
            In the opening scene, "Madame" Blanche Tyler (Barbara Harris) holds a seance in the elegant Victorian home of Mrs. Julia Rainbird (Cathleen Nesbitt), the elderly matron of a wealthy family. Blanche's falsetto "trance" voice becomes a deep growl as she channels her spirit guide, Henry, who indicates a reluctant presence in the room. Julia believes it is her deceased sister, Harriet, who gave birth to an illegitimate son over 40 years earlier. His estrangement from the Rainbirds weighs heavily on Julia's conscience. She offers Blanche $10,000 to locate the missing heir, as a private investigator might draw attention to this family embarrassment. Blanche walks calmly to an awaiting taxi, driven by her boyfriend, George Lumley (Bruce Dern). Once inside, she tells him that, with the help of Henry, she has secured a lucrative assignment. George reminds her that she is "as psychic as a dry salami," and is guided by his research, not Henry. She dismisses his comments as jealousy, but asks him to continue his investigation of the Rainbirds. George refuses, until Blanche tells him about the $10,000, which puts him in an amorous mood. When he takes his eyes off the road for a few seconds, the car narrowly misses a tall blonde woman dressed in black clothing and wearing dark sunglasses.The woman (Karen Black) enters a police station with a pistol. She is given a large diamond, then hands the detectives a written note, assuring them that her hostage, Victor Constantine, will be returned unharmed. The detectives lead the woman to a helicopter. She communicates using hand gestures, and when the pilot doubts that her gun is loaded, she shoots a hole through the plexiglass. After the helicopter lands on a golf course, the woman walks to a wooded area, where her male accomplice waits with Constantine (Nicholas Colasanto). The pilot runs to the woods as the kidnappers, Arthur Adamson (William Devane) and his wife, Fran, drive away.Inside the car, Fran complains about her six-inch high heels as she removes her hat and blonde wig, but also assures Arthur that she made no mistakes. Arthur smugly reminds her that the police will be looking for a tall blonde woman. He also indicates that he is planning another kidnapping. After returning home, they clean the secret room in the basement that held Constantine. Fran and Arthur find danger to be an aphrodisiac, and before they retire to the bedroom, Arthur hangs the diamond on the crystal chandelier near the staircase, where it will never be noticed. The next day, Constantine is questioned in his office by FBI Agent Sanger (Martin West) and a few police detectives, but is unable to describe the kidnappers.Meanwhile, Blanche gives a psychic reading to Ida Cookson, a close friend of Julia's. She wants to contact Michael, the Rainbird's deceased chauffeur, who facilitated the adoption of Harriet's son. George signals Blanche from the kitchen, and she feigns a trance as she leaves the living room. He needs her car for a meeting with Vera Hannagan, Michael's daughter.At a department store counter, George, under his alias Frank McBride, Esq., questions Vera (Marge Redmond), who tells him about her father's friend, Harry Shoebridge, and his wife, Sadie, who after several miscarriages, moved to a town called Barlow Creek and adopted an infant boy whom they named Eddie. Both later died in a house fire, and the son may have died with them.George finds the graves of the three Shoebridges at the Barlow Creek cemetery, all of whom died in 1950. He asks the gravedigger why the son's stone looks so much newer than that of his parents, and why there are two graves for three people. The gravedigger ignores George's questions and returns to work.George next visits Mr. Wheeler (Charles Tyner), the engraver, who made the stone for Eddie Shoebridge in 1965. Wheeler remembers that it was purchased by a tow-truck driver, and that people blamed Eddie for the death of his parents, especially because his grave is empty.At the County Registrar's office, George learns that a mechanic named Joseph P. Maloney (Ed Lauter) applied for Eddie's death certificate, which was denied.George parks across the road from Maloney's gas station for several minutes before entering. Maloney is openly suspicious, and when George questions him, Maloney admits nothing and copies George's license plate number as he drives away. Later, Maloney appears at Arthur's jewelry store, greeting the jeweler as "Eddie." Arthur leads him to the office, assuming that Maloney once again needs money. Maloney informs Arthur of George's visit, and that he has traced the car to Blanche's address. He offers to kill George and Blanche, just as he killed the Shoebridges at Arthur's request 26 years ago. As Arthur declines the offer, he is called away by a pair of police detectives inquiring about the ransom diamond, of which Arthur admits no knowledge. When he returns to his office, Maloney is gone and the window is open.That night, Arthur and Fran drive to Blanche's home, where they overhear George and Blanche arguing about sex, the search for Eddie Shoebridge, and a large sum of money. Fran suggests that the latter might be the reward offered for Constantine's kidnappers. Later, at the Rainbird home, Blanche reveals all of the information George has gathered, with Henry getting the credit. Julia remembers that Bishop Wood (William Prince), who baptized Harriet's child, might have more information. George attends the bishop's Sunday service, as does Fran, disguised as an older woman. She faints in front of the bishop, while Arthur, disguised as a deacon, sedates him. The kidnapping proceeds without interference. In the car, Arthur expresses his lifelong resentment toward the bishop, while congratulating himself on his brilliant plan. They agree that George's presence was no coincidence, and Arthur decides to have Maloney kill George and Blanche, despite Fran's disapproval.That afternoon, Maloney calls George and Blanche, claiming to have information on Eddie Shoebridge. They are to meet him at a diner in a remote, mountainous area. Blanche insists that they go, ignoring George's reservations. They arrive at the diner and wait inside, while Maloney quietly sabotages Blanche's car outside. After several beers, they decide to leave. As George navigates the car down the winding mountain road, brake fluid leaks from the rear wheels. Blanche panics as George narrowly misses oncoming vehicles and steep cliffs before running the car off the road, where it lands on its side. Neither is injured, although Blanche is standing on George's face. As they walk back up the road, Maloney drives by, offering a ride. George declines, knowing that Maloney sabotaged the car. Maloney leaves, but quickly returns with the intent of running over George and Blanche. He swerves to avoid an oncoming car, drives off a cliff, and dies in a fiery wreck.The next day, Fran enters Arthur's jewelry store, posing as a customer. She updates him on the bishop's ransom and delivers the news of Maloney's death, which makes Arthur smile. When he demands that she collaborate on the murder of George and Blanche, she is horrified and leaves.At Maloney's funeral, George forces Mrs. Maloney (Kathleen Helmond) to reveal Arthur's true identity. George informs Blanche, who begins her search without his assistance as he has to take a day-long shift at the taxi company. When she arrives at Adamson's Jewelry Store, Blanche convinces Mrs. Clay (Edith Atwater), the clerk, to give her Arthur's home address, which she includes in a note for George.At the Adamson house, Arthur and Fran are about to deliver the bishop when Blanche rings the doorbell. Believing she has left, they continue their preparations. The garage door opens as Blanche passes, and she excitedly tells Arthur about his inheritance, until Fran opens a car door and reveals the unconscious bishop. Blanche is trapped, and after a struggle, she is sedated and locked in the secret room. The Adamsons, convinced that Blanche's whereabouts are unknown, carry on without concern.While they drive home with their new diamond, George arrives at the house searching for Blanche. He enters through a basement window and hides when the Adamsons return. George overhears Arthur's plans to stage Blanche's "suicide," despite protests from Fran. He quietly follows Arthur to the basement, where he wakes Blanche after Arthur leaves. When the Adamsons return for Blanche, she escapes and George locks them inside the hidden room. Thrilled as they are about the reward, George is sure that it would be increased if they can locate the diamonds. Blanche goes into a trance and leads George to the diamond hidden in the chandelier, convincing George that she is truly psychic. As he phones the police, Blanche winks and smiles at the viewers, thus breaking the fourth wall.
    

Family Plot


            Reverend Michael Hill (Edward Herrmann) and his two children arrive in a mid-sized California city as the new minister at North Avenue Presbyterian Church. The secretary/music director for the church, Anne (Susan Clark), is wary of the changes Hill intends to implement. Hill wants to get people involved, and asks the elderly Mrs. Rose Rafferty (Patsy Kelly) to handle the church's sinking fund.On his first Sunday, Hill learns from Mrs. Rafferty that her gambling husband Delaney (Douglas Fowley) bet all the sinking fund money on a horse race. Hill delivers a sermon less than 15 seconds long, then rapidly escorts Mrs. Rafferty out the church as astonished worshipers watch. She leads him to the bookie, hidden behind a dry-cleaning shop, and meets Harry the Hat (Alan Hale, Jr.), who recommends that Hill let the bet ride. Hill's horse loses and he is thrown out of the betting parlor. Hill summons the police, but the booking joint has been skillfully removed.That evening, Hill delivers a tirade against the organized crime in the city during a local television broadcast. He is chastised by his presbytery superiors for the tirade, and is urged to go out and build church membership in the area. His only success is with a rock band called Strawberry Shortcake, who he recruits to "jazz up" the music at church. As a result, Anne resigns as music director.A few days later, two treasury agents for the US government arrive: Marvin Fogleman (Michael Constantine) and Tom Voohries (Steve Franken). They want Hill to help them close down the town's gambling racket by recruiting some men from the church to place bets that the agents will watch. Hill cannot find any men to help, but hits upon the idea of using women. Hill calls together five women from the church whom include; Rose Rafferty; single mother Vicki Simms (Barbara Harris); man-hungry divorcee Claire Porter (Cloris Leachman); bride-to-be and career woman Jane Adams (Karen Valentine); and Cleo Jackson (Virgina Capers), who's husband owns a mechanic garage.Over the next day, the five women attempt to place bets in the company of the Treasury agents, but with disastrous clumsiness as their covers are blown due to their ineptness and bad luck.The team changes tactics to try to go after the "bank" that the gangsters use, tailing the mob's deliverymen through town while Hill coordinates using a map at the church office and keeping in touch by CB radio in the ladies cars. Delaney is forced to dress up as a woman to accompany his Rose since his wife does not drive. But after a few days of loosing the delivery car, two gangsters subsequently appear at the church during services and identify the women.Anne discovers the operation, even as Hill defends the Irregulars as keeping the gangsters off balance. After Hill refuses to back down from calling off the operation, Anne resigns from the secretary position. Later that night, the gangsters bomb the church.Hill is shocked at the gangsters' act, and seems ready to give in, but to his surprise, Anne wants to join the fight. They do so, and continue to hammer the gangsters' movements around town. Meanwhile, Hill receives word that the pulpit has been declared vacant and North Avenue will be discontinued as a church entity.Dr. Victor Fulton (Herb Voland), a representative from presbytery, arrives to discuss the closure with Hill. Anne picks up two more presbytery representatives at the airport whom are Dr. Rheems (Ruth Buzzi) and Rev. Samuels. But while driving them to the church, she recognizes one of the mob's deliverymen in a passing trailer and realizes she may be able to find the bank. She tracks the deliveryman to an isolated warehouse compound. Within minutes, all the Irregulars besiege the place as the gangsters attempt a frantic escape with their bank. A "demolition derby" ensues, the crooks are stopped, and the evidence is seized.The following Sunday, Hill's congregation gathers outside the gutted church while he delivers news of the indictments against the mob and of the closing of the church. However, Dr. Fulton steps in to proclaim that North Avenue has a new lease on lifeit will be rebuilt. The youthful band starts the music again as everyone rejoices.
    

The North Avenue Irregulars


            
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Barbara Harris

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Barbara Harris Movies or Tv Shows (upto May 2025) - Watch Online

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