Sous la menace d'un père

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 walked in while this was playing on tv but managed to catch most or all of it. The plot involves an overcontrolling father obsessed with running the lives of his daughters as well as his wife who eventually begins murdering people to keep that control. This movie was actually interesting and REALLY well acted. What's interesting to see is this movie stars Gwenyth Paltrow as one of the daughters and she is VERY GOOD in it-this was a made for tv movie made in Paltrow's early days I guess. I had never heard of it until I saw it on tv. EVERYONE is good in it, the actor who plays the dad is wonderful and the movie is very sad. I'd recomend it. Even back then you can see how talented Platrow is.

I came upon this movie as I was channel-surfing on a Sunday afternoon (a bad day for television, even with digital cable).

Lifetime was showing it and when I saw the cast, I decided to watch.

The late Robert Urich did a marvelous job in the TV movie "Blind Faith" as Robert Marshall, the NJ insurance man who had his wife, Maria, murdered in 1984, and is now serving life in prison.

He did not disappoint in this movie as a control freak of a father who went so far as to kill his two sons-in-law for insurance money (and to blow off his own right hand for the same reason).

A truly scary guy.

A young Gwyneth Paltrow (one of my favorite actresses) did an equally terrific job as Carol Fagot Holland, the daughter who was loyal to her father at first but , in the end, helped to bring him down.

Roxanne Zal also does a good job playing Urich's psychotic second wife, Marty.

Shelley Fabrares does not get enough air time in this move, but makes good use when she is on screen.

Good scenery , fine acting.

Nice way to kill two hours on a Sunday afternoon.

I'd recommend it.

I was so glad when I logged onto and set up an account on this site. Just to see the first review about the home the Fagots lived in. It looked just like a Frank Lloyd Wright home but would be unusual to be in Louisiana. I wish I could have seen the home before it was demolished. Maybe I could find the new home built on the same site. Wonder who designed it?

Also since I live in Atlanta I did not recognize any of the scenery. Hard to swallow Robert Ulrich playing such a bad guy, although he did it well. How could such a successful father of 4 be so self destructive? He had so much going for him and life could have continued to be so wonderful.

Enjoying another LMN flick for a lazy Monday afternoon.

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