However, the kids who work for a rival business “Help is Here” won’t stop bullying him. “You can...

This pilot movie kicked off the tv series which ran for five seasons! In Charlie’s Angels , we meet the original three Angels, Sabrina Duncan, Jill Monroe and Kelly Garret. Charlie and Bosley join in to solve the mystery. Vincent Le Mer is about to be declared dead, and his vineyard will go to his second wife Rachel, who has already run it into the ground. Will they find Vincent or his daughter Ja...

BONUS EPISODE! For this episode, we review an installment of the ABC Afternoon Special ! Dinky Hocker is the story of an overweight teen who decides to lose weight with her new friend, P. John. Without her parents’ support, she struggles to meet her newfound goals. The episode is based on the novel Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack by M. E. Kerr #mftvmcpodcast IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0341339/?r...

From the hit tv show Murder She Wrote , Jessica Fletcher returns for this tv movie, South by Southwest ! On her way to a lecture in El Paso, Jessica Fletcher befriends a woman who goes missing on the Sunset Limited train line after witnessing a murder. Was the witness a victim or murder and is there a government cover up? Listen to our review to find out! #mftvmcpodcast IMDB https://www.imdb.com/t...