Stone Pillow
Encyclopedia
Stone Pillow was a 1985
television movie
, directed by George Schaefer, in which Lucille Ball
, in an attempt to make a drama
tic "breakout" from her years in comedy
, portrayed an older homeless woman with few resources and even fewer options. The picture received rather mixed reviews, but ranked as one of the top 10 highest rated telecasts that week, and it led Ball to make one last attempt to return to her comedy roots with Life with Lucy
the next year.
) has just begun her career in social work. She wants to make a difference but must first learn what life is really like for the city's homeless. She meets an elderly woman named Florabelle (Ball), 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 street have to offer. Flora even divulges painful memories about her past life. They go to Grand Central Station 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 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.
1985 in television
The year 1985 involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1985.For the American TV schedule, see: 1985-86 United States network television schedule.-Events:*January 1 – VH1 launches in the United States....
television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
, directed by George Schaefer, in which Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, in an attempt to make a drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
tic "breakout" from her years in comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, portrayed an older homeless woman with few resources and even fewer options. The picture received rather mixed reviews, but ranked as one of the top 10 highest rated telecasts that week, and it led Ball to make one last attempt to return to her comedy roots with Life with Lucy
Life With Lucy
Life with Lucy is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The show ran on the ABC network in 1986, and unlike Ball's previous hits on television, it was a critical and ratings flop.- Premise :...
the next year.
Summary
Carrie Lange (Daphne ZunigaDaphne Zuniga
Daphne Eurydice Zuniga is an American actress known for her roles as Jo Reynolds on the Fox primetime soap Melrose Place, as Victoria Davis on The CW teen drama One Tree Hill and as Princess Vespa in Spaceballs.-Early life:...
) has just begun her career in social work. She wants to make a difference but must first learn what life is really like for the city's homeless. She meets an elderly woman named Florabelle (Ball), 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 street have to offer. Flora even divulges painful memories about her past life. They go to Grand Central Station 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 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.