''The Last Best Year'' is a 1990 American made-for-television

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- ...

starring

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and '' The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whi ...

and Bernadette Peters concerning a lonely woman who discovers that she has a terminal illness. It originally premiered on ABC on November 4, 1990.

Plot summary

Jane (Bernadette Peters) visits a doctor (Brian Bedford) after becoming ill during a business trip. She is told that she has a terminal illness and is referred to a psychologist, Wendy Haller (Mary Tyler Moore), to help her in dealing with the emotional aspects of the illness. Jane, although successful at business, leads a solitary life except for occasional times she spends with her married lover, Jerry, who leaves her during her crisis. Reluctant to open herself emotionally at first, she soon warms to Wendy. Jane makes a last trip to visit her beloved Aunt Lizzie (Carmen Mathews). Jane finally faces the secret she has been hiding for years, that she gave her infant son up for adoption. As she makes peace with guilt from her troubled past and comes to terms with her fate she gains loving support from Aunt Lizzie, Wendy, and Amy and Peter, her co-workers. She returns to the faith she had turned from and makes contact with her grown son. Wendy, also, has had a troubled past and, through her relationship with Jane, resolves her own issues, especially with her mother Anne.

Cast

as Wendy Haller * Bernadette Peters as Jane Murray *

Brian Bedford Brian Bedford (16 February 1935 – 13 January 2016) was an English actor. He appeared in film and on stage, and was an actor-director of Shakespeare productions. Bedford was nominated for seven Tony Awards for his theatrical work. He served ...

as Dr. Castle *

Carmen Mathews Carmen Sylvia Mathews (May 8, 1911 – August 31, 1995) was an American actress and environmentalist. Biography Mathews was born in Philadelphia. She studied first at Bennett Junior College and then in London at the Royal Academy of Dram ...

as Aunt Lizzie *

Kate Reid Daphne Katherine Reid (4 November 1930 – 27 March 1993) was an English-born Canadian stage, film, and television actress. She played more than one thousand roles, most notably onstage in '' Death of a Salesman'', in the 1980 film ''Atlantic C ...

as Sister Mary Rose *

Kenneth Welsh Kenneth Welsh, (March 30, 1942 – May 5, 2022) was a Canadian film and television actor. He was best known as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle in ''Twin Peaks'', for his roles in the films '' The Day After Tomorrow'', ''Adoration'', '' S ...

as Jerry * Erika Alexander as Amy *

Dorothy McGuire Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...

as Anne *

Lawrence Dane Lawrence Joseph Zahab (April 3, 1937 – March 21, 2022), known professionally as Lawrence Dane, was a Canadian actor and film producer, best known for his role as Lt. Preston in ''Bride of Chucky''. Life and career Born in Masson, Quebec, Dane ...

as John Dennis * Michael Hogan as Billy Haller * Albert Schultz as Peter Hamm * Bathsheba Garnett as Mrs. Morton * Michael J. Reynolds as Wisnovsky

Production

The story in ''The Last Best Year'' is based on the experiences of the executive producer, Victoria Riskin, wife of the writer David Rintels. Peters previously worked with the director John Erman on her feature film debut, '' Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies'', and the television movie, ''

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

''. Erman suggested Peters for the film.Cerone, Danie
"The Peters Principle"
'Los Angeles Times'', November 4, 1990 Riskin said of Moore and Peters "Some people may think Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters...this movie is going to be a laugh a minute. But they're brilliant dramatic actresses."

Responses

John J. O'Connor wrote in his ''New York Times'' review: "What takes place is that rare occurrence in films of any sort-a female bonding...Ms. Moore and Ms. Peters give marvelously restrained and touching performances."O'Connor, Joh

'New York Times'', November 4, 1990

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Best Year, The 1990 television films 1990 films 1990 drama films American drama television films Films directed by John Erman Films scored by John Morris ABC Movie of the Week 1990s English-language films 1990s American films