| The Burning Bed | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original newspaper advertisement | |
| Genre |
|
| Based on | The Burning Bed byFaith McNulty |
| Written by | Rose Leiman Goldemberg |
| Directed by | Robert Greenwald |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Charles Gross |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Producer | Carol Schreder |
| Cinematography | Isidore Mankofsky |
| Editors |
|
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Production company | Tisch/Avnet Productions Inc. |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | October 8, 1984 (1984-10-08) |
The Burning Bed is a 1984 Americantelevisioncrime drama film directed byRobert Greenwald and starringFarrah Fawcett,Paul Le Mat,Richard Masur,Grace Zabriskie, andJames Callahan. Adapted byRose Leiman Goldemberg from the 1980non-fiction novel of the same name byFaith McNulty, it follows batteredhousewifeFrancine Hughes and her trial for the murder of her abusive ex-husband, James Berlin "Mickey" Hughes. Hughes set fire to the bed her husband was sleeping in at theirDansville, Michigan home on March 9, 1977, after thirteen years of physicaldomestic abuse at his hands.
It aired onNBC on October 8, 1984. The film premiered with a household share of 36.2, ranking it the seventeenth highest rated movie to air on network television and NBC's highest rated television movie.[1]
The Burning Bed was met with critical acclaim,[2] receiving eight nominations at the37th Primetime Emmy Awards. It was also nominated for threeGolden Globe Awards, with Le Mat winning the award forBest Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film.
On March 9, 1977,Francine Hughes and her three children arrive at theDansville, Michigan, police station, where she turns herself in, after setting her husband, James Berlin “Mickey” Hughes, on fire in their home. Public defender Aryon Greydanus is appointed as Francine’s attorney and tries to gain insight into her motive. Initially reluctant, Francine recounts her life and the events leading up to the murder.
In 1963, sixteen-year-old Francine meets Mickey Hughes, and the two marry shortly after. Mickey begins displaying signs of jealousy and anger and physically abuses Francine, often in the presence of his parents. The abuse escalates over the years, and circumstances worsen with Mickey’s alcoholism. Francine divorces Mickey and takes their three young children. Mickey tries to convince Francine to get back together with him, promising he has changed his ways, but Francine refuses. After learning Mickey has been involved in a serious car crash, Francine agrees to care for him temporarily in his parents’ home; however, the situation eventually traps Francine into adomestic partnership with him. As the children get older, Francine takes business courses at acommunity college, much to Mickey’s disapproval. Mickey’s abuse becomes relentless, and Francine tries to leave numerous times, only for Mickey to follow her and threaten her into returning. She also seeks help from the police, family courts, and Mickey’s family, but to no avail.
As the case goes to trial, Francine testifies about the horrifying instances of abuse she suffered from Mickey over the years and what happened the day of the murder:
Francine returns home late from school after giving a classmate a ride home, enraging a drunken Mickey. He refuses to allow her to cookTV dinners for the family and beats her. He then orders her to quit school and when Francine refuses, he destroys her school books and forces her to burn them. Later that night at dinner, Mickey beats her again and knocks the food onto the floor. He rubs Francine’s face in the mess and orders her to quit school again. A defeated Francine agrees. Afterwards, Mickeyrapes her and falls asleep in a drunken stupor. Francine goes to the garage and obtains a can of gasoline, which she pours over Mickey’s body. She takes her children to the car and drives away as the house becomes engulfed in flames. As the jury returns from deliberation, Francine is found not guilty by reason oftemporary insanity, and she is embraced by her children as a free woman.
After purchasing the rights to the book byFaith McNulty, executive producer commented on Farrah Fawcett's casting: "When we bought the book, we knew that Farrah was interested in playing the part, and we talked to her about it. We told her it would mean working with no makeup, going completely against her image, and she was willing."[3] During production, director Robert Greenwald stated that Fawcett "pushed herself to the limits. She's wanted to make this as gritty as possible."[3]
Prior to beginning the shoot, Greenwald held two weeks of rehearsals with Fawcett and her co-star, Paul Le Mat.[3]
Filming partly took place inside a private residence inPacoima, California.[3] During a scene in which Francine's husband locks her in a closet, Greenwald directed Fawcett to be locked in the closet for thirty minutes before beginning filming, and during the courtroom scenes, Fawcett sat in the same hard-backed chair for up to four hours at a time.[3] Greenwald stated that he felt the physical strain contributed to the actress's performance.[3]
The Burning Bed first aired onNBC on October 8, 1984.[4] It premiered with a household share of 36.2, ranking it the seventeenth highest rated movie to air on network television and NBC's highest rated television film at that time.[1]
Within the first week following the film's television premiere, two crimes occurred in which the accused perpetrators claimed to have been inspired after watching it.[2] Within less than an hour of viewing the film, Joseph Brandt doused his estranged wife with gasoline inside theirMilwaukee home and set her on fire.[2] Brandt was later charged with second-degree murder.[5] Shortly after, Alondra Thompson, a woman recently released from a psychiatric hospital, critically wounded her boyfriend after shooting him while he was sleeping, claiming to police that the film had inspired her act.[2]
In response to the crimes,UCLA psychiatristLouis J. West argued that Brandt and Thompson would likely have committed the crimes regardless of viewing the film, stating: "Millions of people saw it, and they didn’t burn their spouses."[2]
CBS/Fox Video releasedThe Burning Bed onVHS in 1986.[6]MGM Home Entertainment released the film onDVD in 2004.[7]Kino Lorber later issued DVD andBlu-ray editions on November 7, 2017.[8]
John J. O'Connor ofThe New York Times praised Fawcett's performance as "admirably strong," also praising the performances by Paul Le Mat, Grace Zabriskie, and James Callahan, concluding that the film "adds up to riveting, sometimes memorable drama."[4] David Wecker ofThe Cincinnati Post awarded the film a favorable review, describing it as "a quality movie, totally devoid of Hollywood hokum," and praised Fawcett's performance as groundbreaking.[9] ThePittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ron Weiskind also praised Fawcett's lead performance, adding that "she is not the only reasonThe Burning Bed grabs the viewer's attention and rivets it to the screen. Every aspect of this film has been handled with care."[10] Alan Pergmaent, writing forThe Buffalo News, noted that despite some "haphazard" editing, declared it "one of the most powerful and unpleasant films ever put on the small screen."[11]
Marvin Kitman ofNewsday noted the film's realism but felt it was too extreme, writing: "After awhile,The Burning Bed plays almost like a videotape of real life. It's raw and depressing... In the end,The Burning Bed is depressing, not exhilarating, more a videotape of one woman's terrible life experience and newsreel footage of a trial. It is not great art."[12] TheDetroit Free Press's Mike Duffy similarly noted the film's raw presentation of events, but felt it served the subject matter: "It is not a pretty picture. But then, wife-beating is not a pretty subject.The Burning Bed, however, is a compelling picture. It addresses a serious national misery without resorting to simplistic melodrama or sentimental handwringing."[13] Peter Farrell ofThe Sunday Oregonian was unimpressed by the film, describing Rose Leiman Goldember's teleplay as "flat" and describing it as "merely another message movie—timed to coincide withNational Domestic Violence Week."[14]
In his 2016 book co-written withAlan Sepinwall titledTV (The Book), television criticMatt Zoller Seitz namedThe Burning Bed as the 7th greatest American TV movie of all time, writing, "The film was a landmark in terms of content, depicting domestic violence as an unambiguous horror and a human rights violation". Seitz also praised the performance of Farrah Fawcett as "one of the finest in the history of TV-movies".[15]