Timepiece

Themes of faith and loyalty run through this gentle drama, set in the 1940s and spun around a shy young woman (Naomi Watts) and her enterprising husband (Kevin Kilner). Lawrence: James Earl Jones. Maud: Ellen Burstyn. Andrea: Mercedes Villamil. Richard: Richard Thomas. Cal: Jonathan Tabler. George: J. Michael Hunter. Marcus Cole directed., James Earl Jones and Ellyn Burstyn star in this moving tale of love lost and found. On the eve of her wedding, Jenna’s father gives her the beautiful timepiece that belonged to his companion, Mary. In passing on the heirloom, he also tells Jenna the story of Mary’s life – a life full of both happiness and tragedy., This is the rich family saga of wealthy industrialist David Parkin, how he met his wife Mary and their friend Lawrence Flynn, a black watchmaker. The story of a valuable timepiece reflects the story of their lives: a tale of love, tragedy and mystery., This made-for-TV drama is a prequel to the 1995 feature The Christmas Box, which starred Maureen O’Hara as the formidable dowager Mary Parkin. Set in the ’40s, Timepiece stars Naomi Watts as the much-younger Mary, a British transplant not yet married to her widowed boss, small-town businessman David Parkin (Kevin Kilner). By way of explaining how the older Mary came into possession of the priceless watch which figured so prominently in Christmas Box, Timepiece unfolds the story of Lawrence Flynn (James Earl Jones), an old black clock-maker who is accused of murdering the bullying white bigot who’d been tormenting him. As the town’s legal authorities are poised to throw the book at Flynn, David Parkin steps forward to make a statement that will win him the undying love and fidelity of the impressionable Mary. Weaving in and out of the proceedings is a poignant subplot involving Parkins’ daughter, Andrea (Mercedes Villamil), a victim of meningitis. Adapted from a novel by Richard Paul Evans, Timepiece made its first CBS network appearance on December 22, 1996.