''Deep Family Secrets'' is a 1997 American drama television film directed by

Arthur Allan Seidelman Arthur Allan Seidelman (born 1937 in New York City) is an American television director, television, film director, film, and theatre director and an occasional writer, producer, and actor. His works are distinguished by a humane, probing, and sympa ...

, that first aired on April 15, 1997 on the

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 ...

television network. The film is based on the true story of Gaylynn Earl Morris, who was convicted in 1992 of the murder of his wife, Ruby Morris, after Ruby disappeared in 1989. The names were changed to Clay and Renee Chadway in the television movie.

Plot

Renee has just surprised her husband, Clay, with her younger sister, Ellen, while they are at a restaurant. This impromptu meeting persuades her that her husband is cheating on her. Devastated, Renee returns home, hesitating to talk to her husband. Soon after, Renee disappears, mysteriously. JoAnne, the couple's young daughter, does not know what to think of all these events and does not take long to bring back stories that had until then been carefully kept secret. Clay soon appears as the prime suspect in Renee's disappearance. Was she kidnapped or is it a murder?

Cast

Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American actor and television director. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as '' Made in Paris'' (1966), '' Marooned'' (1969), '' Breakheart Pass'' (1975), '' The Evil'' ...

as Clay Chadway *

Angie Dickinson Angie Dickinson (born Angeline Brown; September 30, 1931) is an American retired actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many Anthology series#Television, anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough rol ...

as Renee Chadway *Molly Gross as JoAnne Chadway *

Craig Wasson Craig Wasson (born March 15, 1954) is an American actor. He made his film debut in '' Rollercoaster'' (1977). He is best known for his roles as Jake Scully in Brian DePalma's '' Body Double'' (1984), and Neil Gordon in Chuck Russell's '' A Nigh ...

as Jack Winters *

Meg Foster Margaret "Meg" Foster (born May 10, 1948) is an American film and television actress. Some of her many roles were in the 1979 TV miniseries version of '' The Scarlet Letter'', and the films '' Ticket to Heaven'', ''The Osterman Weekend'' and '' ...

as Ellen *Jeff Kaiser as Bobby Chadway *Scott Paetty as Sam *

Christie Lynn Smith Christie Lynn Smith is an American actress best known for her role as Deardra Farnum in the 2010 film '' The Crazies''. Career Smith grew up mostly in Orange Park, Florida. Since 1991, she has guest starred in numerous television series includ ...

as Lisa Chadway *

Tony Musante Anthony Peter Musante Jr. (June 30, 1936 – November 26, 2013) was an American actor, best known for the TV series '' Toma'' as Detective David Toma, Nino Schibetta in '' Oz'' (1997), and Joe D'Angelo in ''As the World Turns'' (2000–2003). I ...

as Lennox *

Christine Healy Christine Healy (born June 13, 1950) is an American television and film actress. She has had recurring roles in television multiple series, including '' ER'' and ''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd ''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'' is a ...

as Hadley Brood *

Christopher Titus Christopher Titus (born October 1, 1964) is an American comedian, podcaster, and actor. He was the star, executive producer, and co-creator of the eponymous ''Titus'' sitcom on FOX from 2000 to 2002. His life experience with a dysfunctional fa ...

as Cowboy #1

Production

It was first announced in December 1992, under the title ''Dark Family Secrets: The Dawna Kay Wells Story''. For unknown reasons, production did not begin until nearly five years later. Shooting for the film would occur between February and March 1997 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Lead actress Molly Gross had recently made her film debut in the independent picture ''

Slaves to the Underground ''Slaves to the Underground'' is a 1997 drama film directed by Kristine Peterson and starring Molly Gross, Jason Bortz, and Marisa Ryan. Premise In Seattle's mid-1990s grunge scene, a female rock group named No Exits is struggling to gain attent ...

'', which premiered at the 1997 edition of the

Sundance Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acte ...

References

External links

* {{Arthur Allan Seidelman 1997 television films 1997 films 1997 drama films CBS films Crime drama films based on actual events English-language crime drama films Films directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman American drama television films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films