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Search for Grace

Search for Grace is a 1994 American fantasy thriller television film directed by Sam Pillsbury and written by Alex Ayres. It was produced by CBS Entertainment Productions and stars Lisa Hartman Black and Ken Wahl. The film tells the story of Ivy (played by Hartman Black), a landscaper who leaves her long-time boyfriend to be with the mysterious Johnny (Wahl). Ivy begins experiencing flashbacks to the life of a long-dead woman named Grace (also played by Hartman Black), whose life in 1927, including her doomed relationship with the gangster Jake (Wahl), mirrors her own.

Search for Grace
Promotional poster
Genre
Written byAlex Ayres
Directed bySam Pillsbury
Starring
Music byMichael Hoenig
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerCynthia Whitcomb
Producers
CinematographyEric Van Haren Noman
EditorPam Malouf-Cundy
Running time89 minutes[4]
Production companyCBS Entertainment Productions
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseMay 17, 1994 (1994-05-17)

Billed as being "inspired by an actual case history", Ayres got the idea for the story from an account of a woman who had purportedly described a past unsolved murder while under hypnosis. The film was shot in Wilmington, North Carolina, from March to April 1994. Search for Grace premiered on CBS on May 17, 1994, earning a Nielsen rating of 10.5 to become the 36th highest-rated prime time broadcast for its respective week. Reviewers generally found the plot absurd and the acting mediocre, with some criticizing the film as contrived and poorly-executed, and others giving it credit for originality and imaginative storytelling.

Plot

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In contemporary Wilmington, North Carolina, Ivy, a 30-year-old landscaper, receives a marriage proposal from her long-time boyfriend Dave. The proposal unsettles Ivy who has doubts if Dave is truly her soulmate. She also begins suffering from fainting spells which are accompanied by visions of a woman being strangled to death. After a chance meeting, Ivy finds herself drawn to a stranger claiming to be the notorious playboy Johnny Danielli. Ivy breaks up with Dave and begins dating Johnny.

Meanwhile, Ivy's visions trigger memories of someone named Sarah, and her physician suggests psychological help. She starts seeing a psychologist, Dr. Randolph, who suspects her visions may be repressed memories and helps her uncover them using hypnosis. Under hypnosis, Ivy claims to be Grace, a 31-year-old housewife from Buffalo, New York, who was killed in 1927. Over several hypnosis sessions, Ivy learns that Grace was stuck in an unhappy marriage with Sam, with whom she had a daughter named Sarah. Grace was also having an affair with a dangerous gangster named Jake. On the night she died, Grace had decided to leave Sam to be with Jake. Ivy suspects that she was Grace in her past life, with Jake similarly being the past incarnation of Johnny.

Johnny initially showers Ivy with romantic gestures and expensive gifts. Over time, however, he becomes increasingly controlling and violent. Ivy ends their relationship after he becomes physically violent with her during an argument. She also finds out that Johnny is a con man who has been lying about his real identity. Dave is concerned when he finds out about Johnny's abusive behavior, but Ivy insists she can handle her own problems. Meanwhile, Johnny refuses to leave Ivy alone and threatens her in her home. Ivy realizes Johnny has stolen her money and steals his expensive car in return, driving to Buffalo to investigate her past life as Grace. In the local library, Ivy finds old newspaper articles confirming Grace's existence and death, and her memories of Grace resurface. Ivy realizes that it was Jake who killed Grace after she changed her mind about running away with him, dumping her body in the Niagara Falls.

Meanwhile, Johnny has secretly followed Ivy to Buffalo and confronts her in her motel room. He forces her into his car and drives her to a secluded spot by the Niagara Falls, where he attempts to kill her, mirroring Jake's actions on the night he killed Grace. However, unbeknownst to them, Dave has also been following Johnny. With Dave's help, Ivy manages to escape from Johnny, who ends up drowning during their struggle. Reunited with Dave, Ivy visits Grace's grave to say goodbye and meets Sarah, Grace's daughter, now in her old age.

Cast

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Richard Masur, pictured in 1990

Production

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Search for Grace was directed by Sam Pillsbury and written by Alex Ayres.[5] It was produced by CBS Entertainment Productions, with Cynthia Whitcomb serving as executive producer, and Vanessa Greene and Susan Jeter serving as producers. The creative team also included cinematographer Eric Van Haren Noman, editor Pam Malouf-Cundy, and composer Michael Hoenig.[5]

Billed as being "inspired by an actual case history",[5][1][6] Ayres got the idea for the story from an account of a Southern woman who had purportedly described a past murder while under hypnosis. According to Ayres, he looked into the details of said account and found that they matched those of an unsolved 1927 death of a woman named Grace Doze in Buffalo, New York. Ayres noted that while "there is a research basis for this", the film sensationalized events for dramatic purposes.[7] Hartman Black was drawn to the project because she felt it was different from the typical "true story" television fare, noting that it features flashbacks and aspects of mysticism.[8] She prepared for the role by observing and taking part in various hypnosis sessions herself.[9][10] For Wahl, the role marked a return to acting after a two-year absence. He said he chose to make his comeback with Search for Grace because a television film would not be as demanding as a feature film or television series.[3] Wahl described his character as "evil"[3] and devoid of positive traits.[11]

Search for Grace was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina,[5] from March to April 1994.[11] For the scenes set in the 1920s, the production used actual clothing that had been preserved from that time period.[10]

Release and reception

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Search for Grace premiered on CBS on May 17, 1994, in the 9:00–11:00 pm time slot,[12] as part of the network's May "sweeps" line-up.[13]

Ratings

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The film earned a 10.5 national Nielsen rating, where each ratings point represents 942,000 households, and a 17-percent audience share.[14] It was the 36th highest-rated prime time broadcast for the week of May 16 to 22, 1994.[15]

Critical response

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Variety's Tony Scott panned the film as lacking suspense and intrigue, which he attributed to the absurd plot, the unsubtle performances of the lead actors, and the director's failure to create tension.[5] In the Courier News, John McMartin criticized the "contrived" and "unbelievable" story, and found Hartman Black's performance unmemorable. He was also dismissive of the use of reincarnation to explain Ivy's visions, and concluded that watching the film was a waste of time.[6] Similarly, The Seattle Times' John Voorhees thought the film was dull, poorly-executed, and devoid of believable moments.[16] Meanwhile, Hartford Courant's Jon Burlingame found the film formulaic,[17] and New York's John Leonard did not understand why Hartman Black's character was even attracted to Wahl's in the first place.[12]

While Mark Lorando of The Times-Picayune also found the plot absurd and the acting average, he credited the film for having a style and novelty that made it a distinct, and overall, decent "sweeps" film.[2] The Los Angeles Times' Ray Loynd agreed that by combining the past and present to create a shroud of mystery, Search for Grace was an imaginative departure from the typical television fare.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Loynd, Ray (May 17, 1994). "TV Reviews : An Imaginative 'Search for Grace'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Lorando, Mark (May 15, 1994). "'Search for Grace': The red shoe diary". The Times-Picayune. p. T8.
  3. ^ a b c Ryan, James (May 13, 1994). "Motorcycle crashes can't stop Wahl from riding, performing". Ventura County Star. Entertainment News Wire. p. C2. Retrieved April 14, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Search For Grace". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e Scott, Tony (May 16, 1994). "Search for Grace". Variety. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  6. ^ a b McMartin, John (May 17, 1994). "Dopey soap opera is unbelievable". Courier News. New York Times Special Features. p. B7. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Cardinale, Anthony (May 16, 1994). "Death here in 1927 sparks a TV movie". The Buffalo News. pp. A1, A5. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Smith, Liz (May 4, 1994). "Memories of Nixon". Newsday. p. A11. ProQuest 278759278. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ Hughes, Mike (May 17, 1994). "Hartman shows her star power in 'Search for Grace'". Argus Leader. p. 3B. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b Smith, Stacy Jenel (May 5, 1994). "The Blacks are having a blast". Santa Maria Times. p. B3. Retrieved April 14, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b Littlefield, Kinney (May 19, 1994). "The reincarnation of Ken Wahl". Daily Press. The Orange County Register. p. 61. Retrieved April 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b Leonard, John (May 23, 1994). "Search for Grace". New York. Vol. 27, no. 21. p. 75. ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved April 13, 2023 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ Boedeker, Hal (April 28, 1994). "It's Twilight Zone time as May shows sweep in". Toronto Star. p. B3. ProQuest 437004743. Retrieved April 13, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  14. ^ Carmody, John (May 19, 1994). "The TV Column". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  15. ^ Elber, Lynn (May 26, 1994). "Final Show Puts 'L.A. Law' Back In Top 10". Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 4E. ProQuest 388701976. Retrieved August 20, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  16. ^ Voorhees, John (May 15, 1994). "'My Breast' Heads Week of Women-in-Crisis Films". The Seattle Times. p. 2.
  17. ^ Burlingame, Jon (May 17, 1994). "A predictable 'Search for Grace'; all Beethoven on 'Lincoln Center'". Hartford Courant. United Feature Syndicate. p. C2. Retrieved April 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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