In 1975, Elizabeth Montgomery of Bewitched fame starred in the landmark TV film The Legend of Lizzie Borden. She played the infamous title character, charged with the most notorious crime of the late nineteenth century.
Borden was put on trial for savagely murdering her wealthy father and stepmother in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. She was aquitted, and to this day her innocence is still debated. The TV movie was not ambiguous.
It clearly showed (and quite graphically for the time) that Borden did indeed commit the murders, and that she methodically disposed of the evidence. It also showed a motive: her father is portrayed as domineering and sadistic (both mentally and physically), and her stepmother is shown to be an uncaring and crass woman.
The movie suggests that she killed them in order to gain her independence. In fact, she and her sister used their inheritence to buy a nicer house in the same town. They both died within days of each other in 1927.
Although director Paul Wendkos leaves no doubt as to his opinion on the matter,
he does a superb job of making us sympathetic to Borden. Montgomery is excellent,
playing Borden in a subdued and subtle manner. During the murders she is expressionless...at the trial she is almost defiant, breaking into a laugh at odd moments.
Once seen, it's likely you will never forget the images of her naked body striking her parents with the axe and splattering the walls with blood, and then sitting in the tub to wash off. The film won Emmys for its sets and art direction, and nominations went to Montgomery (who should have won), editor John A. Martinelli, and costume designer Guy Verhille.
Finally, for anyone who doubts the ability of television films to be intensely powerful,
check out Helter Skelter. Airing over
two nights in 1976, this docudrama about the Charles Manson murders was made just close enough to the actual events to feel sufficiently authentic.
Based on prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's bestselling book, the film stands as the best and most gripping account of that horrific
summer in 1969 when Manson and his followers butchered Sharon Tate among others.
Much of the film covers the subsequent trial, and director Tom Gries handles the
proceedings with great skill. It's a chilling film all the way.
