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Hallmark Mysteries: Mysterious Small Town Hijinks Ensue - General Discussion


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Please keep the discussion here to Hallmark Mystery Movies - discussion of general Hallmark movies or news should be done in the Hallmark Movie Channel topic. Thank you.

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On 12/7/2023 at 1:05 PM, Daff said:

I’m looking forward to the Sustadt movie tonight. The one (brief) shot of her wearing the RED Elmer Fudd hat and goofy glasses is choice, especially paired with the look on her face (what you can see of it in that getup).

To All a Good Night was enjoyable. She and the male lead had good chemistry and the plot held my attention. 

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Did anyone watch Miracle in Bethlehem PA?  It did well in ratings. It was a very sweet movie, and I liked Ayers and VanderVoort together, but I had a hard time getting passed the fact the hospital let her leave with a newborn with a major storm outside. They offered her a room and she said no and they just let her go. I know these movies don’t look at details, but still! She had to leave for the story to progress so it goes. At least her car didn’t break down right away like it does often in these movies. 

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9 hours ago, EyewatchTV211 said:

Interesting. Just saw a reference to this elsewhere and looked it up. https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/gilded-newport-mysteries-murder-at-the-breakers-on-hallmark/ar-AA1mqQuy

Ooh! I don't watch mysteries a lot, but my husband and I just visited The Breakers on our vacation in September, and I'm nuts for anything about the Gilded Age. So I definitely want to watch this. Thank you for posting about it, @EyewatchTV211; I'll make a note on my calendar.

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Hmm, it looks like the post I made was lost in the update. It was basically about the amount of period movies that Hallmark are premiering this February and the   piggy backing off of very successful series that they are surely hoping to accomplish with that. 

Also I'm interested in seeing True Justice: Family Ties for Kat McNamara next week.

On 2/7/2023 at 8:23 AM, ECM1231 said:

It was actually refreshing to see that Goldy and her ex get along, for the sake of their daughter.

I watched the beginning of this movie (Grilling Season). I've read all the books, but didn't see the first movie. Things that bugged:

1. Marla looks nothing like she's described in the books.

2 Goldy had a son, not a daughter.

3. Goldy and ex had a contentious relationship, and she protected her son from her ex as best she could.

4. Goldy's last name was changed.

I plan to go back to watch the movies in order, starting with the first one. I just have to remind myself that the books and movies aren't the same, and just go with the flow!

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On 1/7/2024 at 2:23 PM, zoey1996 said:

I watched the beginning of this movie (Grilling Season). I've read all the books, but didn't see the first movie. Things that bugged:

I love the books and have read all of them. When I watch the movies I have convinced myself that the movies are not related to the books.  Sure some of the characters have the same names, but that is merely a coincidence. The movie Marla was never married to Goldie's husband ("The Jerk"). The movie Marla isn't overweight. The movie Marla Marla isn't filthy rich. So she can't be the same person, right? You get the idea. It's the only way it works for me.

Did anyone watch the mess that was True Justice: Family Ties? As someone who has gone through law school, I was looking forward to watching this. If there is another movie in this "series" I'm going to skip it. The thing that bothered me the most didn't even have to do with law school or the law in general. It had to do with the fact that Casey and Devina had been best friends. Marcus, Casey's brother, had never met Devina. Marcus is the one who stumbled upon Devina's body in the middle of Philadelphia. Devina's fiance was in class with Casey. It was just too much for me to believe all of the coincidences.

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(edited)

I stumbled across the Carter series with Jerry O’Connell which is airing today.  I’ve never heard of it, but it’s got a nice cast and a bit of a Psych vibe with humor and solving cases so I’m enjoying it as easy-viewing on this icy MLK day.  Sydney Poitier Heartsong is lovely (my first time seeing her in anything) and I always like Kristian Bruun (hated when he was written off of Murdock Mysteries).  

Edited by MerBearHou
5 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

Did anyone watch the mess that was True Justice: Family Ties?

I’m 30 minutes in and they found a finger print on the victim’s watch. That led them to conclude “someone else was there (time and place) when victim died? Finger prints ID people, but could be left behind ANY time and place. UGH. These writers have no idea how to up their game.

13 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

Did anyone watch the mess that was True Justice: Family Ties?

Yep, I kept thinking about how most of the evidence would probably get thrown out due to questionable collection practices.

I did think it was funny that Casey used the fake name of Mia; which was Kat McNamara's character's name in Arrow.

3 hours ago, CAM said:

Did anyone watch the Gilded Newport: Murder at The Breakers?

I liked overall and would like to see it continue. 

I liked it too.  It's based on a book series that has quite a few installments. 

For those who watch the Hannah Swensen Murders, it looks like they're recasting Cameron Mathieson with Victor Webster.  Cameron had worked about both GAF and Hallmark but I gather the new contract he signed at GAF means no more Hallmark for him.

I kind of wish they'd just bring in Victor as a new character.  I liked her chemistry with Cameron but in the book series

Spoiler

she supposedly ends up with a new love interest and not Mike or Norman. 

I wouldn't advocate for that if it weren't for the fact that CM is leaving.

(edited)
17 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I liked it too.  It's based on a book series that has quite a few installments. 

For those who watch the Hannah Swensen Murders, it looks like they're recasting Cameron Mathieson with Victor Webster.  Cameron had worked about both GAF and Hallmark but I gather the new contract he signed at GAF means no more Hallmark for him.

I kind of wish they'd just bring in Victor as a new character.  I liked her chemistry with Cameron but in the book series

  Reveal spoiler

she supposedly ends up with a new love interest and not Mike or Norman. 

I wouldn't advocate for that if it weren't for the fact that CM is leaving.

Couple of things:  I enjoyed Gilded Newport:  Murder at the Breakers and will stay with the series if they continue.  Gorgeous setting and a good-enough mystery.  

They did recast Victor as a Prosecutor, I believe.  He won’t replace Mike as a detective.  Victor was so good with Alison in the Wedding Veil series and frankly, I enjoy VW in everything he’s done that I’ve seen.  People are sad to say bye to Cameron and fussing about Victor’s casting,  but if Cameron’s moved to another network, then better accept it!  Plus I like the Murder She Baked series so I’ll roll with the change.  I liked Cameron too, but so be it!

Edited by MerBearHou
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15 hours ago, CAM said:

Did anyone watch the Gilded Newport: Murder at The Breakers?

I liked overall and would like to see it continue. 

I have it taped but haven't watched it yet.  I'm glad you thought it was good.

From over here at the shallow end of the pool, I was driven to distraction during the *commericals* at how bad the main character's costumes looked, that I haven't actually brought myself to watch the show.  There is no way a gilded age woman walked around with a flat chest in a loose bodice.  (a blue ballgown shown in the commercial)  Are the rest of the costumes better?    I don't want to spend the whole show thinking "no...."  Awful I know, but here we are.

I'll be the odd one out for Gilded Newport: Murder at the Breakers, I found it rather disappointing. The lead actress felt too modern to me, and kept pulling me out of the story. And I'm not familiar enough with the setting - both the era and the New England blue blood society - to fully keep up with the nuances of everything that was going on. I commend Hallmark for trying something different with a period movie, though, and I do hope they continue to try some different things. Just with a more suitable lead next time.

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2 minutes ago, Maelstrom said:

I'll be the odd one out for Gilded Newport: Murder at the Breakers, I found it rather disappointing. The lead actress felt too modern to me, and kept pulling me out of the story. And I'm not familiar enough with the setting - both the era and the New England blue blood society - to fully keep up with the nuances of everything that was going on. I commend Hallmark for trying something different with a period movie, though, and I do hope they continue to try some different things. Just with a more suitable lead next time.

I did enjoy it, but I can see what you're saying about the lead actress being too modern.  This is going to be a problem when Hallmark casts really young (or young-seeming) actors and actresses.  They don't have the gravitas to carry a 2-hour story without it seeming so geared to a YA audience.  This happened to a great degree IMO in the recent Hallmark mystery centered around a law school group.  They seemed SO young and immature and not to my enjoyment.  

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On 2/6/2024 at 11:07 AM, bunnyface said:

From over here at the shallow end of the pool, I was driven to distraction during the *commericals* at how bad the main character's costumes looked, that I haven't actually brought myself to watch the show.  There is no way a gilded age woman walked around with a flat chest in a loose bodice.  (a blue ballgown shown in the commercial)  Are the rest of the costumes better?    I don't want to spend the whole show thinking "no...."  Awful I know, but here we are.

I'm glad to know I wasn't imagining this. Every time I looked at her wardrobe, she looked like a shopkeeper who had gotten some second-rate "fancy clothes". I know that they made a point of pointing out that money was an issue, but no way would someone like her have been in clothes like that. 

On 2/6/2024 at 7:11 PM, Maelstrom said:

I'll be the odd one out for Gilded Newport: Murder at the Breakers, I found it rather disappointing. The lead actress felt too modern to me, and kept pulling me out of the story. And I'm not familiar enough with the setting - both the era and the New England blue blood society - to fully keep up with the nuances of everything that was going on. I commend Hallmark for trying something different with a period movie, though, and I do hope they continue to try some different things. Just with a more suitable lead next time.

You're not alone, and 1000 times yes to the part in bold. Interestingly, she was the only character who I felt that way about; even the young girl playing Gertrude didn't have that same modern sound to her.

The other thing I had a problem with were the historical inaccuracies. Cornelius Vanderbilt died in 1877 at age 82. In this movie, he was portrayed as being middle aged, so that would be around 1840s-50s. Yet they also made a point of talking about how the person who stole the plans was shopping them about by phone, even though Bell didn't even get his patent until 1876. Also, a very early incandescent electric lamp was first made by Edison in 1876, but this movie clearly had table lamps that were not gas.

And finally, the phraseology sounded completely contemporary...almost nothing they said would have sounded out-of-place now.  In fact, the lead character said something about how someone loved drama. That is a turn of phrase that we weren't even saying as recently as 20 years ago.

And finally, the police guy absolutely would have been watching her like a hawk at the end when she was talking with that heir guy at the door, seen what looked like an intimate conversation, and definitely had some words with her. I also found it odd that the heir never bothered correcting her when she said he hadn't been honest about who he was. IIRC, he never said he was a reporter...she is the one who (falsely) concluded that he was a reporter.

I will watch future installments, if there are any, because I'm a sucker for Hallmark Mysteries, but I was still disappointed.

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Once Hallmark Christmas movie season started around October, I guess I thought all new mysteries had stopped. So I only recently realized I had missed some things. In case anyone else has as well, this is what is coming up:

  • Wed. Feb. 14 9:00 - After All These Years. This is actually a movie from 2013, starring Wendie Malick. I saw that the young man playing the son is Adam DiMarco, who played the sweet, naive son/grandson in White Lotus season 2.
  • Sat. Feb. 17 9:00 - Mystery on Mistletoe Lane
  • Fri. Feb. 23 5:00 - True Justice: Family Ties (repeat 3/2 7:00, 3/15 5:00)                            9:00 - CrimeTime: Freefall (repeat 2/25 7:00, 2/28 7:00)
  • Sat. Feb. 24 9:00 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Vows We Have Made
  • Fri. Mar. 15 9:00 - Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch

Also, I finally got to see what I believe is the last in the Garage Sale Mysteries series:  Searched & Seized. If you missed it, it will air again Sun. Mar. 3 at 7:00. It was nice when they actually used to show married couples!

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Yes, there probably was some of the Gilded Newport Mysteries that was too modern. I expected that, though, because it is a Hallmark production so I wasn't too bothered.

1 hour ago, LuvMyShows said:

I also found it odd that the heir never bothered correcting her when she said he hadn't been honest about who he was.

He did try.  She kept running away when he made the attempt. 

12 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

He did try.  She kept running away when he made the attempt. 

I wasn't referring to the times when she was getting to know him, and she thought he was trying to interview her, and she would cut him off or run away. I was referring to once everything was out in the open, she said something implying dishonesty on his part, but other than giving her a false name, he never actually said anything false about himself. She's the one who concluded he was a reporter, but her wording made it sound like he had misled her about it and he didn't correct her about it. Maybe he was just being a gentleman.  

(edited)

My biggest disappointment with Murder at The Breakers is that we never saw The Breakers! I've wanted to see Newport for as long as I can remember, so my husband and I finally went there this past September, and we got to tour The Breakers. So I was excited that I would get to see The Breakers on TV after just having seen it in person. I should have remembered that this was Hallmark so I'd just get a big house in BC (which, don't get me wrong—the house and the sets were beautiful). 

I agree that I thought the main character was too modern (and I also didn't think she was a very good actress). But I liked the rest of the movie, and would watch a second installment.

Edited by kirinan
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After a few years where it seemed like Hallmark might be moving away from as many mysteries as they used to do, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is being rebranded as Hallmark Mystery.  Hallmark Drama will now be Hallmark Family.

The change is taking place at the end of Feb. 

They've also announced returning and new mysteries. 

Hallmark Press Conference

They're bringing back the mystery series with Aimee Garcia and Paul Campbell as the troubled married couple who start solving mysteries together.  There's more Hannah Swensen and Curious Caterer. 

There's a new Paris-based one with Brooke D'Orsay and Gilles Marini too.

 

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On 11/12/2023 at 5:30 PM, chitowngirl said:

Watching Mystery on Mistletoe Lane now…I’d love to move and be all unpacked instantly!! 😆 Otherwise, I’m enjoying it very much.

I finally got to see Mystery on Mistletoe Lane. It was slow at first, but it picked up and was very enjoyable. I was so pleasantly surprised at the chemistry between the two leads. I had only seen Victor Webster in the Matchmaker Mysteries with Danica McKellar and there was zero chemistry, probably due in large part to her wooden acting in the series. I had never seen Erica Cerra before, but she was very good.

Have to agree with chitowngirl about the instant unpacking from the move. The other thing that bothered me was that given how long it had been since anyone lived in the house, it sure had an updated look!

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On 2/6/2024 at 11:07 AM, bunnyface said:

I have it taped but haven't watched it yet.  I'm glad you thought it was good.

From over here at the shallow end of the pool, I was driven to distraction during the *commericals* at how bad the main character's costumes looked, that I haven't actually brought myself to watch the show.  There is no way a gilded age woman walked around with a flat chest in a loose bodice.  (a blue ballgown shown in the commercial)  Are the rest of the costumes better?    I don't want to spend the whole show thinking "no...."  Awful I know, but here we are.

It seemed to me that the clothing designs were pretty, but the construction was very poor, resulting in a very frumpy-looking wardrobe. At the very least, everything she wore needed a good ironing. Was it done deliberately, to imply that they were barely keeping the household afloat, and she was relying on cast offs and hand me downs?

I watched Crimetime: Freefall.  Meh.  The two leads have a playful banter and  buddy-buddy chemistry, but I don't sense any romantic chemistry. (I also couldn't get past Hadley's unflattering curly bangs.) I knew it would be the security guy, because they didn't delve into him at all.

One thing that was laughably bad was when the victim's mother sat down with Hadley and in total sincerity, begged her to get involved because of her crime-solving success on the TV show. It also didn't ring true that Hadley couldn't stop yelling out the trivia answers. This is a woman who is an actress, and as such is very used to taking direction, and she is not that long removed from those days. I also don't think they could decide if they wanted her to be down-to-earth or a my-assistant-will-handle-that diva.

Hadley's mom looked so much like a Black version of Lily Tomlin. And I was confused as to what the mom was apologizing for at the end, that had something to do with that fan guy.

I was also confused because I'm pretty sure Hadley said at one point that the move was temporary. I definitely noticed when the kids were complaining about having moved, she said that if something good came up back in LA (or words to that effect), she promised they would move back. As soon as she said that, I knew that something good would be offered but she would choose to stay. However...making a blanket promise like that is a terrible idea, and breaking that promise just makes her promises look cheap in the first place.

It's now the next day after I watched, and I can't remember why the security guy killed the victim, so that's not too good. Can anybody fill me in? 

One thing I absolutely loved, was when she went to the house where the victim's business partner and the ex were, and she asked them some busybody nosy crime-solving question, and they explained something about how nothing good came of when they spoke to her before, so they closed the door on her. That was hysterical, because in other Hallmark Mysteries, the heroine crime-solver asks all these questions of people who have no need or reason to answer her questions, but they do, and barely ever ask her why she's asking!

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I liked CrimeTime quite a bit.  I thought it was a lot of fun and I liked the two leads.  In fact, I liked the cast altogether. 

I did figure out the killer right away, though.  He's recognizable in the sense that he's in a lot of Hallmark movies and I figured he'd have a bigger role to play than just security guy--unless they decided to make him a recurring character. 

6 minutes ago, LuvMyShows said:

It's now the next day after I watched, and I can't remember why the security guy killed the victim, so that's not too good. Can anybody fill me in? 

The victim owned a consulting firm that would help struggling businesses improve efficiency.  That often included recommending that they reduce the workforce by firing people.  The security guy who showed up was someone he had recommended be fired. 

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On 2/24/2024 at 2:16 PM, LuvMyShows said:

Hadley's mom looked so much like a Black version of Lily Tomlin.

What is her name? It's not on imdb under Crime Time.

I wasn't paying close attention. Who was the man that security guy/murderer tackled outside of the house?

Another question (since I have already admitted that I wasn't paying attention), is this the chain of events? Murdered guy was murdered by security guy. How did he get in the parachute (or was it a hang gliding thing?)? Then a cougar dragged him up a tree. Then the neighbor (with the goats) shot, what he thought was a cougar) but really shot murdered guy who was already dead. Am I getting confused?

2 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

What is her name? It's not on imdb under Crime Time.

I wasn't paying close attention. Who was the man that security guy/murderer tackled outside of the house?

Another question (since I have already admitted that I wasn't paying attention), is this the chain of events? Murdered guy was murdered by security guy. How did he get in the parachute (or was it a hang gliding thing?)? Then a cougar dragged him up a tree. Then the neighbor (with the goats) shot, what he thought was a cougar) but really shot murdered guy who was already dead. Am I getting confused?

The actress that played Hadley's mom is BJ Harrison. She's been in a lot of supporting roles for various Hallmark movies. 

The guy that got tackled was a papp. We first see him when Hadley is leaving her agent's office when she talks about him getting pics from her left side, and we find out later that her agent paid him to follow Hadley back to Colorado to keep taking pics of her to keep her in the news. 

I finally got to watch this as I missed it last Friday, and I enjoyed it. I liked all the characters, including her kids. They weren't too overly bitchy or too precious and I loved the daughter's super short haircut, you don't see that often on these shows. I also liked seeing Hadley in her turban because we don't usually see Black hair care onscreen either. This is one I would watch again.  

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On 2/13/2024 at 3:59 PM, Irlandesa said:

After a few years where it seemed like Hallmark might be moving away from as many mysteries as they used to do, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is being rebranded as Hallmark Mystery.  Hallmark Drama will now be Hallmark Family.

The change is taking place at the end of Feb. 

They've also announced returning and new mysteries. 

Hallmark Press Conference

They're bringing back the mystery series with Aimee Garcia and Paul Campbell as the troubled married couple who start solving mysteries together.  There's more Hannah Swensen and Curious Caterer. 

There's a new Paris-based one with Brooke D'Orsay and Gilles Marini too.

 

The name change turned up today on my guide. They must be trying to save some money-Hallmark Family is airing in SD, not HD anymore. I don’t mind the picture in SD, but the sound is usually lousy (like listening with ear muffs on.

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6 hours ago, Daff said:

The name change turned up today on my guide. 

I use Cox, and it still says Movies & Mysteries. And you'd think that if a company wanted to re-brand, that one of the very first places the name change would appear is the website. But nope, HM&M's website still has the exact same wording!

14 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

I use Cox, and it still says Movies & Mysteries. And you'd think that if a company wanted to re-brand, that one of the very first places the name change would appear is the website. But nope, HM&M's website still has the exact same wording!

Their websites have always frustrated me. They seem to have been designed by idiots who have no concept of organization, ease of navigation, or redundancy of information. Useless.

I did not care for the Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch mystery. It was very, very difficult to understand what the people who spoke with French accents were saying, especially when they were yelling. I didn't particularly care for the lead character. Some of the writing felt very stilted. And that owner guy was far sexier than the detective!

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I wanted to love it because I love Paris but I watch these in the background and I still don't think I could tell you who was murdered. 

And I did think it was ridiculous you'd have two French people speak to one another in English and yet they'd also start randomly using French phrases with the English speaker. 

The culprit did surprise me though.

I'd watch another given the setting. 

 

I watched the Carter marathon off-and-on over the Easter weekend.  It was just a fun, light detective series, much like Psych.  I’m sorry it was only 2 seasons.  Winning cast who clearly enjoyed working together, led by goofy, charming Jerry O’Connell.  I had never seen Sydney Poitier Heartsong before (Sidney’s lovely daughter) and I always, always love Kristian Bruun.   

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I miss the fun, light detective shows like the ones that used to be on USA Network (including Psych). I've had to get my fix from shows overseas. Sydney Poitier Heartsong actually had a short stint on an old favorite of mine, Veronica Mars. But it's nice seeing her have a bigger role on this show.

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1 hour ago, MerBearHou said:

I watched the Carter marathon off-and-on over the Easter weekend.  It was just a fun, light detective series, much like Psych.  I’m sorry it was only 2 seasons.  

Did both seasons air?  I've seen it before but I thought I'd rewatch it but it looks like my YouTube TV only recorded the first season.

On 3/31/2024 at 11:22 PM, MerBearHou said:

I watched the Carter marathon off-and-on over the Easter weekend.  It was just a fun, light detective series, much like Psych.  I’m sorry it was only 2 seasons.  Winning cast who clearly enjoyed working together, led by goofy, charming Jerry O’Connell.  I had never seen Sydney Poitier Heartsong before (Sidney’s lovely daughter) and I always, always love Kristian Bruun.   

If you missed the marathon, you can catch both seasons via Amazon Prime. It links to Hallmark Movies Now, but it says there is a 7-day free trial, so if you're ready to binge, you can see it all for free in a week!

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Heads up about two movie premieres this month:

  • One Bad Apple: a Hannah Swensen Mystery on Friday 4/5 at 9:00 pm. Bonus is that starting at 3:00, they will air all three of the previous Hannah Swensen Mysteries.
  • Curious Caterer: Foiled Plans on Friday 4/26 at 9:00 pm.  Same thing with all three previous Curious Caterer movies starting at 3:00. 
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Message added by formerlyfreedom

Please keep the discussion here to Hallmark Mystery Movies - discussion of general Hallmark movies or news should be done in the Hallmark Movie Channel topic. Thank you.

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