Lethal Vows - Bis dass der Tod uns scheidet

I've noticed for a long time, now, that I'm seldom disappointed by a t.v. movie - the reverse is true for most of the "theatre" movies available on cable right now...I wonder if it's because pay-per view, and satellite dish companies are snapping up the good "theatre" stuff leaving us cable viewers with the rubbish?...small wonder then that my local cable company is resorting to "attack" ads on satellite dish t.v, which ads are having the effect of turning me on to dish my local cable co!

Anyway, "Lethal Vows" is a good solid suspense yarn, with believable situations, attractive characters (even the villain!)and natural-sounding dialogue. It's based on a true story, as so many of these t.v. movies are, truth being more entertaining than fiction, telling the story of a long divorced ex-wife, coming to suspect that her (still-friendly)former spouse, and father of her two daughters, is guilty of slowly poisoning her, and his present wife who is currently displaying the same symptoms that our heroine experienced during her marriage to the man - the effects of such poisoning lingering to the time-set of the movie, 14 years after the divorce.. There is no doubt of the villain, from the get-go - the charming John Ritter, who is as pleasant a madman, as he is in his usual role of good guy. The many women in the movie, are good to look upon -many familiar faces which cause my irritation at IMB's lack of a cast-list -with the minor characters also being up to snuff. Altogether, an absorbing movie.

John Ritter, in a sinister performance, as a Ph.D person who has poisoned 2 wives.

It is hard to believe that the ex-wife and current wife could have such an excellent relationship, but the story is well-told and Ritter's performance, his subtle ways, his slow but menacing talk, are all memorable. He really showed versatility as an actor in this film.

Nice to see Madeline Zinna,"The Nanny's" youngest charge, and Jessica Bowman, who starred in "Dr. Quinn-Medicine Woman." in teenage roles.

The women who play the wives are convincing and this movie should have been highly rated and emmy nominated.

Here is a portion of the true story.

Boyer read the obituary in the newspaper and decided it was time she spoke up. She called the police and told them Overton had tried to poison her 15 years earlier. By that time the remains of Janet Overton had been cremated. But police ordered an analysis of her ashes, which confirmed the first wife's hunch -- traces of cyanide.

Overton, who was by this time a professor at the University of Southern California, was arrested and charged with murdering his third wife, a trustee of the Capistrano School District. The case was handled by the Orange County, Calif., District Attorney's Office, and became one of the county's most famous and twisted murder cases.

Although they had been divorced for almost 15 years, Boyer's testimony revealed the whole scheme that led up to her coffee-can poisoning. At that time, the defendant worked for an aerospace contractor and had a top-secret-level clearance. While married, he met and married another woman -- Karoline Wallace -- adopting the identity of a co-worker to legally marry the second woman. He would tell one wife he was on a business trip while he lived with the other wife. Every few weeks, one would drop him off at the airport as if he was leaving, and the other would pick him up as if he was returning. For a year and a half, his scam worked.

You can read the entire story from the link below.

http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/96104

I know about poisoners. This movie accurately portrayed the charming personality of the husband, who deep down inside is seething with rage against his wife. This happens far more than anyone suspects. Death by poison accounts for 60% of all deaths. While this sounds absurd, it is statistically true. I thought the movie was very well done, very accurate about how far a serial killer will go, and showed the pattern of behavior over years. I give it full stars for accuracy. It makes one wonder how many people have truly died from poison. I read in the "Poisoners Handbook' over 50% of the graveyard would sit up if you asked if they'd been poisoned. It sure is an easy method to rid one's self of a problem. A few lies here and there, and it would be easy to make someone appear ill and incapable to unsuspecting onlookers. Beware is all I can say... they don't exactly announce it. :)

This is the kind of movie that, in my opinion, is good from start to finish. It is cleverly put together and with the help of a talented group of actors, this is one of the better TV movies I have seen.

The plot is very unusual and interesting. One of the things that really struck me is that the crew must have done a lot of research in order for the story to be accurate. (I'm referring to the medication side effects.) A lot of hard work and excellent writing went into this production.

The actors perform exceptionally well. Especially John Ritter, who plays the evil David Farris. Marg Helgenberger comes very close to being as good as Ritter but there's no stopping him. Helgenberger plays the part of Ellen Farris particularly good also. The rest of the cast adds their two cents to make this not so typical family shine.

The writing, cast, and idea overall is phenomenal. With the luck that CBS will decide to air this again, be prepared because you never know who you may be dealing with.