One Special Night
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| One Special Night | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Based on | A Winter Visitor play by Jan Hartman |
| Written by | Nancey Silvers |
| Directed by | Roger Young |
| Starring | James Garner Julie Andrews |
| Music by | Richard Bellis |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Jim Green Allen Epstein Mark Bacino |
| Producer | Albert Salzer |
| Cinematography | Guy Dufaux |
| Editor | Ben Weissman |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Production company | Green/Epstein Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | November 28, 1999 |
One Special Night is a 1999 American made-for-television drama film directed by Roger Young, adapted by Nancey Silvers from the play A Winter Visitor by Jan Hartman, and starring James Garner and Julie Andrews. The plot involves two strangers, a construction contractor (Garner) and a Pediatric Cardiologist (Andrews), who take refuge in a small abandoned cabin during a stormy winter night and, despite their many differences, they become undeniably drawn to one another. This was Garner's and Andrews' third film pairing as romantic leads, after The Americanization of Emily (1964) and Victor Victoria (1982).
Plot
[edit]Contractor Robert Woodward visits his ill wife at a nursing home on Thanksgiving Day, while Dr. Catherine Howard, whose husband recently died, winds up at the same nursing home. They meet for the first time despite living within miles of each other for years. Following an approaching blizzard, Catherine offers Robert a ride home when she learns that he is stranded. The pair gets off to a rocky start as Catherine tries to maneuver the car through the storm and Robert barks directions. The car careens off the road into a snow bank. Robert and Catherine trek through the blizzard and take shelter in an empty cabin to wait out the storm.
The next morning, they are discovered by one of his daughters and her husband. who give Catherine a ride back to her home. On the following Sunday, Catherine drives to Murray's, a restaurant both she and Robert frequent. She orders his suggested Chocolate Chip pancakes and waits for him. Robert also drives to Murray's, but upon arriving, he receives a call informing him his wife has fallen ill again.
Robert hosts the wake for his wife, who passed on that Sunday. Both of his daughters are there, with Lori sitting on the kitchen floor and crying. Her sister Jaclyn comes over and comforts her. Lori is eight months pregnant and has discovered her husband has been cheating.
Later, Catherine receives a phone call to let her know that a young lady is going into a troubled labor. She drives to the hospital only to find that Robert is the one who called her. She is asked if it was okay, she then stands to head to see the daughter
Robert asks Catherine if she went to the diner that Sunday. Lying, she replies that she didn't, that she had been too busy. Robert explains he was called away before he could go inside. Then she discovers that his wife died that day. At his SUV, Robert pulls out a box with a necklace inside, which turns out to be the necklace Catherine lost earlier, then shows her the scarf she'd tied on the tree near where she lost it.
With Catherine having Christmas Day off, Robert takes her through the icy roads. His SUV gets stuck near the same place where they were stranded earlier. Robert and Catherine walk to the cabin, where they see smoke from the chimney. Robert breaks another window before letting Catherine in, and upon being questioned by her, Robert explains that he bought the cabin from the previous owners as an emergency vacation home should he get stranded again. Catherine and Robert kiss in the living room, ending the movie.
Cast
[edit]- James Garner as Robert Woodward
- Julie Andrews as Catherine Howard
- Patricia Charbonneau as Lori
- Stacy Grant as Jaclyn Woodward
- Stewart Bick as Jeff
- Daniel Magder as Michael
- Sheena Larkin as Marybeth Woodward
- Kim Roberts as Nurse Sara
- Gary Plaxton as Dr. Michaels
- Belinda Hum as New Hospice Nurse
- Kerrilyn Keith as O.R. Nurse (billed as Kerilyn Keith)
- Sasha Wentges as Nursery Nurse
- Annabelle Torsein as Young Hospice Nurse
- Frank Cavallero as TV Reporter
- Sam Stone as Murray