X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Gloria

Mild mannered Jack Dawn has been secretly working as an accountant for the mob. He, his Puerto Rican wife Jeri, his teen-aged daughter Joan and his mother-in-law, all who were planning on going on the run, are murdered by the mob because Jack was going to inform on them to the FBI. Before they're killed, Jack and Jeri are able to send their six-year old son Phil to Jeri's friend and their neighbor, Gloria Swenson, for safe keeping. Also with Phil is the book which contains all the information Jack was going to turn over. Gloria and Phil have an antagonistic relationship, not so much for who they are but what they are, Phil a kid, and Gloria a strange white woman who hates kids. As an ex-mistress of a mobster, Gloria learns that the people that killed the Dawns are old friends of hers. As Gloria and Phil go on the run both from the mob and from the authorities (who believe she kidnapped Phil) throughout New York City, Gloria has to come up with a plan on how best to save themselves, which is not easy because of their love/hate relationship and the fact that precocious Phil has a mind of his own. That plan includes what to do with the book, but more importantly how to save Phil as the mob would still be after him regardless of the book just in case he knows something about his father's dealings. All through their ordeal, Gloria is not averse to shooting to kill, especially if those who she is trying to kill are trying to kill her and Phil first.

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

Gena Rowlands
Gloria Swenson
Buck Henry
Jack Dawn
Julie Carmen
Jeri Dawn

Featured Video

Gloria: What Kind Of Man
Gloria: What Kind Of Man
1:03

1:03 Gloria: What Kind Of Man

Awards

  • 1981 - Oscar - Best Actress in a Leading Role - nominated
  • 1981 - Golden Globe - Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - nominated
  • 1980 - Golden Lion - - winner
  • 1980 - OCIC Award - Honorable Mention - - winner

You May Also Like See All

Compensation
Three Colors: Red
The Godfather
Rear Window

Popular Movies See all movies

Crucify

1 hr 19 mins
A neon noir thriller that descends into a maze of nightmares as two teens trapped in a haunted crime scene are forced to confront their demons.
2020 Fantasy, Horror, Suspense, Drama

Zeta

2 hr 13 mins
The film opens with scenes in New York, United States, Bangkok, Thailand, Panama City Panama, and Tokyo Japan, After the simultaneous killing of four former Spanish intelligence agents involved in the so-called 'Operación Ciénaga,' Zeta (Mario Casas) is tasked by the CNI with tracking a surviving missing agent, joining forces with Colombian intelligence agent Alfa (Mariela Garriga), going on to deal with a mysterious sixth member of the operation, who is code-named Casiel.
2026 Action & Adventure, Suspense

180

1 hr 34 mins
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
2026 Suspense, Drama

Thrash

1 hr 26 mins
When a Category 5 hurricane decimates a coastal town, the storm surge brings devastation, chaos and something far more frightening: hungry sharks.
48   Metascore
2026 Horror, Suspense

The Wizard of the Kremlin

2 hr 16 mins
A young Russian filmmaker becomes an unlikely advisor to Vladimir Putin as he rises to power in post-Soviet Russia, navigating the new era's complexities and chaos.
55   Metascore
2025 Drama, Documentary, Suspense

The Housemaid

2 hr 11 mins
Millie arrives at a wealthy household seeking stability after instability. The Catalyst appears in the uneasy dynamic between Nina and Andrew, where generosity carries control beneath it. Millie responds by reading the room and using charm as survival instinct. As the Collision builds, attention, jealousy, and shifting alliances turn the home into a tense psychological arena. A Moral Pivot arrives when Millie must choose whether to remain pliant or assert herself within a system that rewards manipulation, and the cost of either path presses directly on her sense of identity.
65   Metascore
2025 Drama, Suspense