The Burning Bed (1984) (TV)

Director:

Robert Greenwald

Writers:

Faith McNulty (book) and
Rose Leiman Goldemberg (writer)

Release Date:

8 October 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An abused battered wife has had enough of husband beating up on her. Everywhere she turns for help, there's not much anyone will do. After he rapes her one night, she sets the bed on fire with him in it asleep.

Plot Keywords:

Marital Rape | Junior High School | House | Teenage Girl | Abusive Husband

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Farrah Fawcett	...	Francine Hughes
Paul Le Mat	...	Mickey Hughes
Richard Masur	...	Aryon Greydanus
Grace Zabriskie	...	Flossie Hughes
Penelope Milford	...	Gaby
Christa Denton	...	Christy age 12
James T. Callahan	...	Berlin Hughes
Gary Grubbs	...	District Attorney
David Friedman	...	Jimmy age 10
David Andrews	...	Wimpy Hughes
James Hampton	...	Police Witness
Virgil Frye	...	Virg
Dixie K. Wade	...	Hazel Moran
Heather Rich	...	Christy age 6
Justin Gocke	...	Jimmy age 4

Runtime:

Brazil:100 min | USA:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16

Company:

Tisch/Avnet Productions Inc.

Trivia:

The role of Francine was originally offered to Cheryl Ladd, but she declined the part.

Quotes:

Hazel Moran: If you make a hard bed, you have to lay in it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "George Lopez: George Is Lie-able for Benny's Unhappiness (#6.11)" (2007)

Critique the movie, not the events.

Some people seem to be judging this movie based on what happened more so than the quality of the movie. The movie, we must remember, is based on a true story (that took place in a completely different time and place than we know now). The events in the film are real, though certainly dramatized. So, the fact that the police don't help the woman and her family does not support her and how unrealistic it all seems only adds to the impact of the story since it is true. I won't say this is a perfect movie, and certainly it is skewed to make the wife seem completely right and the husband completely wrong (because it plays better for a TV audience to not have ambiguities); but, I don't think it's fair to judge the film based on things that really happened. To look at the events in this movie and not believe they happened is to miss the entire point of the movie. The people in this woman's life pretended not to see things and chose not to believe her. But these things do happen, whether we chose to acknowledge them or not.