Murder Between Friends

Another TVM dealing with murder ! Hey perhaps if someone in America gets to grips with crime the murder rate will fall we won`t have to put up with crap small screen movies like this . Why`s it so crap ? Okay here goes...

The idea is relatively good ( Though I`m somewhat dubious as to how true this " Based on a true story is " ) What`s happened is a woman has been murdered and the husband and her lover both blame one another for it , so who`s lying who`s telling the truth ? The problem is it`s so badly written , directed and acted that you`ll find yourself asking why anyone involved in this poor production escaped prosecution for crimes against TV viewers . Scriptwriter Philip Rosenberg wastes his time with character flashbacks instead of filling in the numerous plot holes which will have you asking " Wait a darn minute, how`d the prosecution come to that conclusion ? " Mind you the defence attornay is played by an actor called Alex Courtney who I`ve never heard of who gives one of the most bizarre performances I`ve ever seen. Imagine Tommy Lee Jones pretending he`s a camp drag queen and you`ve got the idea . No wonder the wooden D.A seems to get so many lucky breaks . And all this is directed in a completely static way by Waris Hussein whose major claim to fame is that he directed the very first DOCTOR WHO story . The camera work there was also very static but that was way back in 1963 and Hussein managed to get good performances out of the cast on his WHO debut so what went wrong here ?

Perhaps the worst criticism I can give MURDER BETWEEN FRIENDS is the fact that later on the same day I also watched A BEAUTIFUL MIND and THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS and could still recall how bad this film was

I was friends with Kerry and Janet Myers and Bill Fontanille. I knew all three for years and can say without reservation none were portrayed in this movie as they were in real life. All three were intelligent college educated people with responsible jobs. The day after this movie was first shown in New Orleans the local paper ran a two page outline listing the blatant discrepancies between the actual individuals and the movies' characters. In the article the movies' producer said they were under no obligation to portray the Myers and Bill in any fashion other than the way they chose to portray them. Bill's attorney, a former football player at the University of Alabama, was played by an actor seemingly attempting to channel Truman Capote. The movie is nothing more than fiction using the names of real people while promoting itself as factual. One of the worst made for television movies I have ever seen.

There is little doubt, 25 years latter, Kerry Myers murdered his wife and attempted to place blame on an innocent Bill Fontanille. Dr. Henry Lee now says the DA's office withheld information that would have cleared Bil of any wrong doing. So sad, but I am happy to report Bill is free and enjoying great success in his life.

This murder happened only miles from where I live and both men did state they fought in the house for hours and never knew the wife and children were in the house. Of course they did, forensics showed the husband killed her and the friend was there.The house is not really big and you would have seen Janet Myers lying in the living room almost as soon as you entered the home. Very bizarre case, but it is true and happened in a west bank suburb of New Orleans. Every time I go by this house it reminds me of the tragic ending of a young mother and how her children lost her and their father(since he is in prison with no chance of parole.) The friend will be eligible for parole soon.

I read this book many years ago, and was wondering whatever happened to the young boy who was severely injured? Who raised the two children of Kerry and Janet, and how are they today? Do they have a relationship with their dad? Has anyone ever come clean about the true details to this crime? How did the parents of the beautiful Janet fare after her murder? Are her parents still alive? Whatever happened to Bill's wife and son?

I know this happened back in the 1980's; I was in my 20's and living on the East Coast when this occurred. I remember seeing the two men appear on an episode of Maury (Povich) after Kerry and Bill were arrested and I had written to the show for a copy of the transcripts, but never received a response. In any event, the book was well written and I would love to see the movie if it is available on DVD. It's an absolutely fascinating case and one that remained with me for all these years due to the twists and turns and the characters in this horrific murder.

I think this is one of the best T.V. movies I have ever seen. Martin Kemp is wonderful in this film, he is so handsome and his acting is great. My question is why has Martin Kemp never been chosen to play James Bond he would be perfect in this role he is so sexy. I love Murder Between Friend's.