Hallmark Hall of Fame

Broadcast live from New York, Gian Carlo Menotti's Christmas story was the first opera commissioned for television, and was repeated in several subsequent telecasts.

A Hollywood press agent is assigned to promote a starlet with whom he was once in love.

Adaptation of the novel by Helen Ashton.

Dramatization of the love affair between Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning.

In 1631 Roger Williams landed in Boston. He had come to America to find freedom of belief and worship; instead, he found the church here still connected to the church in England and just as oppressive. He refused to join the church in Boston because it still held communion with the Church of England, from which he had just fled. He thought it his duty to renounce all connection with any church that would stain its hands in the blood of the Lord's people.

Biography of Florence Nightingale: her determination to build hospitals and train nurses for the sick and disabled during the Crimean War, her correspondence with the Minister of War, and the letter of appreciation she received from Queen Victoria.

Traces New York City's crooked Broadway Street back to its origins in 1720, when the street plan was changed to avoid cutting down a cherry tree.

A girl unearths a paper making her the recipient of an unusual tribute.

In 1874, citizens of Sympathy Ridge, Virginia wish to build a war monument, but the federal government wants them to replace a bridge destroyed in the war.

An elder daughter working in the city brings her fiancé back to the country.

A young suffragist tries to gain the support of a lawyer in charge of the polls, while he tries on a bet to romance her.

Distressed by the state of world affairs and fearing her boyfriend will be sent off to war, a young woman refuses to marry until a friend convinces her to have faith in democracy.

A woman poses as an agent in the East.

Adaptation of Thomas Wolfe's "Of Time and the River", the deathbed scene.

This is the biographical drama of Catherine Parr, one of the wives of Henry VIII.

The story of Joseph Geiting McCoy, American pioneer cattleman.

The story highlights the early career of "T.R." until the time he became President. It shows how, during those years, Roosevelt was a colorful, forceful, imaginative man who overcame many obstacles, both personal and political, on his rise to the Presidency.

Moliere's rollicking satire tells the story of a wealthy fop, Argan, who fancies himself the victim of dozens of ailments. He accordingly becomes the dupe of the absurd 17th Century doctors, who fill him with worthless medicine and extract valuable fees in return. Argan's saucy maid Toinette, realizing the ridiculous situation of her gullible master, devises a plan that makes him come to his senses.

The Swedish-American inventor of dynamite, established before his death the Nobel Prize to be awarded annually for the best work in the field of physics, medicine and chemistry.

Tells the story of the early life of the American composer Stephen Foster. Relates the difficulties Foster encountered when he tried to have his first song performed.

The story of John Nelson Wanamaker the 35th United States Postmaster General who was known for buying an abandoned railroad depot and converting it into a department story called "The Grand Depot" which was considered the first department store in Philadelphia.

The story tells of Moses' upbringing by an Egyptian pharaoh, his killing of a cruel overseer and the flight to Media where he marries. When the voice of God comes from the burning bush he returns to Egypt to free his people. Natalie Wood will be featured as the beloved ot Moses when he was a young man.

From court appointed organist to his triumphant position as Kantor at the Thomasschule his story unfolds as his music was given to the world almost a century after he died after being rediscovered by Felix Mendelssohn.

The tale of Hippocrates, the father of medicine is dramatized.

Adaptation of the stage version devised by Le Gallienne and Friebus of the children's classic by Lewis Carroll.

An Americanization of the play by George Bernard Shaw: Dick Dudgeon is the local scapegrace in the New Hampshire community of Yankees where he lives. Even his own mother becomes fed up with the way he flouts the cardinal rules of good sense, good manners and good religion, and throws him out of the house. Judith, Parson Anderson's pretty wife, also has a low opinion of Dick. But Shaw proves Dick's heart is in the right place for he's kind to a poor, belabored servant girl, and, it being the time of the American Revolution, he shortly becomes a Yankee hero.

Adaptation of the Broadway play by Elmer Rice. A fashionable young woman escapes her dull life and demanding mother by dwelling in a world of outrageous daydreams.

Adaptation of the play by Emlyn Williams. A strong-willed teacher, determined to educate the poor and illiterate youth of an impoverished Welsh village, discovers one student whom she believes to have the seeds of genius.

Theatre usherette Lu thinks of herself as a ""good fairy"" attempting to bring happiness to all she meets.

Adaptation of the Shakespeare play.

Adaptation of Kanin's Broadway comedy.

A 90-minute condensation of George Bernard Shaw's epic play.

Adaptation of Hellmann's Broadway melodrama.

Adaptation of the Anouilh play, as adapted for Broadway by Lillian Hellmann.

Adaptation of the Gilbert & Sullivan musical comedy.

African-American tales of spirituality and oral black storytelling through a collection of vignettes on various Biblical stories and figures.

Suggested by Roark Bradford's ""Ol' Man Adam an' his chillun,"" based on the novel of the same name by Lawrence Edward Watkin.

A shipwreck separates Viola from her twin brother Sebastian. Disguised as a boy, Viola becomes a page to Duke Orsino. Orsino is sighing over his unrequited love for the fair Olivia; but Olivia becomes infatuated with Viola, believing her a boy.

The children's story of the boy who wants to win a skating cotest in order to pay for an operation for his blind father.

t is 1919 in Ireland. Brigid Mary and her mother fiercely oppose her fiance's rebel activities, for Brigid Mary's father and brother both died at the hands of the British, and the two women want no more grief. But before long, in her desperation, Brigid Mary is drawn into a religious order.

A woman who slowly comes to realize that her husband is trying to murder her for her money.

Backstager musical loosely based on Shakespeare's ""The Taming of the Shrew,"" music and lyrics by Cole Porter.

A musical adaptation (with songs by Richard Adler) of O. Henry's familiar Christmas story. A devoted young married couple each have one prized possession—Jim his watch, Della her long, luxuriant hair. When Christmas comes, with little money on hand, each plans a surprise for the other.

His new surroundings have stimulated the imagination of Peter Standish, a young American who has moved into a mansion in present-day Berkeley Square, London. In 1784 a namesake of his, also American, had visited this house. Standish longs to travel back through time and become this 18th century visitor. His longing becomes a reality.

Adaptation of the Eugene O'Neill stage comedy.

Hallowe'en adaptation of the stage play by Maxwell Anderson; includes a tribute to Maxwell Anderson by Helen Hayes.

Adaptation of the play by Henrik Ibsen.

Four Christmas-themed segements: an ice-sakting version of the ballet ""The Ice Princess""; a performance of Christmas songs by the Obernkirchen Chidlren's Choir; an adaptation of Ludwig Bemelmans' ""The Borrowed Christmas,"" about a wealthy man given one last chance to redeem himself; and a Nativity reading by actress Judith Anderson.

A Valentine's Day production of the Shakespeare play.

An Englishman, a former judge, arrives in the Near East, where a man he had sentenced to jail many years before plans revenge.

A musical adaptation of James Hilton's novel ""Lost Horizon,"" in which a plane crash in the Himalayas leads a group of survivors to the hidden society of Shangri-La and its closely guarded secret of longevity.

Adaptation of the stage tragedy by William Shakespeare.

An original comic opera for Christmas. Libretto by Paul Engle; music by Philip Bezanson.

Adaptation of the stage play by Anouilh: A flighty duchess plays matchmaker in the drawing rooms of the aristocracy.

An Easter biblical production of the story of the Crucifixion.

""Premiere performance of a winner in the Hallmark teleplay writing competition, selected from over 1500 entries from 19 countries."" A drifter who discovers the body of a murder victim in an isolated farm community is appalled by the town's casual acceptance of the crime.

Adaptation of the Broadway play by Housman, chronicling Queen Victoria's 50 years on the English throne.

Comedy revolving around murder, insanity, and two charming old ladies.

Adaptation of the Putlizer Prize-winning comedy by John Patrick, based on the novel by Vern Sneider. A US Army captain is sent to teach the fundamentals of democracy and industry to the resident of a small village in occupied Japan. The first reconstructed local industry turns out to be a teahouse staffed with traditional geishas.

An adaptation of Rostand's classic play in which a man who believes himself disfigured by a large nose instructs another man in how to court the woman he loves.

This production of Bernard Shaw's play came close on the heels of its triumphant Broadwas musical incarnation as ""My Fair Lady.""

Vignettes cover a 30-year span in the life of the famous British novelist, philosopher, and Prime Minister.

Adaptation of Kingsley's Broadway play. During the post-Revolutionary War period of the 1790s, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson clash over the precarious economic and military positions of the new republic.

The story of the writing of Handel's Messiah.

Adaptation of the play by Robert E. Sherwood. Dramatization of Lincoln's romance with Ann Rutledge and his relations with Mary Todd Lincoln.

A re-staging of the 1958 play, with Julie Harris reprising her role as an Irish religious nurse whose faith is tested by the deaths of her loved ones in the Irish rebellion.

Television adaptation of the remarkably long-running off-Broadway musical.

""Based on the book Painting as a pastime by Winston S. Churchill.""

First segment is the play of Amahl and the Three Kings who come to visit the newborn child in Bethlehem. Roddy McDowall hosts a delightful 10 minute special in which Christmas trees are decorated by celebrities are seen. Julie Harris explains why she has brownies on her tree and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale talks about his old-fashioned tree. Other celebrity trees on view are from Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Helena Rubenstein, Cecil Beaton and Maurice Evans.

The Magnificent Yankee is a 1965 biographical film in the Hallmark Hall of Fame television anthology series. The film was adapted by Robert Hartung from the Emmet Lavery play of the same title, which was in-turn adapted from the book Mr. Justice Holmes by Francis Biddle. The story examines the life of United States Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne won Emmy Awards for their performances. Noel Taylor received an Emmy Award nomination for his costume design, and Warren Clymer received an Emmy for scenic design.

Biography of the pioneering nurse Florence Nightingale.

Napoleon's last days of exile on the barren island of St. Helena.

Adaptation of the Broadway play by Lawrence and Lee. A young man, Bert Cates, is arrested in a small Bible Belt town for teaching the theory of Evolution in the public school. Two of the finest legal minds in the U.S. are called to the trial: Henry Drummond for the defense, and Matthew Harrison Brady for the prosecution. The trial proceeds on three levels, the guilt or innocence of Cates, the issue of the Bible vs. Darwin, and finally, the personal confrontation between Drummond and Brady.

Amahl, a crippled boy, and his poor mother are visited by the Three Wise Men, who stay the night, and are entertained by the villagers. During the night, Amahl's mother tries to steal their jewels, but is caught by the page. Amahl begs for her release, and is rewarded for his pains by being healed. He then leaves with the Three Wise Men.

""The 68th major production, and the 15th continuous Hallmark Hall of Fame season."" A depiction of Galileo's clash with the Catholic Church.

Adaptation of Anderson's Broadway play about the philosopher Socrates' clash with authority.

Noel Coward's classic comedy about a playwright researching the supernatural who inadvertently summons the ghost of his ex-wife.

In Berlin during 1926, a group of monarchist conspirators persuades an amnesiac girl to impersonate Anastasia, daughter of Czar Nicholas II, whose children were thought to have been killed in 1918 during the Russian Civil War. According to rumor, Anastasia survived - and will inherit the Czar's millions if she can prove her identity.

Historical drama about the troubled relationship between Queen Anne and the ambitious couple General John Churchill and his wife Sarah.

Based on the novel by John Hersey and the play by Paul Osborn. ""Gratefully dedicated to all veterans of all wars""

Adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw play which introduced Québec actress Genevieve Bujold to American television.

Adaptation of the Broadway play by Maxwell Anderson about the stormy relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Essex.

Despite a severe on-the-field injury, an aging quarterback refuses to give up his dream of returning to professional football.

Pinocchio is a 90-minute musical adaptation of Carlo Collodi's classic story. It aired on NBC on December 8, 1968 as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame series. Peter Noone, lead singer of Herman's Hermits, played Pinocchio and Burl Ives was cast as Mister Geppetto. Walter Marks wrote the songs, and the script was adapted by Ernest Kinoy.

A recovering alcoholic former schoolteacher is hired to tutor a retarded boy.

Adaptation of the Cold War thriller by Catherine Gaskin. Sally Devlin struggles to locate her father, an eminent author who has vanished near the Iron Curtain.

A Storm in Summer is a 1970 tv fim directed by Buzz Kulik.

The Hebrew judge Joseph of Arimathea and his son Jonathan are troubled by the Roman occupation of their land, Judea. Both have listened to the words of the prophet Jesus and Joseph sees the man of Nazareth as the Messiah, sent to give the people hope without stirring up revolution. Young Jonathan, filled with the same seething resentments as his friends, hears a different message. He interprets Jesus's words as a call to arms.

In 1969, Richard Chamberlain became the first American to play Hamlet in England since John Barrymore. This production is lavishly costumed in the style of Europe in the early 1800s, as well as being filmed at England's 600-year-old Raby Castle.

Two brothers, Victor and Walter, one was a doctor, one was a policeman, and they confront one another about the choices they made that have brought them to where they are. Men in middle age taking stock and facing life-long illusions, they speak intensely and finally, with honesty, about their motivations.

An irreverent Biblical retelling wherein the Gideon spends most of his time kvetching with the Angel of the Lord.

On the coast of North England, a shot, wounded snow goose creates a close relationship between a lonely man and a young woman when they take care of the helpless bird.

A Valentine's Day special interweaving sequences of young couples with concert footage of Bread, Helen Reddy, and Mac Davis performing at The Troubadour in Los Angeles.

Adaptation of the classic Broadway comedy about a gentle alchoholic who is accompanied everywhere by an invisible 6-foot rabbit named Harvey.

The Hands of Cormac Joyce is a 1972 telemovie.

A live comedy revue in which "Charles Schulz's little people philosophize on everything from Charlie Brown's disastrous baseball team to Snoopy's suppertime revels.

Adaptation of the novel by John Neufeld. Popular and intelligent teeenager Lisa Schilling succumbs to inexplicable and severe depression.

Adaptation of the Odets stage play. Story of a washed-up middle-aged actor who gets a big break to star in a play, and the relationship between the director of the play and the actor's wife.

Crown Matrimonia is a 1974 film written by Audrey Maas and Royce Ryton and directed by Alan Bridges.

The setting is a small Italian village - the story is of a small boy and his sick donkey. The boy believes that God can make his donkey well again and tries to take his donkey into the local church. When the priest refuses permission, the boy hitch-hikes to Rome and finally gains admission to the Vatican where a "higher authority" irons out his problems and sends a message to the priest that the donkey be allowed a brief interlude in the Church.

A middle-aged man and a married woman meet by chance and have a brief affair.

Based on Winston Churchill's memoirs, this historical drama documents the British leader's efforts to oppose the rising forces of Nazi Germany.

Dramatization of an English veterinarian's autobiography; set in Yorkshire in the 1930s.

Documents a tribute to Mr. Joyce C. Hall, Chairman, Hallmark Cards, Inc., and to the Hallmark hall of fame on the occasion of its 25th anniversary. Includes clips from eight Emmy award-winning Hallmark hall of fame programs (Little Moon of Alban, The Magnificent Yankee, The Snow Goose, Eagle in a Cage, Teacher, Teacher, Macbeth, Elizabeth the Queen, and A Storm in Summer).

A dramatization of the last years of a young man dying of leukemia.

Adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's stage play about the plight of the Continental Army in the winter of 1776-77.

Adaptation of the stage play by Norman Corwin which dramatizes the 1858 debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.

Julius Caesar (Alec Guinness) arrives in Egypt and attempts to settle the dispute over who should rule Egypt, Cleopatra (Genevieve Bujold) or her brother Ptolemy (Jolyon Bates), by having them rule jointly but the ambitious Cleopatra has other ideas. This adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw play lacks the lavishness of the better known 1945 film version. But the lack of pageantry allows more attention to Shaw's text without the distraction of spectacle. The director, James Cellan Jones, lets the story unfold simply so that the political maneuvers are at the forefront. Guinness plays Caesar with an air of resignation rather than power and his chemistry with Bujold is good. Bujold makes for a cunning, sexy Cleopatra with her impish, wicked grin. Though much of Shaw's play has been severely edited, it still makes for a satisfying production.

Documentary-style dramatization of the Potsdam Conference, based on the book Meeting at Potsdam by Charles L. Mee, Jr.

The story of famed evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, who in 1926 vanished from a California beach, setting off an extensive police search. Six weeks later she turned up in Mexico, claiming she had been kidnaped. But many, including her mother and the police, suspected Aimee staged her disappearance to conceal a tryst with a married man.

A beautiful girl agrees to marry a hideous, deformed beast and live in his castle in order to save her father's life.

Musical adaptation of the story of the boy who refuses to grow up.

The Last Hurrah is a 1977 TV film from the Hallmark Hall of Fame, based on the novel The Last Hurrah by Edwin O'Connor. It was directed by Vincent Sherman. The novel was previously adapted for a 1958 film of the same name, starring Spencer Tracy.

An suggestive take on the battle of Little Big Horn and General George Armstrong Custer's part in it, this is a combination of the known facts of the battle with fiction as to what if General Custer had survived the massacre.

A light-hearted Christmas special, based on fact, showing how members of a midwestern city's Jewish community help their Christian neighbors who otherwise would have to work on Christmas Eve. The situations in which many of the volunteers find themselves give them insight into their own lives and families and force them to do some re-evaluating of their relationships. In one way or another, their lives are changed.

A Brooklyn cab driver and his sophisticated female Manhattan passenger learn a surprising amount about each other.

Two loners on campus, an ancient history professor and her student, help each other emerge from their shells.

A disabled woman living in Baltimore who set up a baseball team of street kids to save them from juvenile delinquency.

Clarence Earl Gideon, a semi-literate drifter, is arrested for breaking into a pool room and for petty theft. When he asks the court to appoint a lawyer for his defense because he cannot afford one, his request is denied. Acting as his own lawyer, Gideon is convicted and sent to jail. While in prison, he begins a hand-written campaign directed to the U.S. Supreme Court, contending that every defendant is entitled to legal representation. The Court agrees to hear Gideon's case, and, in a landmark decision, rules in his favor.

A one-man show spanning the lifetime of Abraham Lincoln, from his turning against slavery as a young man through his reading of the Gettysburg Address.

Adaptation of the two-person stage play based on the correspondence between George Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell. Playwright George Bernard Shaw and actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell began exchanging letters in 1899, when Shaw was beginning to have success as a playwright and ""Mrs. Pat"" reigned in the English theater. Taken by her beauty and talent, the married Shaw ""fell head over heels in love"" and, in 1911, wrote ""Pygmalion"" with her in mind as Eliza Doolittle. Their preparations and heated rehearsals for that play dominate Act I of this one, which finds Mrs. Pat apprehensive about playing a teen-age flower girl and picky about her costar. ""If you attempt this play on the one-star system,"" retorts Shaw, ""nothing, not even my genius, can save you."" In the concluding act, their letters touch on World War I; their quarrels over her intention to publish the correspondence; and their disparate fortunes during the 1930s.

Casey Stengel earned a niche in baseball's Hall of Fame by managing the Yankees to 10 pennants and seven world series triumphs from 1949 to 1960. But it was his witty and baffling syntax that made him a favorite with sportswriters and fans. Bits of ""Stengelese"" highlight a monologue set at a 1969 banquet, where the ""Ol' Perfesser"" reminisces about his career. Among his topics: his great Yankee teams, his lovably pathetic Mets, and growing old (""most people my age are dead"").

In 1975, after 14 frustrating years teaching in public schools, Marva Collins opened the Westside Preparatory School — in her own home — on Chicago's depressed West Side. Hoping to create an educational environment where the basics came first (and frivolity was banished altogether), Collins faced problems from the outset: low enrollment, high bills, bureaucratic snafus, and, most daunting, the skepticism of her charges' parents. This presentation recounts the story of the school's trying first year, and along the way, profiles a singular teacher who tempers old-fashioned strictness with praise, patience, and inspiration.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1982 British-American TV movie, based on the Victor Hugo novel. It was directed by Michael Tuchner and Alan Hume, and produced by Norman Rosemont and Malcolm J. Christopher. It starred Anthony Hopkins, Derek Jacobi, Lesley-Anne Down and Sir John Gielgud. The film was produced as part of the long-running Hallmark Hall of Fame series.

A television version of the screenplay by Wilder and Kurnitz, adapted by Marcus, based on Agatha Christie's stage play. A phlegmatic London barrister defends one Leonard Vole, a ""nice, harmless chap"" who's on trial for the murder of a widow who had taken a shine to him. The circumstantial evidence against Vole is strong, especially since he's unemployed and stands to inherit a considerable sum from the victim. And to further complicate the defense, the only person who can provide an alibi is Vole's wife Christine, who has agreed to be a witness for the prosecution.

The movie follows the medical charts of Sam Alden, a spunky, personable 17-year-old from a close-knit family who is suddenly stricken with coughing spasms, cold sweats, and shortness of breath. His alarmed parents take him to an array of doctors for tests that lead to a dire diagnosis of a degenerative heart condition which could kill him within five years. Shocked and scared, and getting sicker all the time, Sam undergoes a transplant, then faces an even more grueling ordeal as doctors battle to keep his body from rejecting the new organ.

Adaptation of the novel by John Steinbeck.

The Master of Ballantrae is a 1984 tv movie written by William Bast and directed by Douglas Hickox.

Adaptation of La dame aux camelias by Alexandre Dumas fils. The story of the ill-fated love affair between the famous Parisian courtesan, Marguerite Gautier, and her young admirer, Armand Duval.

Adaptation of the novel by Alexandre Dumas. In 19th-century Corsica, the da Franchi twins are caught up in a centuries-old vendetta between their family and the de Guidicis. The swashbuckling Lucien wants to maintain the Corsican traditions, including the bloody vendetta. Louis, however, wants to change and goes to Paris to work laws to outlaw the vendetta. The feud leaves murder, strife, and broken hearts in its wake, until finally, after the tragic death of Louis in a duel, peace comes to the island.

Love Is Never Silent is a 1985 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie aired on CBS December 9, 1985 and stars Mare Winningham and Cloris Leachman. It is based on the novel by Joanne Greenberg.

Racial discrimination and a Vietnam War cover-up are at the center of an absorbing drama that plays as a mystery. Maj. Kendall Laird, a career Army man, is assigned to assist the parents of a black lieutenant, killed in Vietnam, in the burial of their son in his Georgia home town. However, the deceased is denied interment in a ""white only"" cemetery. To settle the matter without litigation, Laird resolves to convince the community that the lieutenant died a hero. So he seeks information from the slain officer's men, and learns that they have put him up for a Silver Star. Then he uncovers unsettling facts that may point to a ""fragging"": the killing of the lieutenant by his own troops.

Promise is a 1986 made-for-television movie directed by Glenn Jordan. PLOT: Promise represented the first of several momentous TV-movie teamings of James Garner and James Woods. Garner plays an affable middle-aged salesman. When his mother dies, Garner is compelled to fulfill his long-ago promise to her: to look after his schizophrenic younger brother Woods. What begins as a fitfully painful experience for both men culminates with an unexpected, powerful climax, predicated by a memory-laden fishing trip. Piper Laurie co-stars as an old flame of Garner who finds herself a compassionate spectator to the troubled and bizarrely touching relationship between the two long-estranged brothers. Written by Richard Friedenberg, The Promise premiered December 14, 1986. Emmy awards were bestowed upon James Woods, Piper Laurie, Richard Friedenberg, director Glenn Jordan, and the film itself.

Adaptation of the novel by Norma Levinson. After the death of her parents, Leah Lazenby, a Boston teacher of learning-impaired young people, seeks to supplement her modest income by turning the family homestead into a boarding house. She makes the parlor her living quarters and rents rooms to six tenants, who include a gentle classical cellist. Although Leah has ""a way with the wayward"" in her work, at home she's strictly a loner. Gradually, however, professional and personal crises draw her out of her shell and awaken her to the lives of her boarders.

Adaptation of the stage play by Hugh Whitemore. A middle-class homemaker becomes involved in a 1961 espionage investigation in her suburban London backyard. Straightforward yet reserved Barbara, sharing a quiet life with her loving husband and their teen-age daughter, is visited out of the blue by an intelligence agent who cites national security and sets up shop in the couple's bedroom to watch for a ""suspicious character"" seen in the vicinity. But the agent is really after the family's neighbors, one of whom is Barbara's very dear friend. As the intrigue intensifies, Barbara undergoes a crisis of conscience that tests her loyalties, her confidences, and her sense of ethics.

The Secret Garden is the 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV film adaptation of the novel The Secret Garden, aired on CBS November 30, 1987 and produced by Rosemont Productions Limited, who also produced Back to the Secret Garden. The movie starred Gennie James, Barret Oliver, Jadrien Steele, Billie Whitelaw, Derek Jacobi.

Foxfire is a 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie starring Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, and John Denver, based on the play of the same name. The movie aired on CBS on December 13, 1987. Tandy won an Emmy Award for her performance.

Adaptation of the novel by Harriet Doerr. A young American couple struggles to reopen the family copper mine in Mexico, and in so doing, shares a ""companionship with death"" with the inhabitants of a rural Mexican village.

April Morning is a 1988 drama, history and war film written by Howard Fast and James Lee Barrett and directed by Delbert Mann.

Adaptation of the novel by Graham Greene. Jean Louis Chavel, a well-to-do lawyer in Nazi-occupied France, is arbitrarily arrested and sent to prison. Once there, he is randomly selected for execution in retaliation for Resistance activities. Desperate to avoid the firing squad, Chavel offers all his possessions—including a chateau—to any prisoner who'll take his place. One man agrees, a sickly man named Michel, who wills Chavel's estate to his heirs. After the war, Chavel returns to his former home, now inhabited by Michel's mother and embittered sister Therese. Using an alias, Chavel hires on as a gardener and winds up falling for Therese. As their uneasy relationship develops, a mysterious man visits, claiming to be Jean Louis Chavel.

A series of seriocomic vignettes linked to the impact of World War II on a proud family and its town. Set in a southern hamlet between July 1944 and July 1945, the story revolves around the family's patriarch, Jake Tibbetts, the feisty publisher of the local newspaper, Jake's compassionate yet spirited wife, Pastine, their sensitive teenage grandson Lonnie, and Francine Tibbetts, the wife of Jake and Pastine's estranged son, who appears suddenly one hot summer day, unannounced, alone—and very pregnant.

The story of the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous. Bill Wilson, a good-time Charlie who returns home from World War I with a drinking problem, embarks on a Wall Street career, but jeopardizes his success with binges that become more and more frequent. When the stock market crashes in 1929, Wilson plunges into an alcoholic abyss that sorely tests his marriage and leaves him consumed with guilt and depression. Bill is powerless in his battle with the bottle until a spiritual experience in a detox ward and a friendship struck with a boozing surgeon instill in him new hope and purpose.

The Shell Seekers is a 1989 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie based on the 1987 novel The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher and starring Angela Lansbury. The movie aired on ABC on December 3, 1989; it was later reaired on CBS on January 31, 1993.

A female American paleontologist and a British miner, mistakenly issued permits for the same Kenya digging site, almost come to blows. But when they unite to help a Masai warrior fight exile from his tribe, they become drawn to each other.

Caroline? is a 1990 American drama film that aired on CBS on April 29, 1990. It's from the Hallmark Hall of Fame anthology program. The movie, based on E. L. Konigsburg's novel Father's Arcane Daughter, starred Stephanie Zimbalist, Pamela Reed, and George Grizzard. Directed by Joseph Sargent, it's runtime is 98 minutes.

Decoration Day is a 1990 film based on a novel by John William Corrington of the same title. The award-winning made-for-TV movie was directed by Robert Markowitz and filmed on location in Georgia.

Sarah, Plain and Tall is an American television film in the Hallmark Hall of Fame anthology series. It first aired in February 1991. It is the first of three installments in the film adaptation of Patricia MacLachlan's novel of the same name.

A small-town naif suspects that her visiting uncle is a notorious murderer.

Mary Lindell, an enobled Englishwoman estranged from her French husband but still living in Paris, maintains a regal lifestyle even after the invading German army takes over the city in 1940. Initially blasé about the occupation, Lindell is propelled out of her malaise by the plight of a downed British flier whom she secretly shelters, nurses back to health, then helps to escape. As word of her deed spreads, Lindell becomes a beacon that draws other entrapped Allies, as well as the Gestapo.

O Pioneers! is a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie based on the novel of the same title by Willa Cather. It originally aired in 1992 on CBS and stars Jessica Lange.

Miss Rose White is a television film adaptation of the 1985 Barbara Lebow play, A Shayna Maidel, starring Kyra Sedgwick. It first aired on April 26, 1992. The production received five Emmy Awards as well as the Humanitas Prize in the 90 minute category. Rose White is a modern young career woman in post-World War II New York City who has largely relegated her Jewish heritage to scrapbooks and memories. Born in Poland but fortunate enough to escape the country before the Nazi occupation and the Holocaust wiped out her family, she is stunned to learn her older sister somehow survived the horror and is coming to America. The sisters' reunion is complicated by Lusia's memories of her struggles to survive and the revelation of past family secrets.

World War II veterans unite against a corrupt mayor and his cronies as they fight to take back their Texas hometown.

Sequel to ""Sarah, Plain and Tall"": In 1912 Kansas, drought plagues Jacob and Sarah Witting and Jacob's children by his first marriage. As conditions worsen, the family suffers a calamity that marks a turning point for Sarah, who's harboring a secret from Jacob.

A take-charge U.S. Representative undertakes the rehabilitation of her daughter, who is a young widow, a new mother, and a cocaine addict.

A story about marital love, old age and death. Robert Samuel ('Mr. Sam') Peek, a sagacious and seasoned pecan tree grower from rural Georgia, has been married for the last 57 years or so to his college sweetheart, Cora. When she suddenly passes away, Sam becomes increasingly lonely--until he befriends a snow-white dog that strays onto the Peek property. People wonder if the animal is real or merely a figment of Mr. Sam's imagination. Then Mr. Sam and the dog take a fateful journey to a college reunion.

ACADEMY AWARD WINNER! According to Mark O'Brien, ""The two mythologies about disabled people break down to one: we can't do anything, or two: we can do everything. But the truth is, we're just human."" O'Brien was a frequently published journalist and poet, and a contributor to National Public Radio. He contracted polio in childhood and, due to post-polio syndrome, spent much of his life in an iron lung. Yet for more than forty years, he fought against illness, bureaucracy and society's conflicting perceptions of disability for his right to lead an independent life.Breathing Lessons breaks down barriers to understanding by presenting an honest and intimate portrait of a complex, intelligent, beautiful and interesting person, who happens to be disabled. Incorporating the vivid imagery of O'Brien's poetry, and his candid, wry and often profound reflections on work, sex, death and God, this provocative film asks: what makes a life worth living?

A Place for Annie is a 1994 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie that stars Sissy Spacek, Mary-Louise Parker and Joan Plowright. Directed by John Gray, the 191st presentation aired on the ABC network on May 1, 1994.

Adaptation of the classic novel by Thomas Hardy. Eustacia Vye is a willful, passionate enchantress whose desire to escape her lonely rustic life thrusts her into two doomed relationships.

Adaptation of the stage play by August Wilson. Set in 1936 Pittsburgh, the story centers on an ornately carved 80-year-old upright piano, a family heirloom co-owned by a proud widow and her forceful brother, Boy Willie. Boy Willie's determination to trade the piano for Mississippi farmland triggers an emotional battle.

Adaptation of Wilson's stage play. Geri Riordan is a teenage concert pianist of Vietnamese-American heritage who has been trained by her adoptive father. Sudden personal and professional tumult prompts Geri to visit her understanding aunt, who lives amid a California redwood forest that is also home to a troubled Vietnam veteran.

Journey is a 1995 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie that aired on CBS on December 10, 1995. The film starred Jason Robards, Brenda Fricker, and Meg Tilly.

The Boys Next Door is a 1996 television movie based on a play by Tom Griffin which was published in 1983 under the title Damaged Hearts, Broken Flowers and again in 1988 under the title The Boys Next Door. The movie was produced by Hallmark Entertainment as a Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie.

A close-knit Amish farming community in Iowa is plagued by a series of barn burnings. These crimes come under the investigation of a cagey FBI agent whose efforts to resolve the case hinge on an uneasy alliance with a candid Amish widow

Based on the novel ""Calm at Sunset, Calm at Dawn"" by Paul Watkins: James Pfeiffer disappoints his parents when he drops out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a fisherman, following in the footsteps of his dad and grandfather. James gets his chance when he saves the life of a seaman and the pair decide to become partners. But it's hardly smooth sailing; James must weather a tragedy, deal with a shocking secret about his father, and make a decision that might compromise his values.

The Summer of Ben Tyler is a 1996 television film directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman.

Adaptation of the short story by William Faulkner. When the flooded Mississippi River leaves a pregnant woman stranded, a gentle, taciturn convict is called upon to aid in the rescue effort. The inmate braves countless obstacles as the two travel down the ""Old Man,"" driven to fulfill his orders to get her back home—and his promise to return to prison.

Adaptation of the novel ""For the Roses"" by Julie Garwood. A group of New York orphans adopt an abandoned baby and go West, where their charge grows up to be a headstrong young woman with a restless spirit.

What the Deaf Man Heard is a 1997 Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie that aired on CBS television on November 23, 1997. It concerns Sammy, a boy who pretends to be deaf and mute, when in reality he can hear and speak perfectly well. The movie starred Matthew Modine and James Earl Jones.

Adaptation of the novel by Kaye Gibbons Ten-year-old Ellen's existence with her alcoholic father is bearable only because of the love of her gentle mother. When her mother dies, Ellen finds herself shuffled among cruel and selfish relatives, including her venomous grandmother. Through it all, though, Ellen remains resilient, drawing strength from a few friendships and a boundless supply of hope.

Adaptation of the science fiction short story by Jack Finney: Scotty Corrigan, an engaged thirty-something, purchases an antique desk and finds a letter written in 1863 by its original owner, Elizabeth Whitcomb. Intrigued by her wish for ""a love that burns like fire and moonlight,"" Scotty playfully ""answers"" the letter—and is astonished to receive a reply. The extraordinary correspondence continues, and Scotty starts to question his commitment to his fiancée. Then he discovers it's not too late to alter the course of Elizabeth's life, as well as his own.

An adaptation of the novel Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn: Gladwyn and Larry Ritchie lead a hard life raising palm trees on a farm in the Australian outback. They struggle daily with the elements—and the bank—to keep a roof over their heads and to feed their three children. Despite the hardships, they are a close-knit, happy family until one day when an unsettling letter arrives. Larry's first wife has died and his daughter Lara, 15, is coming from the city to live with the Ritchies. Gladwyn resists the idea of Lara joining the family. She fears this city girl may have a negative influence on her three children. Even more importantly, she worries that Lara's presence may rekindle memories in her husband's mind of his first wife and former life. When Lara arrives, she senses that she isn't welcome in the Ritchie home. As she tries to find a place in this new family, she finds comfort in the company of the stray Dingo dog which she names Thunderwith.

An adaptation of the novel by Anne Tyler: A family saga centering on the Bedloe family, newlyweds Danny and Lucy, and Danny's teenage brother Ian. Ian, plagued with doubts about Lucy's character, confronts Danny, which triggers a series of tragedies and an effort by Ian to seek redemption.

Adaptation of the stage play by Tom Ziegler. Down-to-earth widow Grace reluctantly agrees to share her country home with a hospice caregiver, a sophisticated ex-New Yorker whom Grace calls Glorie. Initially the relationship between the two women is strained, but as the drama unfolds, Grace and Glorie share reminiscences and regrets that bond them into a friendship based on mutual comforting and respect.

An adaptation of the novel by Barbara Esstman: Nora Mahler has a strong bond with her son Simon, but is not as close to her daughter or husband Neal. When Simon is killed in a riding accident, the family is torn apart. A grief-stricken Nora is initially hospitalized, but her mother brings her home to face her emotions and failing marriage. Neal, on the other hand, acts in the belief that the family needs a fresh start.

An adaptation of the novel by John B. Keane: In 1939 Ireland, a young man decides to lead a 40-mile cattle drive rather than sell his cattle to an unscrupulous local buyer.

Sarah and Jacob Witting are a hardy couple raising a family on a Kansas farm in 1918. Unexpectedly, they're visited by Jacob's father John, who deserted his son more than thirty years earlier and has returned to make amends—a task complicated by a fateful accident and the onslaught of a blizzard.

Adaptation of the novel by Marilyn Pappano: When a young woman's niece and nephew are threatened with foster care after her sister is hospitalized following yet another overdose, she flees with them to the sleepy town of Bethlehem just before Christmas, where a series of kindnesses and coincidences gives the trio a chance at happiness.

Adaptation of the novel ""Atticus"" by Ron Hansen. Atticus Cody is a rancher and widower on a sad mission in Mexico to claim the body of his son Scott, a troubled artist and probable suicide who felt responsible for the auto accident years earlier that took his mother's life. The unusual circumstances behind Scott's case raise Atticus's suspicions.

Adaptation of the novel ""Cupid and Diana"" by Christina Bartolomeo. A conventional dress-shop owner meets unconventional Mr. Right, but she's already engaged to someone else.

Based on the book ""Looking for Lost Bird"" by Yvette Melanson with Claire Safran: After the death of her adoptive parents, a woman raised in a Jewish family discovers that she is a Navajo Indian and journeys west to discover her blood relatives. She is warmly received, but dismayed when the tribe rejects her husband and children as outsiders.

An adaptation of the novel by Terry Kay: Two teenagers, one black, one white, are destined to bring change to their racially divided Georgia hometown in 1949. Luke is a dreamer who runs away with his more pragmatic best friend after reading about Huckleberry Finn's riverboat journey. The fun-filled adventure quickly turns into a frightful mystery when the boys stumble upon the bones of three murdered men. As the townspeople scurry to protect themselves from a legendary serial killer named Pegleg, their new sheriff aims to bring justice to the village.

1960s dreamer Hubert T. Lee moves his wife Edna and two children to Florida, where he builds the world's largest drive-in right on the beach—directly across the street from a funeral home. The noisy establishment is a hit with locals, but infuriates funeral director Turner Knight. The animosity is further complicated by a growing friendship between Knight and Edna, and the budding romance between Lee's son and Knight's daughter.

A woman is abandoned by her newlywed husband when he learns that their unborn child will be born with genetic abnormalities.

In Love and War is a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie, directed by John Kent Harrison. It is based on the book Love and War in the Apennines by Eric Newby. It was filmed in Italy and stars Callum Blue and Barbora Bobulova. The presentation aired on CBS on November 18, 2001.

An Irish fisherman mourning his dead wife falls in love with a woman who turns out to be a silkie, a supernatural being who is a woman on land and a seal in the ocean.

The poignant real-life story of two sisters, Christine and Judy, and their journey of discovery and understanding. Christine, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, yearns for independence and fulfillment of an ordinary life, but must rely on others for support. When Judy suddenly becomes responsible for her sister's care, her quiet world is turned upside down. As the two sisters struggle to find common ground, they forge a strong, loving relationship and accept one another.

As a family court judge, Natalie Britain hears evidence, searches for the truth, and makes life-altering decisions affecting hundreds of children and their families. But Natalie Britain has her own secret involving her own child that has haunted her every day for 12 years. The then-unmarried Natalie thought the child she gave birth to was put up for adoption. He wasn't. Little John (""L.J."" for short) was lovingly raised on a Texas farm by Natalie's estranged father, John. Now, with John in failing health, L.J. suddenly enters Natalie's well-ordered life. Forced to reassess all her accomplishments of the past 12 years, Natalie must now confront the secrets that have been hidden behind the glittering surface of her life.

Adaptation of the novel by Richard Paul Evans: Michael Keddington has had more than his share of tough breaks. Just when he's about to turn his life around, he could lose the love of his life, Faye, who is about to head across the country to medical school. It's then that Michael meets the prickly but deeply caring Esther where he works. The two slowly earn each other's friendship and trust. By sharing with Michael her own story of thwarted love, Esther teaches her young friend an invaluable lesson about not giving up easily in the quest for both real love and a fulfilling life.

Adaptation of the novel ""Girl in Hyacinth Blue"" by Susan Vreeland. For generations, a lost Vermeer painting has passed between owners, changing the fate of all who have possessed it...whether bought in passion, sold in desperation or stolen in greed. An eccentric school teacher, who secretly possesses the painting today, has devoted her life to researching its history. When she decides to share the story of the painting with a fellow teacher, this 300-year-old mystery begins to unravel.

Adaptation of the semi-autobigraphical novel by John Grisham, who narrates. The 1950s are seen through the eyes of a young boy who is part of a struggling extended-family of cotton farmers during an especially trying harvest season in the Arkansas Delta. Ten-year-old Luke Chandler has happily lived his life with his grandfather, Pappy Chandler, his grandmother, Gran, his father, Jesse, and his mother, Kathleen, in a small farmhouse in the cotton fields. This particular harvest season ends up becoming a defining time for Luke and his loving family, as they try to earn their meager annual income while attempting to co-exist with their sometimes hot-headed migrant worker boarders. (CBS)

Twenty-five years later, Terry returns to his hometown in Maine. His father has died, and he must face the truth about the anger he has felt toward his father and aspects of his father's character that he hadn't noticed when he was a young man. He also learns more about the Wentworth family, whose father, Charles, was driving and lost his own family after the car wreck. The turning point occurs when Terry learns that Katherine Wentworth, the daughter of the family on that long-ago Christmas Eve, is coming back to the family seaside "cottage" for the first time.

The Blackwater Lightship is a 2004 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie adaptation of the novel The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín. It aired on CBS on February 4, 2004. The movie stars Angela Lansbury, Gina McKee, Sam Robards, Dianne Weist, and Keith McErlean. Lansbury received an Emmy nomination for it in 2004.

Adaptation of the novel by Kent Haruf. Story about a dedicated school teacher and his adjustment to life as a single father and the emotional growth and changes that occur over a year's time in the lives of eight very different people who inhabit a small town in rural Colorado.

Adaptation of the novel by Anne Tyler. Since her husband's death after only six years of marriage, Rebecca has single-handedly raised his ever-challenging and now adult daughters, Nono, Biddy, and Patch, as well as one of her own, Min Foo. Rebecca also inherited her husband's uncle, 99-year-old Poppy, a crotchety old man whose total focus is his upcoming 100th birthday. A party planner by trade, Rebecca is always cheerful and upbeat, but even after many, many years, she's still not really sure about her standing in this bizarre family. As she questions how her life might have been different if she hadn't jilted her former boyfriend Will for her husband, Rebecca decides to contact him. Seeing Will, now a divorced college professor living a structured life, only adds to Rebecca's dilemma. As her family life continues to swirl around her, Rebecca begins to understand how much they rely on her and, in their own unique way, truly appreciate her.

Livy Dunne, who becomes pregnant during World War II. Her stern father sends her away, into a marriage of convenience with a lonely farmer, Ray Singleton, in tiny Wilson, Colo. Initially, Livy and Ray are wary of each other. Worldly Livy is bored by Ray and the hardscrabble life he leads

The story of two sisters – Beth and Rachel – who live very different lives. Rachel is a successful, driven fashion photographer in New York City. Beth who is develop mentally challenged, spends her days riding public buses. After the death of their father, Rachel comes home to be with her sister and the two literally butt heads.

Silver Bells is a 2005 television film, starring Anne Heche and Tate Donovan. It was produced by Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions for their made-for-television film series and was based on the novel of the same name by Luanne Rice. At Christmastime, a single dad finds love with a lonely widow when he travels to New York City to sell Christmas trees and find his runaway son.

Based on the experiences of Pat Conroy as a young, idealistic and unconventional teacher who strives to bring literacy, knowledge and self-respect to the predominantly poor black children living on a small isolated island off the coast of South Carolina.

Vicki Miller is a thirty-something Houston writer living a well-ordered and purposefully childless life when her sixteen-year-old nephew Bobby arrives from Louisiana on her doorstep. The awkward and morbidly troubled young man is seeking deliverance from his chaotic and abusive home and an emotional tug-of-war between Vicki’s unstable younger brother and his wife. A virtual stranger to Bobby, Vicki is no stranger to the family nightmare from which Bobby is fleeing. She left it behind years ago to retreat, like her nephew, into her own cocoon. For Vicki to open her door to Bobby means opening a door to her own past, her own pain, and the secrets that have shadowed her. In a moment of compassion, Vicki lets Bobby in.

Candles on Bay Street is a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie starring Alicia Silverstone as a single mother who returns to her hometown after a lengthy absence.

A World War II veteran returns home at the end of the war to find his parents have died, his brother is in prison and the family farm has been sold. Discouraged he wanders the rural roads of the South in search of a place he can call home. He is led by a mysterious stranger to a place the stranger calls 'The Valley of Light'. There he meets and befriends a mute boy named Matthew and a widow named Eleanor.

Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness is a 2007 TV film directed by John Kent Harrison.

Story of a twelve year old foster child who has been to so many homes she longs for a family of her own. She winds up at the home of a retired schoolteacher who opens her heart and home to Hollis and the two share a Christmas adventure and learns that miracles do happen.

A small-town girl takes a job in Chicago to escape memories of a tragic accident she blames herself for. She goes home to try and heal but her secrets continue to haunt her. Sarah decides to withhold the true reason for her homecoming after an old conflict resurfaces during an uncomfortable encounter with Lorraine Morrisey.

Dan is married to his lovely wife Laura who is deaf and when their son Adam loses his hearing at age six, Dan pursues the possibility of a cochlear implant for his boy a divisive wedge is driven between husband and wife that threatens to shatter their marriage.

The story of a young man who overcomes the odds and being diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome to become a teacher.

Loving Leah is a television movie that aired on CBS as a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie on January 25, 2009. The film is directed by Jeff Bleckner and stars Adam Kaufman as an unobservant Jewish bachelor who feels compelled to marry his observant rabbi brother's widow, Leah to honor him via the ancient Jewish custom of yibbum. Loving Leah began as a play by Pnenah Goldstein and was brought to Hallmark by Ricki Lake, who also appears in a minor role in the film. Goldstein also wrote the screenplay and "saw it in a way like Moonstruck or Crossing Delancey. To prepare for her role of widow in the Hasidic community, lead actress Lauren Ambrose spent time with women of the close-knit community.

The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler is a 2009 television film directed by John Kent Harrison. The film is a co-production between United States and Poland companies. The teleplay by Harrison and Lawrence John Spagnola, based on the 2005 biography The Mother of the Holocaust Children by Anna Mieszkowska, focuses on Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who smuggled approximately 2,500 Jewish children to safety during World War II. The Hallmark Hall of Fame production, which was filmed on location in Riga, Latvia, was broadcast by CBS on April 19, 2009, and released to DVD in Hallmark Gold Crown stores in early June of that year.

On a Kansas farm a developmentally challenged young man has a close attachment with animals. When the local shelter is looking for a foster family to look after a dog, he eagerly signs up.

Based on the true story of the enduring but troubled love between Lois Wilson, co-founder of Al-Anon, and her alcoholic husband Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

A father concerned about his daughter's suffering health and subsequent treatments tries to change the seasons so that his daughter can experience one day of complete happiness. When the neighbor figures out what his plans are everyone pitches in to help make that dream come true.

During World War II, Navy Lt. Neil Thomas bids his pregnant young wife, Caroline, farewell at Union Station. But even before their son is born, Neil's plane goes down in the Pacific and he's declared missing in action. Caroline is devastated. Neil was Caroline's one great love... and for the next 65 years Caroline (Betty White) returns to Union Station on the anniversary of the day they said goodbye forever (Valentine's Day), to salute the memory of her brave and beloved husband. Eventually, a TV journalist (Jennifer Love Hewitt) learns of the touching story and sets out to investigate just what happened to Neil during the war. Neil and Caroline's grandson encourages his initially-reluctant grandmother to cooperate; the TV reporter and the grandson fall in love themselves.

The story takes place in 1987 and follows a young teacher and mother of two who, fresh from college, ends up teaching homeless children at a school without a name. With the support of her husband, she overcomes fears and prejudice to give these children the education they deserve.

Cleric Henry Covington and Rabbi Albert Lewis profoundly affect the life of writer Mitch Albom. Based on a book by Mitch Albom.