PaleyArchive ColorBars TopBanner2

ABC SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE: DALVA (TV)

Summary

This made-for-television production is about a woman who goes back to her roots and searches for the child she gave up for adoption twenty years earlier. The program begins with Dalva Northridge writing a letter, discussing her childhood in rural Nebraska. Dalva recalls giving birth to a son at age sixteen and then having him taken from her. She remembers falling in love with Native American Duane Stonehorse, leading to the most romantic days of her life. Dalva's grandfather John says it would be a mistake for her to fall in love with Duane, which she blames on racism. Dalva is confused as her great-grandfather married a Lakota. Upset, Dalva hikes off in the forest and wakes to find Duane having followed her. Duane asks to be with her and soon he and Dalva are making love in a hayloft. John refuses to allow Dalva to marry Duane and sends him away. Dalva's mother Naomi questions John on his reasoning. John explains that Dalva's father had a seventeen-year-old Lakota mistress and Duane is their son, making him Dalva's half-brother. John says he told Duane the news when he asked to marry Dalva, after which Duane left the spread. Naomi consoles her then-pregnant daughter. Dalva believes that, once she gave birth, she instantly became "old" before her time. Five years later, Dalva found Duane near Santa Cruz. Duane reveals that he is dying and wishes to control his own fate, causing him to shoot himself. In the present, in San Francisco, Berkeley history professor Michael wonders what Dalva is writing. She reveals that she is writing a letter to Naomi in which she notes that Michael is now her one and only man. Then, Michael brings up the "Indian question," asking if he can see her great-grandfather's Northridge journals to explore the "ethnic cleansing" of Native Americans. The request aggravates Dalva. At work at the children's services center, Dalva questions battered youths such as the horribly beaten Franco. Upset at what she sees, Dalva goes to the barrio searching for Franco's mother. Dalva tells Franco's uncle Sandoval to stop hitting Franco, inciting a fight with other barrio residents.

The next day, Dalva tells Michael that children's services has fired her for her unorthodox handling of Franco's case. Dalva claims she is tired of cities and wants to head home. Michael continues pressing Dalva for the journals. He says his career is at stake, having told his bosses that he will be writing a book based on them. Saying she'll consider Michael's request, Dalva heads home to Nebraska and her ailing grandfather. There, she tells Naomi about Michael, revealing that he is acting like "a bulldog" in regard to the journals. Dalva also reveals that she misses her son, who would be almost twenty-one. Dalva tells her mother that she wishes to find him. Then, engineer Sam Creekmouth flies in Doc Steadman for John's monthly checkup and is greeted on the air strip by local rancher Lundquist. Dalva is intrigued by Sam, and Naomi gives her the scoop on his Lakota background. Naomi encourages Dalva to join Sam when he flies back to Omaha. At an Omaha market, Dalva and Sam discuss her college studies on Navajos as they shop and flirt. Afterward, the two fly off to have a picnic on Sam's land, where they make love. Meanwhile, Michael boards a bus headed for Nebraska. The next morning, Dalva wakes up outside with Sam. Sam talks about his property and how he is trying to accumulate as much Lakota land as possible. Once in Nebraska at Dalva's home, Michael is awakened by noisy geese, then talks with Naomi. Michael tells her that he is a historian researching the Lakota and seeking the Northridge journals. Later, Michael goes for a walk in the cornfield and quickly gets lost. Dalva returns home and Naomi discusses Michael having arrived drunk around midnight. Naomi wonders why, with two interesting men in her life, she is still most concerned about locating her son. Then, Dalva goes to see her grandfather, bringing him medicine. She questions John on who adopted her son. However, John refuses to reveal the truth. With Naomi worried about the still errant Michael, Dalva gets Sam to help her find him.

That night, Dalva, Michael, and Sam go drinking. Sam goes off and starts kissing the attractive Maria, raising Dalva's ire. Then, as Sam breaks up a bar fight, Michael realizes that Dalva is lusting after Sam. Michael then dances with Lundquist's granddaughter, Karen, who seems enamored with him. Naomi tells Dalva that Sam is not the kind of man that can be "owned." Dalva is disappointed to see Sam leave the bar with Maria. Dalva drives off alone to a remote area where she skinny-dips and reaches for the moon. The next morning, Sam finds Dalva fishing in the river and offers to take her to a better spot. She acts coldly and reveals all the fish that she's caught. Meanwhile, Michael continues trying to gather historical information about the region from Lundquist. Then, after Michael helps him build a coop for the geese, Lundquist tells him to stay away from Karen. Later, John approaches Michael to speak about the Northridge journals. Meanwhile, Dalva asks Sam how she could have slept with him and then lost him in less than a day. John shows Michael the journals while discussing his father, "the agricultural missionary." Michael reads the journal with great interest. At the same time, Sam tells Dalva that he may be able to find the woman that adopted her baby son. Later, Dalva listens as Michael reads from the journals. The next day, Karen pays a visit to Michael, dropping off some swimsuit photos he had promised to give to a friend in the modeling business back in California. Then, Lundquist drops by and whacks Michael for fondling the teenaged Karen. Sam and Dalva drive an injured Michael to the airfield, where he is flown to a hospital. There, he tells Dalva he is flying back to California, not fit for country life. Then, Dalva and Sam kiss before making love on the floor of their hotel room. Afterward, Dalva questions Sam about Maria.

Later, Dalva continues to fantasize about her son as Naomi watches from afar. Then, Sam arrives to reveal that he has found the woman that adopted Dalva's son in Omaha. Dalva thinks of Duane that night. The next day, Dalva lunches with Ellen, her son's adoptive mother. Ellen talks about the adoption and the boy -- named John Wesley -- and how he became unruly after hitting puberty and ended up in jail. Dalva asks Ellen to tell him that she still wants to meet him. Back home, Dalva reads her grandfather what Michael is writing about the family history with the Lakotas. Dalva tricks her grandfather into reciting a Lakota song, noting that it matches the Lakota song which her son had written out in jail, and was passed on to her by Ellen. Dalva realizes that John has been sending his namesake great-grandson money. John reveals that Dalva's son has no interest in knowing her. Later, Dalva pays a visit to Sam's house and finds Maria there, leaving a message that John is dying. Dalva is tearful as John nears the end. John reflects on his life as Dalva, Naomi, and Sam try to comfort him. Later, Dalva, Sam, Michael, Naomi, and Lundquist attend John's funeral. Dalva is upset at the world for giving her "no father, no son, and no husband." Afterward, Sam tracks Dalva down in the forest. She tells a story of her ninth grade basketball coach watching her undress in the locker room. Sam consoles Dalva before leading her back home to show her a letter from John. In it, he reveals "the Northridge secret." Sam leads Dalva to a secret passageway in the basement where countless bones lay, including the corpses of several Lakota and army soldiers. In the letter, John reveals the bodies' history, as well as his wishes for the dead to be properly buried and the artifacts returned to the Lakota tribe. Finally, Sam locates Dalva's son and brings him to her for a teary reunion. Includes commercials. This program is closed-captioned.

Details

  • NETWORK: ABC
  • DATE: March 3, 1996 9:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:55:24
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: T:42219
  • GENRE: Drama
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Adoption; Native Americans; Indigenous Peoples Collection
  • SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1996
  • COMMERCIALS:
    • TV - Commercials - Ace Hardware
    • TV - Commercials - Almay mascara
    • TV - Commercials - American Heart Association
    • TV - Commercials - Buick automobiles
    • TV - Commercials - Burger King restaurants
    • TV - Commercials - Century 21 realtors
    • TV - Commercials - Children's Motrin pain relief
    • TV - Commercials - Clairol hair color
    • TV - Commercials - Continental airlines
    • TV - Commercials - Excedrin pain relief
    • TV - Commercials - Fact Plus pregnancy test
    • TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
    • TV - Commercials - JC Penney stores
    • TV - Commercials - Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal
    • TV - Commercials - L'Oreal mascara
    • TV - Commercials - Lubiderm lotion
    • TV - Commercials - MasterCard credit cards
    • TV - Commercials - Maybelline makeup
    • TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
    • TV - Commercials - Mentadent tooth paste
    • TV - Commercials - MetLife fiancial experts
    • TV - Commercials - Monistat yeast infection relief
    • TV - Commercials - Mylanta antacid relief
    • TV - Commercials - Neutrogena T/Gel shampoo
    • TV - Commercials - Olive Garden restaurants
    • TV - Commercials - Plymouth automobiles
    • TV - Commercials - Pontiac automobiles
    • TV - Commercials - Quaker Chocolate Crunch rice cakes
    • TV - Commercials - Skippy peanut butter
    • TV - Commercials - Subway restaurants
    • TV - Commercials - US Satellite Broadcasting
    • TV - Promos - "Buddies"
    • TV - Promos - "Eyewitness News"
    • TV - Promos - "Forgotten Sins"
    • TV - Promos - "Frequent Flyer"
    • TV - Promos - "Good Morning America"
    • TV - Promos - "High Incident"
    • TV - Promos - "Home Improvement"
    • TV - Promos - "Muppets Tonight!"
    • TV - Promos - "Murder One"
    • TV - Promos - "Primetime Live"
    • TV - Promos - "Second Noah"
    • TV - Promos - "The 10th Annual American Comedy Awards"
    • TV - Promos - "The Faculty"

CREDITS

  • Karen Mack … Executive Producer
  • Russell Goldsmith … Executive Producer
  • Tracey Alexander … Co-Executive Producer
  • Jacqui Adler … Producer
  • Judith Paige Mitchell … Co-Producer, Writer
  • Steven Tyler Sahlein … Associate Producer
  • Suzy Beugen … Line Producer
  • Ken Cameron … Director
  • Jim Harrison … Based on the book by
  • Lee Holdridge … Music by
  • Farrah Fawcett … Cast, Dalva Northridge
  • Peter Coyote … Cast, Michael
  • Rod Steiger … Cast, John Wesley Northridge II
  • Carroll Baker … Cast, Naomi Northridge
  • Jesse Borrego … Cast, Duane Stonehorse
  • Laurel Holloman … Cast, Karen Lundquist
  • Powers Boothe … Cast, Sam Creekmouth
  • Will Marchetti … Cast, Mr. Lundquist
  • Bob Scott … Cast, Cowboy Bob
  • Joy Carlin … Cast, Ellen
  • Shawn Cady … Cast, Young Dalva
  • Rufus Norris … Cast, Doc Steadman
  • Jace Dillard … Cast, John Wesley
  • Luis Saguar … Cast, Sandoval
  • Nicholas B. Guerrero … Cast, Franco
  • Salina Monti … Cast, Maria
  • Chanelle Schaffer … Cast, Nurse
  • Gabriel Negrete … Cast, Boy