The Shell Seekers

Angela Lansbury has raised four unhappy children. The people her age blame her for this, as do they. Seeking answers to questions she has not heard, she returns to Cornwall, where she first met their father, now dead, and the man she might have married, Sam Wanamaker.

This was a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, and it shows all the, well, hallmarks of that: pretty as a picture camerawork - the Cornwall setting looks like it was painted by Degas - and deep feelings expressed in long, declaratory statements.Miss Lansbury and Wanamaker do fine. A short turn by Michael Gough is fine. Everyone else seems sullen at best, spiteful at worst. Everyone but these three old timers seem to be aggrieved just for the pleasure of it. The conclusions Miss Lansbury comes to are simple and not particularly healing, but her character seems satisfied with them. Well, at least someone is.