A late-blooming but God-gifted figure skater from Iowa begins her Cinderella climb toward the Winter Olympics (after one look at her new rival, the favored French champion is skidding all over the ice on belly and knees), and she gets as far as a Sports Illustrated cover before she is stopped cold by a skating accident that leaves her near-blind. This is like a composite of The Other Side of the Mountain (Gold Medal dreams tarnished by mishap), The Turning Point (a hint of the rigors involved in athletic training and a deeper belief in overnight success), The Miracle Worker (tantrums and rehabilitation), Slow Dancing in the Big City (triumph over physical handicap), and perhaps a few others as well. The sincerity and care with which it is played (solid performances from Colleen Dewhurst and Jennifer Warren as coaches, and an innocent, stuffed-cheeked prettiness from Lynn-Holly Johnson as the skater) make it take a little longer to get through this slush, but also make it not entirely tedious. With Robby Benson, Tom Skerritt; directed by Donald Wrye. (1978) — Duncan Shepherd