''Stone Pillow'' is a 1985 American

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 ...

directed by George Schaefer and written by Rose Leiman Goldemberg. It starred

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...

, in an attempt to make a dramatic "breakout" from her years in comedy, portraying an older homeless woman with few resources and even fewer options.

Plot

Carrie Lange has just begun her career in social work. She wants to make a difference but must first learn what life is really like for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

's homeless. She meets an elderly woman named Florabelle, who makes it known she does not want company or help. Equipped with the precious cart that contains all of her belongings, Flora takes care of herself on the streets of Manhattan. Carrie wins Flora's trust after saving her cart. Flora takes her for a runaway, and Carrie plays along as Flora finds her the best food and warmest places the streets have to offer. Flora even divulges painful memories about her past life. They go to Grand Central Terminal for the night, but are separated after the police throw everyone out. Flora looks for Carrie at a shelter and is stunned to find her working there. She feels she has been betrayed. Against her will, Flora is shuttled off to a woman's shelter in Brooklyn, where she is treated poorly, and then must find her way back to Manhattan. Finding compassion difficult to come by even in those within her profession, Carrie decides she can make a difference one person at a time. Finally realizing she cannot go on living the way she does, Flora accepts Carrie's helping hand. Through Carrie's intervention, for the first time in years, Flora has a place to call home.

Cast

as Florabelle *

Daphne Zuniga Daphne Eurydice Zuniga (; born October 28, 1962) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1982 slasher film '' The Dorm That Dripped Blood'' (1982) at the age of 19, followed by a lead role in another slasher film '' The Initiation ...

as Carrie Lange * William Converse-Roberts as Max *

Stephen Lang Stephen Lang (born July 11, 1952) is an American actor. He is known for roles in films including '' Manhunter'' (1986), '' Gettysburg'', '' Tombstone'' (both 1993), '' Gods and Generals'' (2003), '' Public Enemies'' (2009), ''Conan the Barbaria ...

as Tim * Susan Batson as Ruby * Anna Maria Horsford as Collins * Stefan Schnabel as Mr. Berman *

Rebecca Schull Rebecca Anna Schull (née Wattenberg; born February 22, 1929) is an American stage, film and television actress, best known for her role as Fay Cochran in the NBC sitcom ''Wings'' (1990–1997). Life and career Schull was born in New York City, ...

as Mrs. Nelson * Imogene Bliss as Violet

Reception

The movie was broadcast on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in November 1985. The film received rather mixed reviews, but was a ratings success. The telecast ranked 9th out of 68 programs airing that week, and brought in a 23.3 rating and a 33 share. The success of the film led Ball to make one last attempt to return to her comedy roots with '' Life with Lucy'' the next year. John J. O'Connor, in his review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', wrote: " 'Stone Pillow' is a carefully contrived concoction, earnest but not above being cute and nearly outrageous in its determination to jerk a few tears. Accepted on that level, the exercise works reasonably well.... Miss Ball is in total control, from the opening scene in which, emerging from a cocoon bed of green plastic garbage bags, she takes one look at the world and proclaims, 'Well, I'm still here.'""''Stone Pillow'' Listing"
Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

References

External links

* {{George Schaefer 1985 television films 1985 films 1985 drama films American drama films Films about homelessness CBS network films Films directed by George Schaefer Films scored by Georges Delerue Films set in New York City 1980s American films