Sous la menace d'un père

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.

Although I haven't seen the movie, I know the family who currently own and live in the house.

It was flooded in 1992 during hurricane Andrew and it was flooded again during Katrina.

The first floor was completely submerged and the water level was half way up the second floor.

It has survived but the family has chosen to demolish the structure in the next few months.

If you live in the area, go by and see it quick.

The plans for the new house are unbelievable!!!

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.

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

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.