''The Lives of Jenny Dolan'' is a 1975
made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
from producer
Ross Hunter. It was Hunter's first work for TV.
["The 'Ross Hunter touch'" by Arthur Unger. ''The Christian Science Monitor'' 23 Oct 1975: 19.]
It was the unsold
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
for a television series.
Plot
A newspaper reporter is jeopardized by her investigation of an assassination.
Cast
*
Shirley Jones
Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American actress and singer. In her six decades in show business, she has starred as wholesome characters in a number of musical films, such as '' Oklahoma!'' (1955), ''Carousel'' (1956), and ''The M ...
as Jenny Dolan
*
Stephen Boyd
Stephen Boyd (born William Millar; 4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977) was a Northern Irish actor. He appeared in some 60 films, most notably as the villainous Messala in '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), a role that earned him the Golden Globe Award for Bes ...
as Joe Rossiter
*
Lynn Carlin
Mary Lynn Carlin (née Reynolds) is an American former actress. She is best known for her debut role in the film ''Faces'' (1968), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award.
Life and career
She was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of so ...
as Nancy Royce
*
James Darren
James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936) known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in fi ...
as Orlando
*
Farley Granger
Farley Earle Granger Jr. (July 1, 1925 – March 27, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his two collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock: ''Rope'' in 1948 and '' Strangers on a Train'' in 1951.
Granger was first noticed in a small ...
as David Ames
*
George Grizzard
George Cooper Grizzard Jr. (April 1, 1928 – October 2, 2007) was an American stage, television, and film actor. He was the recipient of a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award, among other accolades.
Life and career
Grizzard ...
as Ralph Stantlow
*
David Hedison
Albert David Hedison Jr. (May 20, 1927 – July 18, 2019) was an American film, television, and stage actor. He was billed as Al Hedison in his early film work until 1959 when he was cast in the role of Victor Sebastian in the short-lived espion ...
as Dr. Wes Dolan
*
Stephen McNally
Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and othe ...
as Lt. Nesbitt
*
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (20 ...
- Saunders
*
Pernell Roberts
Pernell Elven Roberts Jr. (May 18, 1928 – January 24, 2010) was an American stage, film, and television actor, activist, and singer. In addition to guest-starring in over 60 television series, he was best known for his roles as Ben Cartw ...
as Camera Shop Proprietor
*
Percy Rodrigues
Percy Rodriguez (born Percy Rodrigues; June 13, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was a Canadian actor who appeared in many television shows and films from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was of Afro-Portuguese heritage and was born in the Saint-Henri neig ...
as Dr. Mallen
*
Collin Wilcox as Mrs. Owens
*
Dana Wynter
Dana Wynter (born Dagmar Winter; 8 June 19315 May 2011) was a German-born British actress, who was raised in the United Kingdom and southern Africa. She appeared in film and television for more than 40 years, beginning in the 1950s. Her best-know ...
as Andrea Hardesty
*
Alan Oppenheimer
Alan Oppenheimer (born April 23, 1930) is an American actor. He has performed numerous roles on live action television since the 1960s, and he has had an active career doing voice work since the 1970s.
Early life
Oppenheimer was born in New Yor ...
as Springfield
Reception
Synopsis from ''Modcinema'':
Looking like a million dollars in a series of fabulous outfits, Shirley Jones plays Jenny Dolan, an ex-investigative reporter. The widow of a wealthy businessman, Jenny suspects her husband met with foul play, and returns to reporting to prove her theory. She uncovers a political assassination plot, but never does solve her husband's murder… because this made-for-TV movie was the pilot for an unsold series, in which Jenny would have spent each week trying to get at the truth. She also would have gone from one exotic foreign locale to another, with an expensive change of wardrobe for each occasion. It should come as no surprise that ''Lives of Jenny Dolan'' was the first TV project of famed "glamour film" producer Ross Hunter.
References
External links
*
''The Lives of Jenny Dolan''at
TCMDB
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...
1975 television films
1975 films
Films about journalism
Films produced by Ross Hunter
NBC network original films
Films directed by Jerry Jameson
{{US-tv-film-stub