The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped

........., my home town, and that's why I sought this made-for-TV film out. I heard one of the writers was a pal of Daniel J. Travanty (who's also from Kenosha), and thereby the in-joke, where Karen Valentine's character has the line "The whole world's working on a new morality, and in Kenosha, they still refer to Ingrid Bergman as 'that woman'". Just a cute, forgotten little opus which serves to mark the next-to-last film of Richard Long's career.

They insist I write ten lines...which I don't really want to do, All I wanted to do was to thank the people who wrote these reviews. As the writer of this MOW, I appreciate the great reviews and comments. After all these years, it's nice to see the movie struck some chords. It was fun to do and though there were some changes... rewrites by others, I still enjoyed the final product and working with the terrific actress Karen Valentine who became a friend. Both this and another MOW that I wrote were Top Ten in ratings in those early days of MOWs. So, to everyone who liked it... Thanks a lot!!

Susan Silver

When you have it all, you should be happy. However, some people are not when they have it all: a good home, wealth, and happiness. For this guy, he's everything but that. He's a commitment phobe who's near 40. So when he gets a girl who's gift wrapped for his birthday. He's anything but happy. But when time passes on with her at his side, he slowly changed. He has a dog, plants, and he finally rids himself of the maid.

Five years after "The Big Valley", Richard Long has a different character from the show he was on. And Karen Valentine has a heart of gold in this movie. It would be later when "Pretty Woman" would come out to theaters. I liked it very much.

2 out of 5 stars.

Aaron Spelling-Leonard Goldberg TV-movie from ABC in 1974 follows a pretty predictable formula: swinging bachelor meets his match, learns a lesson in love, discovers growing up isn't a bad as he thought it would be. Richard Long is a magazine publisher celebrating the big 4-0 who doesn't think his "present" from the fellas, wisecracking Karen Valentine in a skimpy outfit, is very amusing. After trading barbs with the former beauty pageant winner, he finds they have an attraction of sorts and she sticks around. Perhaps because the writer of this teleplay was a woman (Susan Silver), Long's would-be lascivious lifestyle is frowned upon--he's the one who needs (and gets) the make-over. Still, this female point-of-view provides some interesting subtext, and when Long refuses to say "I love you" (preferring instead the all-inclusive "love ya!"), the dialogue and situations show a sensitivity that isn't always found in these television quickies. Lots of fine supporting players pop up (including Farrah Fawcett and Tom Bosley), and the low-budget isn't too distracting.

...you'd like to see Ms. Valentine sing "Happy Birthday" and finish by dropping off her overcoat revealing her bikini-clad figure. She was something pretty cute in 1974, and I was something pretty confused at the age of 16. Her "Room 222" persona made her the ideal fantasy woman for that time and place, and this bit of absurd TV sexism gave me something I wanted. If you remember her as I do, this one scene will be worth the rental, and not purely for its prurience. It might make you feel young again, if only very briefly.