Product Details

• Actors: Jessica Tandy, Stephanie Zimbalist, Lisa Jakub, Christopher Gartin, Tandy Cronyn
• Directors: Larry Elikann
• Writers: Robert Zeschin
• Producers: Jack H. Degelia, Joseph B. Wallenstein, Margery Nelson, Marvin Miller, Michael Filerman
• Format: Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Goldhill Home Media
• VHS Release Date: November 21, 2000
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1577421531
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,447 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Looking to stay busy and useful in her latter days, Grace McQueen (Jessica Tandy) discovers the wonders of cable-access TV and starts her own show, reading stories for kids whose parents are too busy to pay them enough attention. A rising TV exec and single mom (Stephanie Zimbalist) realizes "the Story Lady" could advance her career--and maybe help her connect with her own daughter. This film has a lot in common with Miracle on 34th Street--both revolve around Christmas and both explore that uneasy middle ground in which children's dreams collide with modern commerce. Like the original 1947 Miracle, The Story Lady tells its story with heartfelt sincerity, while avoiding the mawkishness that marred the '94 remake of Miracle. Tandy brings a bit of spice to her role as "ideal grandma," and she's surrounded by a cast full of top pros, including Charles Durning in an unbilled cameo. Production design and directing clearly mark this as a made-for-TV movie, and you can see the plot points coming, but there's something very charming and true about it. Trivia factoid: That's Jessica Tandy's real-life daughter, Tandy Cronyn, playing her daughter in the film. --Geof Miller

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Amazon is shipping DVD-Rs not the Image DVD release, January 19, 2009

By 

W. T. Fork - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Story Lady (DVD-R)

Just a word of warning, the DVD of The Story Lady that Amazon is currently shipping is not the edition advertised. It IS NOT the original Image edition, but instead one from Screen Media Ventures, oh and it's a DVD-R. The cover is not even remotely close to the one shown on the page, the UPC code is a sticker stuck on the case, and again the back of the case says it's a DVD-R. Just wanted to make everyone aware before you purchase an inferior DVD-R and have to waste time trying to get a refund. Once Amazon creates a separate listing or stops selling this version as the long out of print Image DVD release, I will delete or modify this review.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NOT ANOTHER FAIRY TALE, March 15, 2001

By 

Bonita L. Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Story Lady [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Grace McQueen is a senior citizen looking for an opportunity to be of service. She's turned down by agency after agency until she decides to do what she loves;story telling. She manages to get a spot on a public tv station and becomes a hit. Then the fun begins. She is "discovered" by some ad executives who see a gold mine in exploiting her talents.

A whirlwind of network ratings, make overs and new name (Granny Goodheart) overwhelms Grace. How she navigates through this mess is a delightful commentary about how we treat our elders, our own children and ourselves in a doggy eat dog world of our own making.

Jessica Tandy is wonderful as Grace, the grandmotherly figure unwilling to let the studio bosses remake her image. Stephanie Zimbalist stars as the ad executive who is so caught up in her work to the point of neglecting what matters most, her daughter. In this film we re-aquaint ourselves with the taste of what it means to be a family and affirmed in one's old age.

Now sit back and enjoy the Story Lady as she reads you a tale where "they live happily ever after. The End."

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful movie!, April 11, 2002

By 

Richard A Ferguson (Rochester, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Story Lady [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This movie is an artful combination of humor, moral instruction, and a reminder of what is really important in life. It is beautifully written and the acting is fantastic.