Mimi Rothman Schapiro Movies

It takes quite a while to determine who the real villain is in the made-for-TV melodrama A Crime of Passion--but once the truth is revealed, it's a terror-inducing ride to a horrifying conclusion. Kindly Dr. Ben Pierce (Powers Boothe) incurs the wrath of his grown daughters Alyssa (Tracey Gold) and Natalie (essie Gold) when he comes home with his new young trophy wife--an ex-stripped named Marci Elias (Kelly Rowan). Since Marci's love for Ben seems sincere, the hostility is all on the side of his daughters, especially Alyssa, who is already on the outs with her dad because of her poor grades in medical school. A series of unfortunate misunderstandings and bad choices causes a serious rift between Ben and Marci--and before long, Ben is found murdered. Normally, Marci would be the primary suspect, but the evidence compels the police to accuse Alyssa of the crime. That is to say, the evidence as it has been carefully and meticulously pre-arranged... A rather gaudy example of the "Smiler With the Knife" school of filmmaking, A Crime of Passion was originally telecast by CBS on December 15, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Telemovie mainstays Richard Crenna and Patty Duke (who co-starred in the 1982 sitcom It Takes Two) reteamed for this 1996 prime-time docudrama. Crenna is John Porter, a husband and father whose emotional isolation from his wife (Duke) and children springs from his own ingrained fear of mortality. When the Porters' twentysomething daughter, Sarah, is kidnapped, crisis pulls the family together in a desperate attempt to find the young woman before time runs out. It also forces John to overcome his fear of intimacy and connection, by reaching out to his family at an intensely difficult time. This feature, unsurprisingly, was based on a true story. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

TV journalist (and recovering alcoholic) Marcy Singer (Suzanne Somers) is promised an Exclusive by anonymous phone an caller. Singer is advised to show up at a well-known bar at an appointed time. Once she's arrived, she finds six corpses awaiting her. Investigating, Singer follows the trail of evidence to an unexpected-and all-too-close-source. Joe Cortese and Michael Nouri co-star in this made-for-TV melodrama. Exclusive originally aired October 4, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi