A WOMAN SCORNED: THE BETTY BRODERICK STORY

Meredith Baxter

A WOMAN SCORNED: THE BETTY BRODERICK STORY (1992 telefilm). Director: Dick Lowry. 

Betty Broderick (Meredith Baxter of The Cat Creature) has been nagging her successful husband, Dan (Stephen Collins) about a divorce for years, but when he finally gives up, moves out, and files papers, she is absolutely livid. Betty mounts a campaign of terror against the man that spares no one, including her own children. She goes so far as to call her little boy a "little traitor" because he wants her to stop carrying on the way she does, which includes driving her car into her now ex-husband's house when her children are inside! Later claiming that she was "driven to it," Betty goes to his home (supposedly wanting to "talk" late in the evening), climbs the stairs to the bedroom, and shoots both him and his new wife (Michelle Johnson) dead.

Kelli Williams and Stephen Collins

A Woman Scorned makes very clear that -- although some stupid people made Broderick a cause celdebre, seeing her as a symbol of middle-aged women dumped by husbands for younger models, an over-simplification to say the least -- Broderick was, as one psychologist calls her, an extreme "narcissist" who had no problem using her own children as pawns in a war with her ex. Ignoring restraining orders, acting like a loon, alienating friends and family -- even though she could have started over again with her new boyfriend -- she was her own worst enemy. In an Emmy-nominated performance, Meredith Baxter brings the woman vividly to life, never chewing the scenery, always making it clear what makes this woman tick. Baxter is excellent casting, showing the dark side of the sitcom mom she had previously played. Stephen Collins and Kelli Williams are also perfection as Dan Broderick and his oldest daughter, one of four children caught in the middle of this mess, and there are a host of solid supporting performances as well. Followed by Her Final Fury. Dick Lowry also directed The Jayne Mansfield Story and many others. 

NOTE: In 2014 Stephen Collins admitted to People magazine that he had "inappropriate sexual contact with three female minors." The statute of limitations prevented him from being arrested. 

Verdict: Well played and suspenseful, this is one high-class telefilm. ***. 

HER FINAL FURY: BETTY BRODERICK, THE LAST CHAPTER

Betty on trial: Meredith Baxter

HER FINAL FURY: BETTY BRODERICK, THE LAST CHAPTER (1992 telefilm). Director: Dick Lowry. 

After shooting her ex-husband and his new wife dead in their own bedroom, Betty Broderick (Meredith Baxter) goes on trial for double homicide. Betty has gotten a surprising amount of support, primarily because she paints herself as the stereotypical "discarded" wife, and her ex-husband as an abuser, even though the prosecution finds no evidence of this. DA Kerry Wells (Judith Ivey) is reluctant to put Betty's little boys on the stand, although they have important information to relate, because she fears further traumatizing them, but her eldest daughter, Kate (Kelli Williams of The Practice), willingly becomes a prosecution witness, incurring her mother's eternal enmity. 

Judith Ivey versus Meredith Baxter in court

Her Final Fury boasts another fine performance from Meredith Baxter as the narcissistic sociopath Betty Broderick. Judith Ivey also offers her customary excellent work, as does Kelli Williams as the conflicted daughter, who loved her father. Watching the proceedings, it is clear Broderick hated her husband less because of the divorce, than because he walked out on her, before she could do the same, and because she didn't get enough money despite his more than generous alimony payments. While we generally think it's men who shout "no one walks out on me!" and "If I can't have you, no one can!" women are perfectly capable of having the same mind set. The first trial ended in a hung jury (because of two dumb hold outs), but Betty was convicted in the second trial. 

Betty Broderick was denied parole in 2010 and on subsequent occasions because she showed no remorse and refused to admit she did anything wrong. (Let's make no mistake -- even if her husband had been the monster she portrayed him as, murder is never an option, and it only made things worse for everyone, especially her children.) Her next parole hearing isn't until 2032 when she will be 84. Interestingly enough, her two older children think she should stay in prison, while the two younger children want her to get out.

Verdict: Well-acted and absorbing follow up to A Woman Scorned. ***. 

THE JAYNE MANSFIELD STORY

Loni Anderson

THE JAYNE MANSFIELD STORY (1980 telefilm). Director: Dick Lowry. 

Jayne Mansfield (Loni Anderson), a newly-divorced mom with a young daughter, tries to take Hollywood by storm and succeeds -- for a time. Jayne appears on Broadway in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and is lucky enough to get cast in the film adaptation. Overdoing the publicity bit while waiting for future assignments from her studio, 20th Century-Fox, she discovers that few people take her seriously, except perhaps her new husband, Mickey Hargitay (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Becoming one of those celebrities who would "go to the opening of an envelope," her career rapidly goes on the downslide, doing nude scenes in cheap Grade D movies and club acts in dives.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Loni Anderson

Although one might wonder if the story of a minor show business casualty is even worth the telling, this telepic succeeds because of some very good performances. Although she overdoes the squealing a bit, Loni Anderson probably gives a better performance than the real Mansfield ever did, turning the actress from a kewpie doll into a pathetic figure who garners some sympathy. (While there may be people far more deserving of our pity, self-absorbed actors who are desperate to stay relevant and employed do suffer in their own way, as evidenced by Mansfield's excessive drinking.) Arnold Schwarzenegger gives a surprisingly appealing and sensitive -- if such a term can be used in conjunction with the body builder -- performance, and Ray Buktenica and Kathleen Lloyd score as, respectively, Mansfield's agent and her friend and companion. G. D. Spradlin also makes an impression as Mansfield's liaison at the studio. 

Verdict:  Possibly more than the poor Mansfield deserves. ***.