''Call Her Mom'' is a 1972 American TV movie produced by

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...

. It was the pilot for a proposed series that was not picked up. It instead premiered on February 15, 1972, as a stand-alone film, and as an installment of '' The ABC Movie of the Week''. It was directed by

Jerry Paris William Gerald Paris (July 25, 1925 – March 31, 1986) was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next-door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', and for directing the majo ...

Plot

A waitress becomes housemother for a college fraternity. The setting is Beardsley College, where Alpha Rho Epsilon House (the Greek letters are APE) is a party-all-the-time fraternity. The housemother has quit because she cannot control their wild behavior. Twelve other housemothers had left before her. Connie Stevens enters as a waitress fed up with her job. She loudly quits during a busy rush at the restaurant. The fraternity brothers witness her quitting and offer her a job as housemother. The fraternity members expect that she will be lenient, but she takes her role as housemother seriously and lays down the law. She also gets involved with the national women's liberation movement, which causes a rift with the conservative college dean, played by

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American actor and dancer. He had a prolific career in film, television, theatre and radio, which spanned over 50 years, from 1940 to 1992. He was a major star at Metr ...

. Beardsley College experiences picketing and protests like other American universities in 1972. Mini-skirt clad Connie Stevens sings "

Come On-a My House "Come On-a My House" is a song written by Ross Bagdasarian and William Saroyan and originally released by Rosemary Clooney in 1951. Cousins Bagdasarian, a songwriter, and Saroyan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, wrote the song while driving a ...

" and provides the sexual tension in the all-male fraternity.

Jim Hutton Dana Scott James Hutton (May 31, 1934 – June 2, 1979) was an American actor in film and television best remembered for his role as Ellery Queen in the 1970s TV series of the same name, and his screen partnership with Paula Prentiss in four ...

and

Charles Nelson Reilly Charles Nelson Reilly (January 13, 1931 – May 25, 2007) was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher. He performed in the original Broadway casts of ''Bye Bye Birdie''; '' Hello, Dolly!''; and '' How to Succeed in Business With ...

are the co-stars.

Mike Evans Michael, Mickey, or Mike Evans may refer to: Sports American football * Mike Evans (offensive lineman) (born 1946), American football offensive lineman * Mike Evans (defensive lineman) (born 1967), American football defensive lineman * Mike Evans ...

, who co-starred in

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

and

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985. Lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes, ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history ...

as Lionel Jefferson, also appeared as a fraternity member.

Cast

Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until the age of 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in rural Mi ...

as Angie Bianco *

Thelma Carpenter Thelma Carpenter (January 15, 1922 – May 14, 1997) was an American jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie ''The Wiz''. Early years Carpenter was born in Brooklyn, New York, the only chi ...

as Ida *

John David Carson John David Carson (born John Franklin Carson; March 6, 1952 – October 27, 2009) was an American actor known for his work in film and television. Born in Los Angeles, California, he began his career as a voice actor for Hanna-Barbera cartoons, ...

as Woody Guinness III *

Gloria DeHaven Gloria Mildred DeHaven (July 23, 1925 – July 30, 2016) was an American actress and singer who was a contract star for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Early life DeHaven was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actor-director Carter De ...

as Helen Hardgrove *

as Wilson (as Mike Jonas Evans) *

as Prof. Jonathan Calder *

as President Chester Hardgrove *

Corbett Monica Matthew Corbett Monica (June 1, 1930 – July 22, 1998) was an American comedian who appeared 18 times on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. He also was a frequent guest host of ''The Tonight Show'' with Johnny Carson, and was one of 'The Comics' at the C ...

as Bruno *

as Dean Walden *

Steve Vinovich Steve Vinovich (born January 22, 1945) is an American actor. Biography Vinovich was born on January 22, 1945, in Peoria, Illinois. Vinovich has appeared in several feature films such as B.J Wert in 1987's ''Mannequin'', and Dr. Novos in the 199 ...

as Randall Feigelbaum

Reception

The TV movie was a huge ratings success, earning a 30.9 rating and a 46 audience share, making it the second highest show of the week after ''

''. It was the eighth most widely seen film on television, after ''Ben Hur'', ''The Birds'', ''

The Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the novel ''The Bridge over the River Kwai'', written by Pierre Boulle. Boulle's novel and the film's screenplay are almost entirely fictional but u ...

'', '' The Night Stalker'', ''

Brian's Song ''Brian's Song'' is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo ( James Caan), a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer, focusing on his friendship with teammate Gale Sayers ( Billy Dee Williams) ...

'', ''

Women in Chains ''Women in Chains'' is a 1972 American television film directed by Bernard L. Kowalski for ABC's ''Movie of the Week''. The leading players are Ida Lupino, Belinda Montgomery, Lois Nettleton and Jessica Walter. Plot Parole officer Sandra Parker ...

'', and ''Born Free'' (the ninth and tenth were '' A Death of Innocence'' and '' The Feminist and the Fuzz''). The ''Los Angeles Times'', however, thought the movie was poor and the cast "wasted". ABC next cast Connie Stevens in the TV movie ''

Playmates Playmates or Playmate may refer to: * ''Playboy'' Playmate, a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' Film and television * ''Playmates'' (1915 film), directed by Mauritz Stiller * ''Playmates'' (1918 film), starring O ...

'', co-starring

Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner and a three-time Tony Award nominee, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pier ...

. This was another large success, ranking among the 20 most viewed films on TV for a time. The film was repeated in 1973 and was the 12th most popular show of the week.

References

External links

* 1972 television films 1972 films ABC Movie of the Week Television films as pilots Television pilots not picked up as a series {{US-tv-film-stub