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Post by topbilled on Jan 24, 2023 14:11:48 GMT
People tend to have trouble thinking of Liz Montgomery as anyone but Samantha Stephens on Bewitched. But when the sitcom left the airwaves in 1972, she successfully transitioned to dramatic roles in TV movies.
Between 1972 and 1995, Liz starred in 21 TV movies and one miniseries. Subject matter ranged from rape to homicide to blindness and paralysis. You name it, she played it. She never ventured back to weekly television. She didn't have to.
Some of these TV movies were top drawer entertainment in their day, and many of them still hold up quite well.
THE VICTIM (1972)
MRS. SUNDANCE (1972)
A CASE OF RAPE (1974)
THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE BORDEN (1975)
DARK VICTORY (1976)
A KILLING AFFAIR (1977)
THE AWAKENING LAND (1978)
JENNIFER: A WOMAN'S STORY (1979)
ACT OF VIOLENCE (1979)
BELLE STARR (1980)
WHEN THE CIRCUS CAME TO TOWN (1981)
THE RULES OF MARRIAGE (1982)
MISSING PIECES (1983)
SECOND SIGHT: A LOVE STORY (1984)
AMOS (1985)
BETWEEN THE DARKNESS AND THE DAWN (1985)
FACE TO FACE (1990)
SINS OF THE MOTHER (1991)
WITH MURDER IN MIND (1992)
BLACK WIDOW MURDERS: THE BLANCHE TAYLOR MOORE STORY (1993)
THE CORPSE HAD A FAMILIAR FACE (1994)
DEADLINE FOR MURDER: FROM THE FILES OF EDNA BUCHANAN (1995)
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Post by galacticgirrrl on Jan 25, 2023 7:16:10 GMT
Not just top drawer entertainment but also ground-breaking television.
It was really impactful for actresses like Elizabeth Montgomery and Farrah Fawcett to take on roles like A Case of Rape and The Burning Bed. I seem to recall they really had to fight to be involved with such projects. The audiences and executives probably would have preferred it if they had stuck to lighter fare.
Sins of the Mother and Black Widow Murders are terrifying docudramas which I directly attribute to the way she played these psychotic women. This was the golden age of the tv docudrama. Lawsuits must have put an end to it because they've never been the same since.
The Legend of Lizzie Borden was and still is one of my favorite movies. She is good in it. Everyone is good in it: Fritz Weaver, Katherine Helmond, Helen Craig, Ed Flanders...even Gloria Stuart, first acting role in 29 years. I can even overlook the huge flaw of the missing uncle. The idea that Elizabeth Montgomery and Lizzie Borden were related makes it extra spooky. I think I heard this was the reason it was so hard to find a copy of it for so many years but that could be an urban legend.
Edna Buchanan was great entertainment and surely would have gone on as long as Murder She Wrote.
The Awakening Land, Belle Star, When the Circus Came to Town, Amos...even Second Sight all work in my books.
Still haven't seen The Rules of Marriage but it looks interesting.
We lost her far too soon.
Queen of the TV Movie - you might get in trouble there like Mariah trying to patent herself as the Queen of Christmas. There are a number of other contenders, like Judith Light...
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Post by topbilled on Jan 26, 2023 2:37:44 GMT
Not just top drawer entertainment but also ground-breaking television. It was really impactful for actresses like Elizabeth Montgomery and Farrah Fawcett to take on roles like A Case of Rape and The Burning Bed. I seem to recall they really had to fight to be involved with such projects. The audiences and executives probably would have preferred it if they had stuck to lighter fare. Sins of the Mother and Black Widow Murders are terrifying docudramas which I directly attribute to the way she played these psychotic women. This was the golden age of the tv docudrama. Lawsuits must have put an end to it because they've never been the same since. The Legend of Lizzie Borden was and still is one of my favorite movies. She is good in it. Everyone is good in it: Fritz Weaver, Katherine Helmond, Helen Craig, Ed Flanders...even Gloria Stuart, first acting role in 29 years. I can even overlook the huge flaw of the missing uncle. The idea that Elizabeth Montgomery and Lizzie Borden were related makes it extra spooky. I think I heard this was the reason it was so hard to find a copy of it for so many years but that could be an urban legend. Edna Buchanan was great entertainment and surely would have gone on as long as Murder She Wrote. The Awakening Land, Belle Star, When the Circus Came to Town, Amos...even Second Sight all work in my books. Still haven't seen The Rules of Marriage but it looks interesting. We lost her far too soon. Queen of the TV Movie - you might get in trouble there like Mariah trying to patent herself as the Queen of Christmas. There are a number of other contenders, like Judith Light...
She's very sinister in BLACK WIDOW MURDERS, which I am glad you mentioned...the crest of the wave of TV docudramas. I need to watch that one again.
I read somewhere that JENNIFER: A WOMAN'S STORY was a TV movie that the network was interested in turning into a weekly series. It was actually based on a British hit. But she wasn't interested in doing another weekly show. She gets to work opposite Bradford Dillman and the results are quite good.
I wrote reviews about four of her telefilms. Ones that made a huge impression on me as a kid...THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE BORDEN; BELLE STARR; AMOS; and BETWEEN THE DARKNESS AND THE DAWN.
I may post them here in this thread, if I am able to import the photos properly.
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I just checked and THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE BORDEN is available for streaming on Amazon Prime. |
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Post by galacticgirrrl on Jan 26, 2023 6:38:36 GMT
I read somewhere that JENNIFER: A WOMAN'S STORY was a TV movie that the network was interested in turning into a weekly series. It was actually based on a British hit. But she wasn't interested in doing another weekly show. She gets to work opposite Bradford Dillman and the results are quite good.
I wrote reviews about four of her telefilms. Ones that made a huge impression on me as a kid...THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE BORDEN; BELLE STARR; AMOS; and BETWEEN THE DARKNESS AND THE DAWN.
I may post them here in this thread, if I am able to import the photos properly.
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I just checked and THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE BORDEN is available for streaming on Amazon Prime. Interesting about Jennifer. It would have been a great premise for a tv show but totally understandable she didn't want to sail that ship again. I hope you can import the photos. They are always helpful & enjoyable when I'm reading your reviews. Lizzie Borden was one of the few movies for which I ventured into the BitTorrent realm before it finally came out on DVD. Only for Elizabeth Montgomery. I need to see a George Peppard TV movie as well but I haven't gone that final step to get a copy. |
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Post by topbilled on Jan 26, 2023 15:58:09 GMT
THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE BORDEN (1975)
Though she made feature films, Elizabeth Montgomery enjoyed far greater success on television. She is most remembered for playing Samantha Stephens on the long-running sitcom Bewitched. And when the program ended, she decided the best way to deal with typecasting was to take an axe to it. In the mid-1970s Miss Montgomery left comedy behind, determined to reinvent herself in more serious dramatic roles. Though she didn’t know it back then, genealogical studies later proved she was related to Lizzie Borden. One guesses she wanted to play Lizzie for a less personal reason– because the part would be shocking and something her fans (and critics) would not expect. Rendering a masterful performance from start to finish, it is impressive the way she captures the spirit of the real Lizzie Borden. Lizzie was a troubled woman. She was exonerated by a Massachusetts court in 1893, nearly a year after the gruesome double murders of her father Andrew and stepmother Abby Borden. William Bast’s teleplay uses information from the actual case, though some dramatic license is taken. The TV movie is divided into several segments– presenting the discovery of the bodies; followed by the investigation, inquest, trial and subsequent acquittal.We first glimpse Lizzie the day the killings take place. The cinematography keeps us disoriented as viewers; we are confused like Lizzie and involved in her coverup. It’s a great way to start the story, and as investigation into the deaths of her father and stepmother gets underway, she emerges quickly as the main suspect, but the police gather mostly circumstantial evidence. The washed handle of the murder weapon, plus a burned dress that couldn’t have had any blood stains on it complicates matters. Much eyewitness testimony is contradictory, including comments from a dimwitted Irish maid (Fionnula Flanagan). Lizzie’s sister (Katherine Helmond) returns from a trip, and she believes in Lizzie’s innocence. One thing I especially like about the film, besides its gradual build to the courtroom scenes, is how the deaths affect people who know Lizzie as well as others in the community who don’t know her at all. This includes two lawyers that will argue the case (Don Porter and Ed Flanders). In some ways, the main character is made to sit back and watch them all debate her guilt, before the trial even begins. Once the trial begins, she is never called to the stand. So she must remain seated and look on as testimony is given for her and against her. There are lengthy scenes where the others have considerably more dialogue, and all we get from Lizzie are cryptic looks and a countenance shielding the horrible truth of what she’s done. Elizabeth Montgomery does much with her facial expressions in these scenes, it’s remarkable. The flashback scene of how the killings took place is saved till the end, when they all reassemble in court after a verdict has been reached. We learn exactly how she did it, including how she didn’t get blood on her dress. The death scenes are harrowing to watch and suggest a lot of violence. As the foreman reads the jury’s decision, it is learned the jury has found Lizzie NOT GUILTY.Although we know the history of the case today, the not guilty verdict is still powerful. It should be said this story does not focus on a woman getting away with anything (she was forced to move). Instead, it is about a woman that people still felt sympathetic towards, despite the likelihood she was a cold-blooded killer. It is to the actress’ credit how much we feel sorry for the main character, instead of feeling sorry for her victims. The film doesn’t seem as if it’s been written to manipulate us that way. But the central performance is imbued with a strange tenderness and the idea that Lizzie must’ve been victimized at the hands of those she killed in retaliation.I’ve never watched something where a killer was so obviously guilty, but yet it somehow seemed fair she was acquitted. I wanted her to go off and be in peace. Perhaps because there was a different type of justice involved. Or maybe because Elizabeth Montgomery had cast a spell on me.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 28, 2023 13:44:04 GMT
BELLE STARR (1980)
Some films don’t make much of an impression. Watch them and they spend a few days in your short-term memory but are soon forgotten. The 1980 production of BELLE STARR is not that kind of film. It stays in your long-term memory, because of Elizabeth Montgomery’s fantastic performance. There had been a 1941 feature film with Gene Tierney playing the famed outlaw. Jane Russell also took a turn in a later effort. But Miss Montgomery’s interpretation is much grittier; and it is clearly a continuation of the roles she took to distance herself from the Samantha Stephens image of Bewitched.As Belle she’s a woman who likes danger. She rides with Cole Younger, the James Brothers and other gunmen. And when she aims her rifle she means it. Interestingly this version was produced by Hanna-Barbera, a company known for animation projects. There’s extensive outdoor filming, and the attention to period detail is outstanding. Cliff Potts, who costarred in an earlier film with the actress, is cast as Cole; and it is revealed that he is the father of Belle’s youngest child, which historians would probably dispute.In fact there are several liberties taken with actual details of the main characters’ lives. But I think the general sense these were kindred spirits who marauded and reveled together is fairly accurate. There’s a feminist angle to this story I enjoyed very much. The Belle in this picture sees the prim and proper townswomen for the hypocrites they are. Ironically, she is forced to entrust the care of her daughter to one of the stuck-up women who intends to turn the girl against her. Belle’s motives are always pure with her daughter. And she’s more of a woman than those snobs will ever be.Meanwhile, Belle has a son, and he’s just as dangerous as she is. Belle’s relationship with her son is depicted in a somewhat incestuous way. Again, not sure if historians would agree with the various liberties taken…but it provides us with plenty of drama to watch unfold.There are two particularly effective scenes. One is when locals burn Belle’s farm to the ground in an attempt to drive her from their community. She carefully surveys the damage and knows what must be done. Then there’s the final scene where Belle’s dramatic death is depicted. After encountering trouble during a robbery, she returns to the farm to find her son. As she dismounts, ties her horse and goes inside the house, she is unable to find him.She is still looking for the boy moments later when an unknown assailant is heard approaching off-camera, shoots and kills Belle. It is left ambiguous who her murderer might be. Did her son shoot her? It’s a powerful ending for a woman whose life of crime comes to a sudden end.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 30, 2023 4:08:30 GMT
AMOS (1985)
Elizabeth Montgomery made some terrific TV movies. And without a doubt, AMOS is one of the best. Though she had already proven her ability to play dramatic roles in stories about Lizzie Borden and Belle Starr, it’s still a shock to see her take on the role of a nurse who abuses elderly patients. The patients are played by Ray Walston, Pat Morita, Dorothy McGuire and Kirk Douglas. Douglas stars as the title character, and his company produced the film. He was on a personal mission to raise awareness about elderly abuse. He gives a very thoughtful performance as a man who butts heads with the evil nurse and refuses to be her victim. Nurse Daisy Daws enjoys mistreating the patients entrusted to her care, and we can be sure she’s been doing it a long time. She has staff and outsiders, including the local sheriff, manipulated to see things her way. She fools an inspector who shows up once a year, because she finds out in advance that he’s coming– so she passes with flying colors.But one day Amos decides to speak up and tell the inspector he and his friends are not treated well. His comments are not taken seriously by the inspector; and the other patients do not back him up, since they’re afraid Daisy will retaliate. One patient was recently killed in their sleep. What makes the story stand out, aside from scenes that are written and performed to jolt the viewer, is how human the characters are. We learn a considerable deal about Amos’ background. He was a baseball coach (and often uses baseball metaphors); he slept with a lot of women in his younger days but loved his wife; his son died; and his grandson who lives far away is his only connection to the outside world.We learn about McGuire’s character, too; she and Amos gradually fall in love. The romantic scenes between them give us a tender respite from the violence that Miss Montgomery’s character inflicts on them. The story makes comments about people who run institutions with an iron hand. Also, it makes a statement about treating senior citizens with dignity. In the end, when it looks like Nurse Daisy is going to kill Amos, the two characters reach an impasse. The only way Amos can win is to take his own life and leave evidence that implicates Daisy.If he waited for her to kill him, she would cover her tracks. He intends to finish the last inning on his terms. Not only will he bring her down, he will give his friends a chance to live their last days in a way he cannot. It’s a film that leaves you thinking after it ends.
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Post by galacticgirrrl on Feb 2, 2023 5:42:00 GMT
 It was so interesting to see the film through your eyes TB. I was left with a totally different feeling. Are we both right? Is her acting just that good?  Elizabeth Montgomery's metamorphosis from Samantha was so masterful I was left cold, frightened and worried for a number of people in Fall River including Lizzie's sister, her ex-maid and the lady who testified about the dress burning. I agree that any viewer would be hard-pressed to feel sorry for Andrew and Abbey Borden. But there were only a few times I felt sorry for Lizzie - the pigeons, the basement and the conversation under the clock that reads 10:40 a.m. The way Ms. Montgomery played this character was almost Sybil-like and while these three scenes for me were incredible, showing Lizzie as a tender spirit, they didn't outweigh the vain, mean and contemptuous Lizzie she also revealed to us.  11pm - the grandfather clock chimes as Lizzie floats down the stairs, specter-like in a long trailer white nightgown
It is only 12 hours after the murders. Lizzie stares with empty eyes and the blood soaked corpses on repose in the dining room. There is no look of horror, fear, relief, triumph, madness nor morphine...just an empty gaze. "Lizzie you always frighten me when you get like this" The very first thing Emma asked her sister is not what happened, did you hear anything, was a door or window broken....instead a very direct Did you kill father? Lizzie's angry personality breaks through again as Emma and Miss Russell are on tenterhooks knowing and expecting she will not take the accusation of murder well. Miss Borden may have been considered a good Christian woman by some but not many by my count.  The way Elizabeth portrayed her as vain and concerned about mutton sleeves, six button gloves, hats, full length mirrors and luxuries in prison was deliciously disconcerting. The hardest part of prison for The Sphinx of Coldness wasn't missing her father or worrying whether Emma was safe with a killer on the loose - but that she couldn't read at night in the dark. Refusing to wear mourning black was prideful, foolhardy and dangerous.   Lizzie may not have been called to the stand at trial but she did testify at the Coroner's Inquest and boy do we know something is odd in the way she flirts with the judge. The stakes are high. At the Inquest we learn of a violent and disturbing household with a mean old skinflint, rotting food, poisonings, a climate of fear that means doors must be bolted at all times; the OCD of cleaning a house with stained walls, stained ceilings, filthy front door in a blistering heatwave. Suppose it was a man.....the judge opines.  Which leads me to something that has niggled at me for years but I didn't know what is was until I read your review. I always thought it odd the film left out one of the main suspects, Uncle Morse. Here was a man with money at stake if a new will was written, a man who was in the house that day, a man who oddly memorized the number of the streetcar he took to help create an alibi. Now I am convinced it was beyond odd and I suspect it *was* written to manipulate me in that way. We are to only delve into the psychology of Lizzie, a woman in a literal cage with no rights, no property, no choices and possibly an improper relationship with her father. We are not to even suspect Emma, Brigid, business associates, the farm hand or the missing relative. The woman's movement in 1892 vs. 1975 are analogous. The front of the court house is littered with suffrage placards. One of the most memorable scenes is the speech delivered adeptly by Sylvia Knowlton. Hosea Knowlton: But you do sympathize with her? Sylvia Knowlton: Certainly not with her deeds, but perhaps with her motives. Hosea Knowlton: [laughs] Her motives? Now what would you know about her motives? Sylvia Knowlton: I should think a great deal, Hosea. You have no idea how unbearably heavy these skirts can be at times. I was manipulated but the results are one of the most memorable TV Movies ever made.  |
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Post by topbilled on Feb 3, 2023 0:27:27 GMT
I enjoyed reading galacticgirrrl's take on the Lizzie Borden TV movie. It's interesting how we pull different things from what we see on screen.
I will post my review for BETWEEN THE DARKNESS AND THE DAWN tomorrow...it's actually my most favorite of all the TV movies Elizabeth Montgomery made. It's not as flashy as Lizzie, Belle Starr or Amos, and it plays like a typical 80s family drama...except for one key detail, her character has been in a coma for twenty years. And so we get this generation gap, literally, that happens because when she wakes up, she has to try to catch up to everything she's missed within her family and the culture at large. It's a brilliant TV movie and Montgomery aces it, like she aced everything else!
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Post by topbilled on Feb 3, 2023 15:31:50 GMT
BETWEEN THE DARKNESS AND THE DAWN (1985)
This movie originally aired on television when I was in high school. I remember how much of an impression it made on me. It’s a story about courage and beating the odds; a theme found in some of the best TV movies from the 1980s. At this point Elizabeth Montgomery had already played an axe murderess, a western outlaw, a blind woman, and other challenging dramatic roles. But this time the challenge was even more daunting– she was portraying Abigail Foster, a woman who had been in a coma for two decades then woke up one day in a mostly vegetative state. In the first few scenes she is a teenage cheerleader in the sixties, dating the quarterback. She’s an all-American girl with her whole life ahead of her. But a virus causes Abigail to collapse one day and something happens to her brain, rendering her comatose. When she finally regains consciousness twenty years later everything’s changed. Despite these circumstances her mother (Dorothy McGuire) is convinced Abigail can enjoy life as it was meant to be lived. The mother believes new drugs and therapies will enable Abigail to become a fully functioning person. And gradually, this is what happens. Not sure how realistic the story is from a medical standpoint, but it makes for compelling drama. Miss Montgomery’s character faces enormous odds and by the time the movie ends, she has overcome much of the adversity she faces. An interesting twist the writers have added is that while Abigail was comatose her sister (Karen Grassle) married the football quarterback. So during the recovery phase, she is involved in a bit of a triangle with the sister and the guy who is now Abigail’s brother-in-law.Soapy elements aside, the drama manages to maintain its sense of balance and keeps the focus on the main character’s journey. Especially what it is like to readjust to a world that went on without her. On that level alone, it’s a great “what if this happened to someone” scenario. Elizabeth Montgomery’s acting skill comes through when she has to demonstrate involuntary muscle reflexives. Also when the character learns to communicate again. In the same way she used powerful facial expressions in the Lizzie Borden movie, she conveys a lot with her eyes in this story. Particularly during the parts where she is taking in her “new” surroundings and looking at how much it means to her mother and sister for her to either recover or die.One scene where the sister begs her to give up and let them be free of her as a burden is very memorable. And there’s another great scene when Abigail has become coherent, looks into a mirror and realizes she is no longer a teen. To prevent things from getting too serious, the scriptwriters sprinkle the scenes with light touches. It’s amusing to see a woman now in her late 30s thinking she’s still 18 (since in her mind she hadn’t really matured). During one sequence she goes back to high school, but classes in 1985 are a lot different than classes were in 1965. There’s a brief Samantha Stephens moment when she makes a humorous face while encountering her first Commodore 64 computer.Eventually Abigail reaches the point where she would have been had the coma not happened. Losing the old boyfriend to her sister turns out to have its advantages when a handsome gym teacher (James Naughton) falls for her and she gets a chance at an adult romance. As an actress, this was probably one of Montgomery’s more challenging roles. The casting is perfect. She and Dorothy McGuire, who also appeared with her in AMOS, do seem like mother and daughter.
And Karen Grassle resembles them enough to be convincing as the sister. Their scenes give us character-driven moments that provide a sense of intimacy and realism. They don’t go overboard with what could easily have been an outlandish situation. It’s done simply, showing us the struggles and triumphs that occur within one family as they very literally deal with a generation gap.
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Post by NoShear on Mar 26, 2023 21:20:28 GMT
TopBilled, may I suggest an addition to the court of Queen Elizabeth??
Linda Blair was something of the Princess of the Telefilm during the 1970s: "BORN INNOCENT", "Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic", others...
Like the Elizabeth Montgomery roles, many or all of Blair's characters in that decade were edgy yield.
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Post by intrepid37 on Aug 27, 2023 17:35:50 GMT
If we could only convince TCM to show some movies that were made for TV as well as theatrical features, how much richer would we be?
Even if TCM would allow for just 2 per week (every Wednesday could be telefilm evening or something like that). I'd love it.
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