Das Biest hinter der Maske

I, too, just happened upon this movie by being too lazy to change the channel. It ended up to be quite a good movie. It was a little different for me to see Robert Urich as a "bad guy". One of the things that actually stuck out for me was the house the family lived in. It looked like something Frank Lloyd Wright would have built, and I actually did try to find out where the house was (no luck). I also thought Gwyneth Paltrow was excellent, as was Robert Urich. I pretty much like Urich in most anything. I was a little disappointed that Shelley Fabares didn't have more screen time; I really like her. If you like suspense (as opposed to thrills), you will definitely like this movie.

What some people may not realize that, while this was a great TV movie, it was also a true story. My family lived next door to LJ Fagot before he made his insurance money and my father once worked as their gardener and was friends with Carol. My father and his siblings were also babysat by Joanne.

I was impressed to see the acting cast and thought they did a wonderful job. Urich's portrayal of LJ Fagot was great and very close to how dictatorial Fagot was in real life. Gwyneth Paltrow and Matthew Perry were virtually unknown when filming this movie, yet still demonstrated superb acting abilities.

The house where this all took place still stands, at least it did before Katrina, and is still inhabited. It looks nothing like the house in the movie but is still beautiful in the way only New Orleans houses are.

I will continue to show this movie to my children as it is apart of our family history, as well as that of the Fagot family.

I haven't seen the movie, but decided to research it after spending the day and talking about it with my grandmother, Barbara Fagot Mathews. So whoever did "research" to find out if it is a true story... here's the newspaper article: http://www.geocities.com/murder_stories3/carol_donahue1.html

By the way, he was my grandmother's first cousin. She knew him very well as a child, but after a serious fight between Leonard his once inseparable cousin (her brother, my great uncle), they stopped talking to that side of the family.

Apparently I have to have 10 lines to comment, so now I will babble. Was the movie any good? Maybe I'll try to get a copy of it.

in this portrayal of Leonard Fagot, a true story about a wartime veteran, who was controlling and manipulative with his family. This is a sad and intriguing story about a man descending further and further into insurance fraud and murder, presumably to "keep up appearances" financially.

Urich is excellent, because he always manages to portray a tortured, yet sympathetic character. Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the favorite daughters, who will do anything, almost anything for her Dad. She is also very good, and projects a realistic character. Shelley Fabares is the long-suffering wife, who has been cheated on, emotionally and possibly physically abused by her husband. After a certain point, she realizes what Leonard Fagot has been doing after acquiring insurance policies, then carrying out murder. When she threatens him, he informs her that he also has a policy on her.

Matthew Perry has a small part as a son-in-law who also comes to unfortunate ends. It may be interesting if they filmed a sequel to this story, many people are intrigued by it, as it was a true story. All in all, you will enjoy this film. 8/10

This was the first and only movie I had ever worked on as an extra, which is why I had to watch it. As a "newbie" I was unaware that extras weren't supposed to talk to the "Talent". I couldn't help it, and because the director asked me to do some stand-in work for setting up shots when Mr. Urich wasn't on set, I got to hang around and gab with Shelly Fabres and catch a little more of what goes into making a movie...It must've been 90*and felt like 100, in Atlanta that summer. It was overwhelming to watch how hard everyone worked on their trade, the seriousness and intensity, something very few outsiders get to experience. The movie review doesn't do the film justice as it is filled with unbelievable surprises and twists and was based on a true story about a very "sick" guy in Louisiana...Worth watching again!!!