Pack of Lies

I saw this film when it was first presented on network TV sponsored by Hallmark Hall of Fame.What we see is a beautifully made film about, Love, friendship and deceit. The movie is set in the early sixties and is about the lives of basically two families are have become close over the years.Ellen Burstyn gives an outstanding performance as a British homemaker who spends her days happily performing the tasks of her simple life while enjoying a close friendship with the neighbor across the street played by Teri Garr. We watch as both families happily intermingle and enjoy their lives until one day a British agent appears at the door of Burstyn explaining that they are looking for a spy who seemed to be operating in their neighborhood and soon after the agents set up a surveilance from the house. From this point on in the movie we experience the drama of a family trying to hide thier fears. We see Burstyn on the brink of a breakdown knowing in her heart that she was deceived by the only true friend she had. We see even before she does that the Garr charecter and her husband are not what they appear to be making the the final realization of Burstyn that mush more heartbreaking...I taped this film back in 1987 and have watched it often and it still has a profound effect on me......

The perspective from rating this film is based on the knowledge that it is largely a true story. Initially, the close friends were generally happy and contented in their suburban neighborhood. This tranquility was destroyed by the government surveillance program using neighbor against neighbor. This program that was forced on a law-abiding family probably wouldn't be allowed in many countries at present. Legal protections would probably be available to protect innocent citizens. Alternative methods should have been employed. But it has to be viewed quite differently 60 years ago near the height of the Cold War. Intrusion issue aside; the story was suspenseful and the acting, especially from Burstyn and Garr, was excellent. That said, it difficult to watch the build up to the emotional collapse. The irony of betrayal left a very bitter taste in one's mouth.

Hugh Whitemore is listed as the author of the teleplay of PACK OF LIES. It would be more accurate to say he co-wrote it. He wrote the original TV play that was then the basis of the stage play the was a success in London. It was less successful when it played New York and I saw it. He was signed to write the adaptation for HALLMARK. He delivered a draft. For some reason he decided to leave the project and I was brought in to do a rewrite. I made some substantial changes. I gather these annoyed him. He had the right to sign the script. I was told he disliked what I did so much he didn't want to be associated with it, so he signed his pseudonym, Ralph Gallup. I was billed as creative consultant.

The show was successful. "Ralph Gallup" was nominated for an Emmy, as were the show and Ellen Burstyn. (I watched the Emmys in my living room with a bowl of popcorn on my lap.) It was also part of the basis for HALLMARK's Peabody Award that year. If the credit were accurate, Whitemore would certainly have first position. I wouldn't make comment except that, of everything I've worked on for television (pilots, episodes, assignments, sitcoms, TV movies, soaps), this was my favorite project, and I remain pleased with my part in it.

I am one of Whitemore's fans, by the way.

Television adaptation of Hugh Whitemore's play about an older British couple in a suburb of London circa 1961 learning from the police that their best friends of three years--a Canadian couple who live across the road--may be involved with a notorious Russian spy. Not-bad "Hallmark Hall of Fame" production is a bare-bones dramatic presentation coasting on the performances of its cast, with the emphasis on Ellen Burstyn as the otherwise-friendless housewife who feels betrayed by chatty, lively neighbor Teri Garr. Garr is working seriously here, but there's too many close-ups of her looking puzzled, asking the same redundant questions; Burstyn fares a bit better, even if her accent comes and goes (which can be overlooked). Still, Ellen's character deteriorates under the pressure of falsehood far too soon (everyone, at some point, becomes a liar in this teleplay--a gimmick that is heightened in the dialogue but, thankfully, not underscored too strenuously). The downbeat conclusion--and the two useless melodramatic tags--is unsatisfying, as is Alan Bates' role (and over-the-top performance) as a British agent. Worth-seeing for the intriguing first-half, but the hysteria which follows feels canned.

I was lucky to see this when it was first aired and fortunately at the time, I was addicted to videotaping on VHS dramas worth saving. I saved this and watched that VHS until it finally broke. Now, I am fortunate to be able to watch it for free on Amazon Prime and it holds up wonderfully.

Beautifully directed, sensitively written and magnificent performances add to an overwelming story of government interference, betrayal and emotional upheaval among a group of middle class English folk and their neighbors from overseas.

It is obvious from the delicately nuanced dialogue that this was originally a period piece of a play. It is also obvious that the entirety of the structure is a metaphor of government versus individual, that the concerns of the individual are subjugated to the interests of the state. However, the human scale and drama are drawn powerfully to a climax that is shattering.

Ellen Burstyn gives the performance of her life as the central character torn between reality and lies. And Teri Garr has never been more aptly cast as her best friend, the effervescent neighbor. The supporting cast is rock solid as is this introductory performance by Sammi Davis.

I have watched this at least 20 times in my life and it is an amazing show of subtlety, metaphor and acting. One of the greatest dramas for the tube ever produced.