Wife, Mother, Murderer

Surpassing all of the celluloid screen gems based on Stephen King's on-going premise that most of the horror in the world takes place in Maine ("as Maine goes so goes the nation...") is the fact that many non-fictionally based movies dealing with the sinister, seamy, and downright bizarre, are set in Maine's straight-laced neighboring state of New Hampshire. Add the 1991 made-for-tv film "Wife, Mother, Murderer" to the growing list of "farcical film noir" granite state fare. Twentieth-century Lucretia Borgia-esque family poisoner Audrey Hilley flees the clutches of Alabamian justice and seeks refuge in New Hampshire's hallowed hills (not to be confused with real-life characters Barney and Betty Hill, the subjects of an earlier made-for-tv movie, "The Ufo Incident" (1975),based on the first "documented" alien-abduction account involving a Portsmouth, New Hampshire couple "saucer-napped" during a vaction in New Hampshire's White Mountains in 1961).

Current info-merical actress Judith Light's stellar, soap opera-tinged performance relegates this flick to #1 amongst "Naughty New England Melodramas"! Thrill to the scenic beauty of charming Cheshire County (even though this was filmed in North Carolina where they have a more active film commission)! Such sumptuous cinema begs viewers to check out other New Hampshire-based nuggets, such as 1995's "To Die For", in which Nicole Kidman plays egotistical sociopath Suzanne Stone (based on New Hampshire's real-life Pamela Smart), in a sordid tale of a seductive tv weather commentator/high school instructor who orchestrates the murder-for-hire killing of her husband by her teenage, student lover; watch for a cameo role by author-turned-actress Joyce Maynard as Suzanne's lawyer. Maynard wrote the original novel from which the film was adapted and is the purported former lover of "Catcher In The Rye" author J.D. Salinger). Who could forget the 1962 Stanley Kubrick film "Lolita", in which middle-aged mentsch Humbert Humbert pursues the affections of a 14-year-old nymphet (played perfectly and purringly by Sue Lyon) amidst an array of oddball, small-town New Hampshire bizarros? Other neurotic New Hampshire-based nefariousness includes the films: "Murder In New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story" (1991), a quick, slick, made-for-tv instant recount (starring oscar-winner Helen Hunt) of the actual real-life inspiration of "To Die For"), "In The Mouth Of Madness" (John Carpenter's 1995 horror-ode to what happens to over-the-edge writers who seek solace in the granite state), "Peyton Place" (1957), the grandparent of all "sleazy soaps" (and yes, also set in New Hampshire), "The World According To Garp" (1982), and "The Hotel New Hampshire" (1984), screen adaptations of New Hampshire-born writer John Irving's homage to peaceful, wholesome New Hampshire piety and pragmatism. Even 1995's "Jumanji", a bland, spfx-befuddled Robin Williams flick concerning a young boy who acquires a mysterious board game and is trapped in an alternate dimension (a thinly-veiled, not-terribly-engaging horror story passing itself off as a big-budget Hollywood children's movie) is New Hampshire (and Cheshire County) based! All-in-all, "Wife, Mother, Murderer" is notable (aside from the competent job done by Judith Light) more for its addition to and epitomization of "New Hampshire Folklore Film Fodder", than for its recounting of a latter-day Lucretia! And yes, this reviewer is a native of and lives in Cheshire County, New Hampshire!

while this is not a masterpiece, as another reviewer mentioned, it is an interesting and realistic portrayal of true life sociopath Audrey Marie Hilley.

For some reason, when this film was first shown, there were segments which portrayed the poisoning of Marie's mother- and that she initially lived in a trailer. Her primary goal, no matter what, was to get out of that small town in Alabama.

The daughter is well played by Kelley Overbey. She is an unknowing victim. David Dukes is excellent as the Alabama prosecutor, who follows Hilley through her latest escapades. As one detective mentions, there is an increasing level of violence, starting small, with bouncing checks, to arson, to insurance fraud and eventually murder.

David Ogden Stiers portrays Hilley's final conquest; she manipulates him from Florida to New Hampshire- he will buy her anything she wants- that is all she needs to know. It is amazing to reflect on the number of people who were taken in by Hilley, her many false identities, and stories. When she returns as Terry, Robbi's "twin" sister- it is almost too much. Apparently Hilley really did do this, and with the exception of one co-worker, everyone believed her. The husband, as played by Ogden Stiers, seemed particularly dense.

There are some amusing scenes also, such as when Hilley teaches her daughter how to parallel park, by driving through (and over) the graves at the local cemetery. This story is all the more intriguing because it is based on truth, and apparently John Homan (Hilley's beleaguered husband) was also murdered in a bizarre robbery incident in 1989. Definitely worth watching. 9/10.

Judith Light has fun playing real-life sociopath Audrey Marie Hilley, an Alabama housewife whose husband died of a mysterious stomach ailment, leaving Marie to freely spend his $31K life insurance policy; when that money runs out, Marie's daughter is the next to fall ill (she's got a policy also). TV-movie gives Light the opportunity to strut her stuff, changing wigs and accents with relish, yet the best performance comes from David Ogden Stiers as a blue-collar teddy bear from Florida whom Marie latches onto. The courtroom dramatics in the third act are rather feeble (skipping over the jury's verdict and going straight to the judge's sentence), and the segues to the daughter's plight--as well as the slow-moving police action--just get in the way. Light does serious acting work just once (in a riveting arrest scene in a parking lot that transcends camp); however, she generally stays true to the complexities of this colorful lady--and she nimbly fills in the blanks. Production aspects and Mel Damski's direction are both above-average for a television feature, which is enjoyable if on the trashy side.

But it instead is a true story of a Southern woman who is the definition of chutzpah. She commits crime after crime, spends well beyond her means, and then manages to escape custody and allude the police for years all the while playing her old money yet working class second husband like a fiddle.

Judith Light, of "Who's the Boss" fame, plays the role of Audrey Marie Hilley and does a very good job. Fortunately, the script never asks her to explain herself, and the film is better with her as a complete moral mystery. David Ogden Stiers is very poignant as the second husband, who, for some reason, doesn't suspect a thing until the facts are flung in his face.

And who gives a three day parole to a convicted murderer? I mean, yikes! I guess the one big unanswered question is what Audrey was doing in the woods for those four days at the end. Was she waiting on somebody or did she just finally feel the walls caving in? I'd recommend it if you ever get the chance to see it.

Why are all these LT films locked in a vault? We want to see them! Why isn't Netflix keeping them in rotation?

According to IMDB this film is supposed to be available on Netflix- its not.

Anyway Judith Light plays a murderous lunatic and its based in a true story!

If you find it- I highly recommend it!