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Our Mother's Murder (1997) Online

Our Mother's Murder (1997) Online
Original Title :
Our Motheru0027s Murder
Genre :
Movie / Drama / Thriller
Year :
1997
Directror :
Bill Norton
Cast :
Holly Marie Combs,Roxanne Hart,Sarah Chalke
Writer :
Richard DeLong Adams
Type :
Movie
Time :
1h 37min
Rating :
7.0/10
Our Mother's Murder (1997) Online

Fact-based true crime story about the murder of publishing heiress Anne Scripps Douglas who, in 1989, married a young hunk who eventually killed her.
Cast overview, first billed only:
Holly Marie Combs Holly Marie Combs - Alex Morrell
Roxanne Hart Roxanne Hart - Anne Scripps Douglas
Sarah Chalke Sarah Chalke - Annie Morrell
James Wilder James Wilder - Scott Douglas
Jonathan Scarfe Jonathan Scarfe - Jimmy Romeo
Michael Buie Michael Buie - Andy Phillips
Edgar Davis Jr. Edgar Davis Jr. - Mark
Stephen Fanning Stephen Fanning - Dave
Myriam Sirois Myriam Sirois - Stacey
Jim Thorburn Jim Thorburn - Princeton One
Rick Ravanello Rick Ravanello - Officer Calder
Alf Humphreys Alf Humphreys - Officer Derrick
Michael Ryan Michael Ryan - Tony Morrell
Nalia Rukavina Nalia Rukavina - Tory Douglas
Bob Osborne Bob Osborne - Roger Preston


User reviews

The Sinners from Mitar

The Sinners from Mitar

Wow! This movie was really good. The only thing that made me mad was the fact that there were commercials in the movie when I saw it on t.v., but other than that I found the movie to be good. At some points in the movie i was totally creeped out and at others I was laughing and at the end I was in tears. This movie makes me want to stand up and cheer! Everyone in this movie did a great job, I found everyone to be very believable and fun to watch. It was entertaining and I would highly recommed this movie to anyone who has wanted to see different type of good movies. 9 out of 10. GREAT!!!!!!!
Thohelm

Thohelm

This movie appeared to me to be sending the message loud and clear - THIS IS WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP AND DO NOT LISTEN TO YOUR SUPPORTERS. The fact that this movie is based on a true story removes any need for me to be critical of it. The producers did themselves justice by focusing on the daughters role in what happened. It should at the very least make any victim think about the pain the family and friends go through when they see a 'loved one' in an abusive relationship. I loved the film and all three main actors Holly, Sarah and Roxie were just great.

I have to give the film 10 out of 10 - the whole cast and crew appeared to do more than 'really try;' they portrayed a story easily believable and is all too real. They didn't go for any fancy twists or turns - they just did it! I found myself feeling sorry for the loss of Roxie to all who knew her. Domestic Abuse/Violence is a hot issue for discussion and this film is a great training resource too!
Vizuru

Vizuru

This film is excellent. Roxanne Hart does an excellent job portraying Ms. Scripps, who was actually murdered by her husband in the mid 90's.

Holly Marie Combs and Sarah Chalke portray Alex and Annie Morrel, Anne's daughters. The Scripps family-(Just think of publishing, NY and their estate in Bronxville, NY) is an old money establishment, and James Wilder portrays Scott Douglas, Anne's new suitor, who eventually marries the unsuspecting Scripps.

Apparently, she did not realize the extent of his capacity for abuse and violence. Perhaps it started as verbal abuse. Douglas seems to resent Anne's life of privilege, though she is a loving mother and wife. He embarrasses her in front of friends, degrades her, and spends his days drinking, while living in her mansion.

The performances in this film are very good, particularly Roxanne Hart, who is simply a wealthy,lonely woman, marries a younger man, and becomes the victim. She is sympathetic yet believable. Holly Marie Combs is also excellent, as the daughter who fights back, and sees the predicament her mother is in.

This is a decent film which realistically portrays the covert world of spousal abuse. Watch it and you will be interested in learning the true story.
Gri

Gri

crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/anne_scripps/1.html?sect=12 Click on this link to see the entire true story of Anne Scripps Douglas' murder. I watched this movie with the hope that the title meant that Anne herself would be the one committing murder against her abusive husband, I was wrong. The actors were amazing. Roxanne Hart showed how loving, kind, and soft spoken Anne might have been. Her performance left you emotionally drawn to Anne, wanting for her to be rid of the pain in her life. But you did not feel sorry for her, and you were never angry with her for staying in the relationship. The story is one that needs to be heard, in hopes that with the information you attain from it... the tragedy will not be repeated. Overall a movie that should be watched, but if your looking for a happy ending, you will not find one here.
Laizel

Laizel

I was doing research on famous domestic abuse cases and came across this movie. Aside from being slightly dramatized in true Hollywood fashion I thought it did a great job portraying the abuse from several points of view. It was honest and candid in a way that most abuse movies aren't. Anne's sense of inability to leave her abusive relationship was depicted quite well, and her daughter's sense of futility to help her was heartbreaking and very well done. The situation was portrayed very realistically and I was rather amazed at the way the actors were able to truly tap into those intense emotions. Holly Marie Combs in particular was just spectacular.This movie was great. It's definitely up in the caliber of "The Burning Bed."
Juce

Juce

This movie really touched my heart. I know so many women who have been abused and they believe men change, and they don't. This is one of those situations that will never go away and women need to realize that. I cried almost all the way through the movie cause it was just sad the way Scott treated her. I think if I were Anne's daughter, I would have killed him. Because deep inside, little by little, he was killing her before he actually did. Women, if you are being abused, please, watch this movie and learn, or you too, will wind up dead.
Wnex

Wnex

this movie was wonderful, i don't know if it was based on a true story but it could have been, this woman falls in love with a younger man and he turns out to be abusive and he finds ways to make it so he will always be in this womans life and he torments her. Holly Marie Combs plays an excellent role as the daughter who stands up for her mother to this man. It ends very sad though.
Anayalore

Anayalore

Anne had every chance in the world to leave this bum. He smashed her face in several times; humiliated her in front of her family and friends; and fell for this jerk's constant begging and crying that he would change.

No offense but this would not have been tolerated by a African American woman. She would have killed this dope after all of these events. If she really loved the little girl Tori, she would have put her in a better environment with the older daughters on a permanent basis and never went back to this animal.

The movie was sad and well played. I admired the daughter Alex's toughness. Her sister was weak like the mom and let men punch her around too. Remember the scene when the police came and the weak sister and mom let the police leave without arresting the guy. No way they should have let that happen. However, this is a true indication of how abused women (and men in some cases) never make the tough decision to get out before someone gets killed. If they punch you once they are likely to do it again. Most do not change. I hope this is the lesson abused people took from this film. Nice movie but sad.
6snake6

6snake6

I have seen this on French TV under the title "L'Amant Diabolique" ( Diabolical Lover ). I should dearly love to find it on DVD to hear it in English as what I saw was a version dubbed into French with very poor sound quality ( very muffled ) and I might also add that the picture quality was very average, not sharp enough. On the plus side the soundtrack was absolutely brilliant - not any tune in particular - but the general musical accompaniment to the various events unfolding in the film was most impressive - also the use of the daughter to narrate the story was also something I found very effective and emotion-distilling in this particular instance. As to the actors, James Wilder, a kind of male equivalent of Tracey Nelson, gives you the herb-jeebies at the best of times. I had already seen him in "A Perfect Marriage " and "Face Value" where he plays very unpleasant characters indeed - rather like Maxwell Caulfield - and he always seems to come across as a psychotic schizophrenic. As to the story itself, I don't know whether it is true or fictional but I fail to understand why any woman in sane state of mind would go on living with a dangerous psychotic like Scott. But there again, I am not a woman and women have ways of behaving that are totally illogical to men. If the guy presents a real threat to you and/or your child, you don't ask a thousand questions, you just get up and go. It's the instinct of self-preservation that should dominate - in this film this would appear not to be the case as the lady goes on supporting the violence from Scott and forgiving him - I am at loss to understand this as it doesn't seem plausible. But all this makes for excellent entertainment and I found the actors' performances magnificent. Only, sound and vision quality need to be improved to enable this film to have the strong emotional impact that it should have on the spectator.
Leniga

Leniga

This movie recently aired on The Lifetime Channel. An attractive woman has a married life full of everything(or nearly everything) one would think a woman would want. She divorces her husband and father of her two daughters meets and marries Jerk First Class. One thing leads to another and Mr.Wonderful eventually murders her. I started watching this film and didn't expect to stay with it for more than a few minutes but kept watching it until the end. I came away with the same feeling as with The Stepfather films and 1984's First Born which starred Teri Garr. Where do women find these guys and why do they fall for them? Unlike The Stepfather trilogy and First Born this film was based on a true story which makes it all the more sadder. The acting is actually quite good. The story doesn't drag and keeps the viewer interested even though the outcome because of the title i.e. "Our Mothers Murder" is certain. Somehow however it becomes hard to have sympathy for the main character i.e. Ann Scripps Douglas because of her decision to get involved with this guy who begins using her for a punching bag not long after they wed. The film makes reference to the strong bond between the mother and her two adult daughters. Although one doesn't seem to learn anything from her mothers experience as she snags a boyfriend who pummels her a few times. The movie is worth watching whether you feel sympathy for the abused wife and her two daughters or not.
Aedem

Aedem

I thought this was a well done movie for a made for TV movie. I think the cast all did a good job.

James Wilder as the diabolical boyfriend/husband Scott gives me the creeps. Roxanne Hart as the heiress made me feel so sorry for her character. There are times when she talks and is crying and her voice quivers and it is so believable. How any woman puts up with such abuse is so hard to understand. The daughters were a good contrast to each other - Holly Marie Combs as the strong sister Alex and Sarah Chalke as the lush, weak sister prone to her mother's poor choice in men.

The way that man shamed and humiliated that woman was unbelievable. Its hard to believe her daughters couldn't have done more to intervene. Hopefully, domestic abuse laws in NY have changed to have more automatic, severe penalties for abusers. The thing that I don't get is that the movie states several times that court favors attempted reconciliation. Why in the world - in the 1990's- would the court encourage a woman to go back to her abuser. This wasn't the 1950's, when abuse was swept under the rug, and people turned a blind eye.

I think this movie reveals an important truth - that violence is an equal-opportunity evil; it inflicts the wealthy as well as the poor. People tend to think violence is an inner-city or working-class problem, but it doesn't discriminate. While they may not make up the majority, wealthy killers aren't hard to find in prison. In the graveyard, wealthy victims are even easier to find.
Bajinn

Bajinn

This is a USA Original Pictures movie based upon the murder of the Scripps heiress by her abusive controlling husband. The daughters of the mother play a large role in the movie and narrate it at times. It follows a typical and predictable progression, partly based upon its semi-factually based premise. The movie is definitely watchable, but is obviously a made-for-TV movie and is reminiscent of previous USA Original movies.

The theme of the intruding con-man who works his way in until its too late to remove him appears here. Unlike the many other similar movies with this plot, this one is unique since it does have some basis in reality.
CopamHuk

CopamHuk

This was one of the best movies I've ever seen even though it was really depressing especially because it was a true story. It's so sad how Anne just wanted the best for her daughter Victoria (Tori), so she was afraid to leave Scott! In the past she hasn't ever been hurt by anyone or anything so emotionally and physically so she doesn't know what to do. Holly Marie Combs is my favorite actress and does a very good job portraying Anne's protective daughter Alex. Everyone who hasn't seen this movie, it's definitely worth a look.
Andromakus

Andromakus

This was a depressing movie, because this was based on a true crime incident. It was depressing for the daughter's plea for their mother to leave the abusive husband, were ignored. The title to this movie said it all. Overall I liked this movie.
Punind

Punind

"My Mother's Murder" is a video documentary made by Charles Stuart, whose 74 year-old mother, Emily "Cissy" Stuart, was murdered in 1989. It remains the only homicide case unsolved by the Princeton, NJ police department. The film, shot in a "what-I-did-for-my-summer-vacation" style, is as honest and balanced a portrait of human anguish as ever made. Somehow, miraculously, Stuart is able to walk the tightrope between the subjective and the objective... revealing his own feelings and questions amid a series of events that he captures, flawlessly, through the crystal eye of his camera. The film is further proof (along with "Living Dolls," "A Long Night's Journey into Day," "Southern Comfort," "Small Town Ecstasy," "Blue Vinyl," "Lalee's Kin," etc.) that HBO is at the forefront of documentary production. I can't recommend it enough. As a diehard Errol Morris and Joe Berlinger fan, I was pleased to see that it's still possible for an "average" person with an important story to see it aired on national TV.