''Guilty Conscience'' is a 1985

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

, produced by Robert A. Papazian, written by

Richard Levinson Richard Leighton Levinson (August 7, 1934 – March 12, 1987) was an American screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link. Life and career Levinson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the Univ ...

and

William Link William Theodore Link (December 15, 1933 – December 27, 2020) was an American film and television screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson. Biography Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...

, directed by David Greene, starring

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...

Blythe Danner Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Best Supporting Actress in a Dra ...

and

Swoosie Kurtz Swoosie Kurtz ( ; born September 6, 1944) is an American actress. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. Kurtz made her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of '' Ah, Wilderness''. She has received five Tony Award nomination ...

. The film score was composed by

Billy Goldenberg William Leon Goldenberg (February 10, 1936 – August 3, 2020) was an American composer and songwriter, best known for his work on television and film. Early life Goldenberg was born on February 10, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, New York. Hi ...

. It premiered on April 2, 1985 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

Plot

Arthur Jamison, a wealthy criminal defense attorney, is facing a costly divorce from his wife, Louise. Arthur deals with the predicament by imagining numerous schemes in which he kills her. As a defense attorney, Arthur is familiar with both the courts and the minds of criminals, and he spends much of the film consulting an officious imaginary version of himself for the perfect scheme to rid himself of Louise. Arthur runs each murder, or the subsequent trial, through in his mind, searching for problems, loopholes, and the elusive watertight alibi. Arthur's mistress, Jackie Willis, meets up with Louise in secret. The two concoct a scheme to kill Arthur. They confront Arthur at gunpoint, planning to stage his murder as a suicide. Unfazed, Arthur takes control of the situation, pointing out the flaws in what was supposed to be their foolproof scheme. For one thing, Arthur tells them he has been cheating on both of them with a third woman and was about to go out on a highly anticipated date with her, so was not of a mindset to commit suicide. Furthermore, Arthur reveals that he had been recording the entire confrontation with Louise and Jackie. He uses the tape to attempt to blackmail Louise, but, enraged by the implosion of her plan, she chases her husband with a gun. A brief struggle ensues, and Louise is shot dead. Now, however, Louise's accidental death implicates Arthur for having murdered her. Arthur had only been bluffing about the tape, there is no evidence that the shooting was an accident other than the word of Jackie, his mistress, who may not be willing to testify to exonerate him. Arthur imagines himself in court, his imaginary self now his own prosecutor, and how the case will unfold. At this point the film shows Arthur back at home, again poking holes in the scheme. It is revealed to be yet another of his unrealized, purely imaginary plans. Louise arrives home, shoots him dead, and phones Jackie to inform her the deed is done. The film ends with Louise rearranging the living room to cover up evidence of the murder.

Cast

as Arthur Jamison *

as Louise Jamison *

as Jackie Willis *Donegan Smith as Arthur Jamison's Double *

Wiley Harker James "Wiley" Harker (January 27, 1915 – May 1, 2007) was an American character actor who portrayed Crane Tolliver in the soap opera ''General Hospital'' in 1983. He also played Justice Harold Webb in ''First Monday in October'' (1981). He also ...

as Older Man *Ruth Manning as Older Woman

Critical reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' gave a rave review, writing "Tightly plotted, flawlessly paced and clever rather than gimmicky, ''Guilty Conscience'' is the sort of

Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

homage that can hold its own against the master's work."

References

External links

* * {{David Greene 1985 films 1985 television films Films directed by David Greene Films scored by Billy Goldenberg Films set in San Francisco Films about adultery in the United States Films about divorce Films about lawyers Films about murder Fiction about mariticide Films about uxoricide 1980s English-language films