Legend of Lizzie Borden
Every once in a while someone posts the entire film of Legend of Lizzie Borden, starring Elizabeth Montgomery. This made for TV film is the only movie (non-documentary) made of the case and is considered a classic.
This one is on Google and is downloadable. So hurry, before it is removed, as all of them eventually are, and go grab it for yourself.
September 23, 2007 at 4:55 pm
What a riveting experience to see this again, after several decades, and I remember clearly watching some of the scenes when they were first shown on TV.
(Just a bit of trivia, in case no one noticed: Ed Flanders and Bonnie Bartlett [Mr. and Mrs. Hosea Knowlton] wound up as costars on “St. Elsewhere.”)
I had forgotten the method of presentation, and I’m wowed at how much was covered. And, even though the indoor/outdoor settings for Second Street weren’t authentic, they were “close enough” and certainly gave a period flavor. One could certainly feel how stifled Lizzie must have felt in her house, which was particularly well brought out in the scenes in which she and Emma and Andrew and Abby are arguing.
Of course, the movie does fall short in dropping Uncle John, sending Bridget off before her time, and especially in turning Emma into a complete milquetoast (and ignoring the true reasons for her absence on the day of the murders. Also, I’m sure she knew by the close of August 4, 1892, whether or not Lizzie had done the deed. Surely, she was not left hanging in the dark till after the trial.)
The fact that Lizzie, Uncle John, Emma, and Bridget hang so tight reeks of complicity, even conspiracy, particularly vis a vis the rejection of Alice over the dress affair, which was rendered an oddity in the movie because of the outlandish “nude theory.”
It would make sense that Lizzie murdered Andrew in a dress that was practically ruined, with some sort of covering that she could hastily hide or burn. It would also make sense that she would fear there would be some traces of blood, nevertheless, on that dress, and that it would therefore behoove her to destroy it. (Ruin her Bengalese silk: Nevah!)
Loved the “Lady Macbeth Sleepwalking” scene in which Lizzie descends the stairs to peekaboo under the sheets covering the bodies on the dining-room table. Terrific! I doubt she did, but it plays superbly! Also interesting that Lizzie comes across as bipolar, before that term was in common use. It’s quite a testament to Elizabeth Montgomery’s acting, and to the direction, with all the extreme close-ups.
Nevertheless, I think the truth is that Lizzie returned from her brief exile with the express purpose of killing her parents (well, Mrs. B had to go, so Mr. B did, too, or else Lizzie would have hanged– boy, did the movie evermore portray them as awful excuses for humans). I strongly suspect therefore that the murders were terribly premeditated and not the result of Lizzie snapping over spoiled mutton broth or some such, or even having a seizure of some sort.
I’d completely forgotten how boldly the movie underscored Lizzie’s shoplifting, right down to the ax itself! The movie may have really been on the nose on that score– I tend to think the “point of no return” for Lizzie was the in-house “robbery.” What an aura of mistrust must have existed in that household after that! Thieving goes hand-in-hand with lying, and Lizzie was not terribly adroit at either.
Anyway, the movie scores points all over the board, thanks largely to the writer, the director, Ms. Montgomery, and the rest of the excellent cast.
As a closing aside: I think Reese Witherspoon would make an excellent “modern day” Lizzie.