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Thora Birch (American Beauty) is Liz Murray: homeless at 15, Harvard undergrad at 19. Based on a true story, the Lifetime movie begins when her mother, Jean (Kelly Lynch), a schizophrenic with a substance abuse problem, is placed in a mental institution. Liz and her sister are left with their father, Peter, who is also a drug addict. When Jean returns two years later, she's clean, but has AIDS (and will soon start drinking again). When Peter falls behind on the rent, they lose their apartment. He moves into a shelter, the rest move in with Jean's abusive father. Liz hits the streets soon afterwards. Once on her own, she gets serious about her studies and her hard work eventually pays off. Homeless to Harvard earned three Emmy nominations, including one for Birch, while Lynch (Drugstore Cowboy) is just as believable as her kindhearted mess of a mother. --Kathleen C. Fennessy ... Read more

Description

The American West has produced more than its share of legends, but none greater than the true-life story of Sam Houston.SAM ELLIOTT is the frontier hero and statesman whose bravery and vision led to the creation of…Texas!1829 - Sam Houston's career as the popular governor of Tennessee ends in disgrace and heartbreak.He treks back to the happy place of his boyhood among the Cherokee Indians.Houston finds love with a part-Cherokee (DEVON ERICSON) and honor as he negotiates peace among warring tribes.Yet the U.S. Government destroys his triumph by coldly seizing the Cherokee land.In despair, he heads up to the Mexican territory of Texas to join his old friend Jim Bowie (MICHAEL BECK) in an epic fight for the liberation of what will one day be the state of Texas.A star-studded cast including JAMES STEPHENS as Stephen Austin recreate a pivotal crossroads of the United States...when Sam Houston has "GONE TO TEXAS." ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Worth Watching
I have never been much of a history buff, but lately Texas History has become a passion of mine.

I thought this movie had some outstanding acting (with the exception of Sam Houston's part Cherokee wife) and told a story that you rarely get to see in such honesty. Watching previous accounts of the battle at the Alamo between Santa Ana and General Travis...one might be led to believe that Houston was a coward for not going to go help them fight. But watching this movie, and reading more about what he did, you understand his reasons for refusing..and you find a new found respect for the man. Well, at least I did. Very well done and very informative! I give it an enthusiastic two thumbs up!

God & Texas...and Sam Houston
This made for TV movie is a decent attempt to portray one of the central figures in the Texas Revolution and the subsequent history of Texas. Told from the perspective of Sam Houston, the story begins with a cameo of Houston's election as Govenor of Tennessee and a very brief explanation of his subsequent journey to Texas on the eve of revolution.

The history portrayed is largely correct, and the scenes of battle (at the Alamo and at San Jacinto) are carefully portrayed and present viewpoints and information rarely seen elsewhere. I would like to have seen Sam Elliot shave off his famous moustache for the film, but I guess I can overlook that. As one of the many Jacksonian era living history reenactors whose time, effort, and presence made the movie, and especially the battle scenes, more accurate and memorable, I am somewhat prejudiced about the film's merits. Still, viewed from a historical perspective, it gives a good overview of the passions and politics that forged the Republic of Texas. If you want to learn something about the way Texas became an independent Republic, this movie beats reading almost any single account of the story. There are a few glaring flaws in the movie, but they pale in comparison to the overall product. Academy Award material? No, but a long way from boring.

"REMEMBER THE ALAMO!"
"Gone to Texas" is one of those films that resonate with truth. Sam Elliott is one of the great actors of our time, and his portrayal of Sam Houston is incredible! A fine supporting cast, and a brilliant recreation of the battle of San Jacinto! This is a movie worth owning! An awesome made-for-television historical epic! Grade: A+

Slow moving Sam Houston autobiography
Gone to Texas is a good TV movie about the life of Sam Houston. It follows Houston from his days as the Governor of Tennessee all the way through to his time as the commander of the army during the Texas War for Independence. Interweaved through it all is depictions of the fall of the Alamo, the Goliad massacre, and also the government convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos. This is also one of the only movies to show the taking of San Antonio by the Texans three months before the siege of the Alamo.

This may not be very interesting to people who do not already know something about Houston or at least some background about the time. Sam Elliott is pretty good as Sam Houston with Michael Beck giving a decent performance as the knife fighter Jim Bowie. There is a very good presentation of the battle for San Jacinto as well. Interesting movie which does take a while to get going.

POOR, POOR, and POOR
Badly filmed, badly written, and the editing was beyond bad. Sam Elliot should be ashamed of himself for getting involved with this turkey. Do yourself a big favor pass on this one. ... Read more

Description

Featuring Meryl Streep, John Lithgow, and Mary Beth Hurt in one of their earliest television appearances, this 1895 thriller by William Gillette tells the tale of a Union spy working to seize control of the telegraph office in Richmond, Virginia in 1864. Posing as a wounded Confederate captain named Thorne, the spy's false orders to a Confederate Army commander raise the suspicions of a southern agent, who uses a local girl in love with Thorne as his reluctant accomplice to set a trap. "...more turns then a corps de ballet in frenzied heat." --The New York Times ... Read more

Description

The title for this play is taken from a little known nursery rhyme, which involves a game between mother and child. The drama opens in the elegant reception room of a clinic where five women await a first reunion with their children from who they have been separated for two months. As the scene proceeds, their discomfort escalates; the tension, now palpable, suggest there are more complicated issues at play. It seems the children have been participants in an unusual experiment - never fully revealed. The women continue to wait...collective pawns in a situation over which they have no control. Their personal reactions to the stress reveal much about their characters. By Marsha Sheiness. ... Read more

Description

Set in a post-Stalinist Russian synagogue on the eve of an appearance by a Western actring troupe, Elie Wiesel's play has been described as a cry of anguish about the collective guilt of"the Silent". Stars Dianne Wiest, Robert Prosky,Joseph Wiseman. ... Read more