Die vielen Tode der Louise Jamison

Back in the '80s, Anthony Hopkins made a lot of TV movies, some which used his great talent to advantage, and others in which he was underused. Here he is teamed with Blythe Danner and Swoosie Kurtz in a Levinson-Link concoction, "Guilty Conscience."

Levinson and Link were really masters of suspense and mystery, responsible for Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, and many TV movies, both as producers and writers.

In this movie, Anthony Hopkins is a prominent attorney who comes up with several ways to murder his wife (Blythe Danner) who has the goods on him and can expect a huge settlement in a divorce.

In his mind, he argues the merits of the different plots before a judge, a portrait of his wife's father, and undergoes questioning by the DA, who is Hopkins in spectacles.

Enter one of his dalliances, Swoosie Kurtz, and the fun begins. How is the murder going to be done? And who's going to be murdered?

This is a wonderful movie, and the kind you couldn't make today - there's lots of talk - in fact, entire monologues by Hopkins as he talks back and forth with and to himself - and not a ton of action.

Swoosie Kurtz is a riot as the offbeat mistress, and Blythe Danner appropriately elegant and thoughtful as Hopkins' wife.

It's unfortunate that these kinds of TV movies are no longer made. In the '80s, there were many of these mystery movies: Murder by Natural Causes, Rehearsal for Murder, Vanishing Act, The Guardian, etc., all very well cast.

Today it's all true crime, which would be great, if any of them were half as well written as anything by Richard Levinson, William Link, or Larry Cohen.

ANTHONY HOPKINS is the mentally agile lawyer who is continually thinking up ways to get rid of his wife, the fashionable and elegant BLYTHE DANNER. Evidently, their stormy marriage is at a breaking point and he decides he must plot her demise rather than go through with a messy divorce.

But what follows has enough plot turns to hold your interest, although the device of having Hopkins weigh all considerations against a trial lawyer (Hopkins in a dual role) gets a little tiresome after awhile. Not that he isn't a compelling actor whether playing the lawyer or the prosecutor, and he does create sympathy for a very detestable man.

The plot takes quite a surprising turn when SWOOSIE KURTZ shows up as his mistress, another very calculating character who has some surprises of her own to throw into the mix.

It all has the feel of a poor man's DIAL M FOR MURDER, showing its TV origins within some narrow settings. But you have to give credit to the writers who keep the tale spinning right until the sudden finish.

The cat-and-mouse byplay between husband and wife is reminiscent of the sort of banter between Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine in SLEUTH, but the overall result is not quite as clever.

Hopkins and Danner are great as the opposing spouses. His conversations with himself are fun to watch, as he tries to work out how to kill his wife. Not so much a whodunit, as a who's going to do it, with a wonderful twist at the end. And don't miss a word of the dialogue.

My edition is "Authored and remastered by DDC Labs - Made in Canada," packaged as a double feature with "Dangerous Relations." There is no other edition information on jacket. The DVD transfer is so bad, it is nearly unwatchable. The low price (USD 2 + tax) is no excuse for a sloppy job. This is very unfortunate because the movie is excellent, as far as murder mysteries go. I give it highest grade for story and acting. I am sure that there were other production values such as photography, sound, and production design, however I cannot evaluate those because of the poor video and audio quality. I would like to know what editions the other reviewers were evaluating.

This is a good movie, especially since I am a big Anthony Hopkins buff. I also like Blythe Danner, who plays his loving? wife. It's a fun, quirky and clever mystery with twists and turns. As Anthony Hopkiins makes plans for his future by planning the demise of his wife, he anticipates and participates, in his imagination, how he should perform in Court as he stands trial for murder.

There is a problem, however. I ordered a brand new, factory-sealed VHS by Quality Video and the sound and picture quality were dreadful and unwatchable! I re-ordered it on DVD and it was a little better, but the picture was dull and grainy. It is hard to believe that it is not possible to get a good quality picture and sound for this TV film.

What a shame... It's an interesting and clever movie!