When the Bough Breaks (1986 film)
When the Bough Breaks is a 1986 television film directed by Waris Hussein and starring Ted Danson. The screenplay by Phil Penningroth was adapted from Jonathan Kellerman's 1985 novel of the same name. Danson, who also co-produced, plays the crime-solving forensic psychologist Alex Delaware, a character who appears in a series of novels by Kellerman.
When the Bough Breaks | |
---|---|
Genre | Thriller |
Based on | When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman |
Written by | Phil Penningroth |
Directed by | Waris Hussein |
Starring | Ted Danson Richard Masur Rachel Ticotin |
Music by | Paul Chihara |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers | Ted Danson Dan Fauci |
Producers | Rick Husky Kenneth R. Koch (co-producer) |
Cinematography | James Crabe |
Editor | Michael Jablow |
Running time | 100 min. |
Production companies | TDF Productions Taft Entertainment Television |
Distributor | NBC |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | October 12, 1986 |
Plot
Alex Delaware, a Los Angeles psychiatrist, testifies for the prosecution in the trial of an accused child molester. Later the defendant, who is out on bail, is found dead in the psychiatrist's office, in what appears to be a suicide. Shaken, the psychiatrist moves to the mountains outside of L.A. Not long afterwards a detective he knows, Milo Sturgis, comes to him for help. A seven-year-old girl saw someone kill both of her parents, but is so traumatized by the event that she can't remember anything, and Sturgis wants the doctor to help: Alex agrees, and the two go on the trail of the real perpetrators.
Cast
- Ted Danson as Alex Delaware
- Richard Masur as Milo
- Rachel Ticotin as Raquel Santos
- James Noble as Dr. Warren Towle
- Kim Miyori as Kim Hickle
- Merritt Butrick as Tim Kruger
- David Huddleston as Vicar McCaffey
- Charles Lane as Van der Graaf
- Scott Paulin as Rick
- Deborah Harmon as Lisa
Reception
A 1986 New York Times review said that, after a "properly taut start", "the solution to the mystery becomes apparent early on and that leaves the movie...tumbling rapidly into ever more unbelievable situations".[1] Jeff Jarvis of People magazine called When the Bough Breaks "a nice, tight, tense little murder mystery" with "some neatly shocking scenes".[2]
References
- O'Connor, John J. (October 10, 1986). "TV Weekend; 2 Films, 'Bough Breaks' and 'Circle of Violence'". The New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- Jarvis, Jeff (October 13, 1986). "Picks and Pans Review: When the Bough Breaks". People. Retrieved April 9, 2012.