ABC SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE: OPRAH WINFREY PRESENTS: BEFORE WOMEN HAD WINGS (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television movie concerns one family's struggles with alcoholism and abuse -- and one woman's personal intervention that allows the family a chance to heal. Glory Marie and Billy Jackson live in a small Florida town with their two daughters, Phoebe and Bird. Although Glory and Billy love each other and their daughters, they are caught in a cycle of abuse that eventually leads to Billy's suicide. After Billy's death, Glory Marie takes her daughters to Tampa to seek their fortune and escape the sadness and shame that follows them in their hometown. Glory is fortunate to find an inexpensive trailer home and a job in the offices of the trailer park; and she and the girls are optimistic about their future. However, during the nights she is tormented by grief for her dead husband, and during the days she struggles to make ends meet. She tries to soothe her stress with alcohol, but more and more she finds herself overwhelmed by her problems. Her eldest child, Hank, comes to visit the family in their new Tampa home, and for a while he provides them with a needed burst of energy; but when Hank returns to college, the household sinks back into gloom. Meanwhile, as they settle into their new life, Phoebe and Bird both make friends at their trailer park. Phoebe finds romance with the landlord's son, L.J., and Bird becomes acquainted with a mysterious woman, Miss Zora, who lives alone in a nearby cottage. Glory Marie is suspicious of Miss Zora because she lives alone with no apparent means of financial support, but Bird sneaks over to see Miss Zora as often as she can. Phoebe and Bird's relationships with L.J. and Zora become an important source of emotional support to them when Glory Marie's pent up feelings, aggravated by her heavy drinking, cause her to lash out at her daughters, both verbally and physically. By the time Christmas comes, the girls admit to Hank that they are scared of their mother, although the family makes one last effort to put on a good face. The situation comes to a climax soon after Glory Marie finds a Christmas card that Bird made for Zora. She beats Bird so badly that Zora is forced to step in order to protect the girls's lives. Zora takes Glory Marie aside and explains her own past, which has motivated her to take a serious interest in the Jackson family. Fortunately, Glory Marie realizes that she has reached the end of her rope, and that she has to make some changes to save her girls from any further pain. The two women convene one night and come up with a solution that will give the girls some peace, while also allowing both women to confront their own demons. Includes commercials, promos, and public service announcements. Includes commercials with Jane Seymour for Clairol, Vanessa Williams for L'Oreal, Kim Alexis for Monistat, Phylicia Rashad for Pop-Secret, and a public service announcement with Vikki Carr for the National Hispanic Leadership Initiative on Cancer.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: November 2, 1997 Sunday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:56:45
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:51571
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Child abuse; Alcoholism; Drama
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1997
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Brooks Brothers eye wear and Lenscrafters optometrists
- TV - Commercials - Burger King restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Clairol Loving Care hair color
- TV - Commercials - DirecTV television service
- TV - Commercials - Ethan Allen furniture
- TV - Commercials - Fannie Mae Foundation home loans
- TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Grape-Nuts cereal
- TV - Commercials - JC Penney stores
- TV - Commercials - Lubriderm lotion
- TV - Commercials - LÕOreal facial creme
- TV - Commercials - LÕeggs pantyhose
- TV - Commercials - Maxwell House coffee
- TV - Commercials - McDonaldÕs restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Monistat 3 yeast infection treatment
- TV - Commercials - Oil of Olay body wash
- TV - Commercials - Oral B toothbrushes
- TV - Commercials - Payless Shoe Source shoe stores
- TV - Commercials - Philips Magnavox car navigation system
- TV - Commercials - Playtex brassieres
- TV - Commercials - Pop-Secret microwave popcorn
- TV - Commercials - Red Lobster restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Sears Auto Center and Michelin tires
- TV - Commercials - Sears Portrait Studio
- TV - Commercials - Sprint communications
- TV - Commercials - Suave hair care products
- TV - Commercials - Sudafed cold medicine
- TV - Commercials - Tropicana juices
- TV - Commercials - US Postal Service
- TV - Commercials - VictoriaÕs Secret lingerie
- TV - Commercials - ÒEveÕs BayouÓ (feature film)
- TV - Commercials - ÒMidnight in the Garden of Good and EvilÓ (feature film)
- TV - Commercials - ÒOne Night StandÓ (feature film)
- TV - PSA - ChildhelpÕs National Child Abuse Hotline
- TV - PSA - National Hispanic Leadership Initiative on Cancer
- TV - PSA - The Steel Alliance
- TV - Promos - "ABC World News Tonight With Peter Jennings"
- TV - Promos - Ò20/20Ó
- TV - Promos - ÒDharma & GregÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒHiller and DillerÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒHome ImprovementÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒInto Thin AirÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒMedusaÕs ChildÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒMonday Night FootballÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒNYPD BlueÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒOliver TwistÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒOver the TopÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒPrime TimeÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒSoul ManÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒSpin CityÓ
- TV - Promos - ÒThe Drew Carey ShowÓ
CREDITS
- Kate Forte … Executive Producer
- Jay Benson … Producer
- Lloyd Kramer … Director
- Connie May Fowler … Writer, Based on the novel by
- Anton Sanko … Music by
- Ellen Barkin … Cast, Glory Marie Jackson
- Oprah Winfrey … Cast, Miss Zora
- Tina Majorino … Cast, Bird Jackson
- Julia Stiles … Cast, Phoebe Jackson
- Burt Young … Cast, Mr. Ippolito
- John Savage … Cast, Billy Jackson
- William Lee Scott … Cast, Hank
- Louis Crugnali … Cast, L.J. Ippolito
- David Hart … Cast, the Sheriff