Small Sacrifices (1989) (TV)

Director:

David Greene

Writers (WGA):

Ann Rule (book)
Joyce Eliason (teleplay)

Release Date:

12 November 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Her children got in the way of her love

Plot:

On the 19th of May 1983 Diane Downs stops at the McKenzie-Williamette-Hospital and cries for help. She...

Plot Keywords:

Oregon | Child Murderess | Child Murder | Female Killer | Spandex Disco Jeans

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Farrah Fawcett	...	Diane Downs
Gordon Clapp	...	Detective Doug Welch
Ryan O'Neal	...	Lew Lewiston
John Shea	...	Frank Joziak
Emily Perkins	...	Karen Downs
Gary Chalk	...	Boyd Paul Downs
Ken James	...	Daryl Chapman
Sean McCann	...	Russell Wells
Tom Butler
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julie Bond	...	Reporter #2
Lynne Cormack	...	Lola Joziak
Robert Corness	...	Orthopedic Surgeon
Jayne Eastwood	...	Evelyn Slaven
Karen Gartner	...	Chris Rosage
Elan Ross Gibson
John B. Lowe
Maxine Miller	...	Diane's Mother
Bob Roitblat	...	Reporter
Garwin Sanford	...	Matt Jensen
Alana Stewart
Vicki Wauchope	...	Shauna Downs

Runtime:

Germany:205 min (2 parts) | USA:159 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Farrah's Powerhouse Performance makes this one work...

Farrah Fawcett's Emmy-nominated performance is the centerpiece of SMALL SACRIFICES, a riveting, ABC mini-series based on the true story of Diane Downs, a cold-blooded woman who was sent to jail for murdering two of her three children. This teleplay presents Downs as the lonely, divorced working mother of three who appears on the outside to be a devoted and loving mother but as no qualms about putting her own needs first when the opportunity presents itself. While working at a post office, Diane begins a romance with one of her co-workers, Lew Lewiston (Ryan O'Neal)and things are going well until Diane learns that Lew doesn't like kids and has no desire to be a stepfather so Diane decides to kill her children. Fortunately, her daughter, somehow survives the brutal shooting and is taken into protective custody not only to protect her from further harm by her mother but to use her to help build a case to convict her mother. Fawcett gives the performance of her career...an icy, heartless bitch who shouts of her innocence throughout the proceedings, even though all evidence points to her and has the nerve to be baffled by the fact that her daughter wants nothing to do with her. O'Neal's role here is more in the way of stunt casting as he was Fawcett's real life romance at the time and is wasted in a thankless role, but there are two solid performances from John Shea and Gordon Clapp as the two police detectives caught in the deadly cat and mouse game of trying to slip Diane up in order to nail her for this horrendous crime. Despite it's almost three-hour length, I found this movie fascinating from start to finish, thanks primarily to a powerhouse performance from Farrah Fawcett who got the role of her career and ran with it.