Guilty Conscience (1985 TV Movie) User Reviews

A treat for Mystery, Hopkins, Danner, Sleuth fans!

[sestinatim · 8/10 · 11 July 2001]

Fans of Anthony Hopkins will delight in this carefully staged teleplay. Fans of Blythe Danner will also be pleased to see a favorite character actress given more screen time than usual.

Although the plot is fairly standard and the events mostly predictable, it comes off much better than say your average Perry Mason or Columbo Movie. Hopkins, as a high-priced, high-power attorney, is delightful as he comically and and viciously destroys his own plans for his wife's murder. The play succeeds in its own ability to recognize its weaknesses. Unlike most television mysteries where the audience is asked to ignore the plot holes and revel in the detective's brilliance at spotting the clue and solving the crime, this play takes pride in pointing out its own holes as it goes along. As an audience participation spectacle, it is fun to play along, spotting the holes before the characters do. Overall, it's a bit static, with the vast majority of the action never leaving the main house, and cynics will find fault or boredom with the events leading up to the conclusion. But fans of the genre, or of Hopkins, will no doubt remain intrigued and find the ending quite satisfying. The whole play comes off much like the great Olivier and Caine character study, "Sleuth" and those who have seen that longish masterpiece know what kind of a compliment that is, and will also appreciate that this is 34 minutes shorter.

Mystery fans can do much worse for an evenings entertainment.

great TV movie from Levinson & Link

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 4 June 2009]

Back in the '80s, Anthony Hopkins made a lot of TV movies, some which used his great talent to advantage, and others in which he was underused. Here he is teamed with Blythe Danner and Swoosie Kurtz in a Levinson-Link concoction, "Guilty Conscience." Levinson and Link were really masters of suspense and mystery, responsible for Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, and many TV movies, both as producers and writers.

In this movie, Anthony Hopkins is a prominent attorney who comes up with several ways to murder his wife (Blythe Danner) who has the goods on him and can expect a huge settlement in a divorce. In his mind, he argues the merits of the different plots before a judge, a portrait of his wife's father, and undergoes questioning by the DA, who is Hopkins in spectacles. Enter one of his dalliances, Swoosie Kurtz, and the fun begins. How is the murder going to be done? And who's going to be murdered? This is a wonderful movie, and the kind you couldn't make today - there's lots of talk - in fact, entire monologues by Hopkins as he talks back and forth with and to himself - and not a ton of action. Swoosie Kurtz is a riot as the offbeat mistress, and Blythe Danner appropriately elegant and thoughtful as Hopkins' wife.

It's unfortunate that these kinds of TV movies are no longer made. In the '80s, there were many of these mystery movies: Murder by Natural Causes, Rehearsal for Murder, Vanishing Act, The Guardian, etc., all very well cast. Today it's all true crime, which would be great, if any of them were half as well written as anything by Richard Levinson, William Link, or Larry Cohen.

Weirdly entertaining made-for-TV movie with excellent performances...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 15 July 2007]

ANTHONY HOPKINS is the mentally agile lawyer who is continually thinking up ways to get rid of his wife, the fashionable and elegant BLYTHE DANNER. Evidently, their stormy marriage is at a breaking point and he decides he must plot her demise rather than go through with a messy divorce.

But what follows has enough plot turns to hold your interest, although the device of having Hopkins weigh all considerations against a trial lawyer (Hopkins in a dual role) gets a little tiresome after awhile. Not that he isn't a compelling actor whether playing the lawyer or the prosecutor, and he does create sympathy for a very detestable man.

The plot takes quite a surprising turn when SWOOSIE KURTZ shows up as his mistress, another very calculating character who has some surprises of her own to throw into the mix.

It all has the feel of a poor man's DIAL M FOR MURDER, showing its TV origins within some narrow settings. But you have to give credit to the writers who keep the tale spinning right until the sudden finish.

The cat-and-mouse byplay between husband and wife is reminiscent of the sort of banter between Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine in SLEUTH, but the overall result is not quite as clever.

Quality of video and sound poor - movie good!

[judimcinnes · 7/10 · 7 August 2006]

This is a good movie, especially since I am a big Anthony Hopkins buff. I also like Blythe Danner, who plays his loving? wife. It's a fun, quirky and clever mystery with twists and turns. As Anthony Hopkiins makes plans for his future by planning the demise of his wife, he anticipates and participates, in his imagination, how he should perform in Court as he stands trial for murder.

There is a problem, however. I ordered a brand new, factory-sealed VHS by Quality Video and the sound and picture quality were dreadful and unwatchable! I re-ordered it on DVD and it was a little better, but the picture was dull and grainy. It is hard to believe that it is not possible to get a good quality picture and sound for this TV film.

What a shame... It's an interesting and clever movie!

Guilty as sin

[jotix100 · 6/10 · 29 November 2006]

Not having a clue as to what to expect with this movie, we took a chance when it showed on cable recently. From the start, the film had a look that said "Movie of the Week". The only thing missing was: "Inspired on a true story". Frankly, while the film is not horrible, we don't share the same enthusiasm expressed by some of the contributors to this page.

The story has possibilities. The strong cast assembled for the movie is the best thing it has going for itself. The direction by David Greene with its many twists and plots, doesn't quite make it, but we realize there will be viewers that might enjoy "Guilty Conscience".

Anthony Hopkins makes a sly Arthur Jamison, the man who wants to do away with his wife. Blythe Danner makes an elegant Louise Jamison, the woman who had a scheme of her own. The fabulous Swoozie Kurtz makes a valuable contribution as Jackie, Arthur's mistress.

Love is a many splintered thing

[helpless_dancer · 7/10 · 23 November 2001]

One more strange film as a man and wife plot ways to murder one another, each using the hubby's mistress to their advantage. Sometimes it was hard to distinguish real time from their fantasy dreams. I can't help but wonder if the ending was a fantasy event or if the victim really died: then again maybe it was the only way the writer could figure to end the movie. Weird, but entertaining.

For fans of Anthony Hopkins

[treeline1 · 25 February 2011]

Arthur Jamison (Anthony Hopkins) is a confident and successful attorney who enjoys a good battle of wits. He decides to off his wife (Blythe Danner) in favor of the latest in a long line of mistresses, and as he pictures various methods, he debates the pros and cons with himself.

This 1985 made-for-TV movie is all talk; it's witty and clever but also quite devoid of emotion and gets old after a while. Hopkins is very good in dual roles as Arthur and the devil's advocate with whom he discusses the merits of his plans. Danner plays the wealthy, somewhat scatter-brained matron well, but hers is an unsympathetic role. Swoozie Kurtz is the streetwise, off-beat mistress, an odd choice because she lacks any appeal or chemistry with Hopkins.

The movie is almost too clever for it's own good, being one long, somewhat tedious exercise in courtoom "What if? Although it's about murder, there is no suspense and I was glad when it was over. The legal language would certainly be of interest to attorneys and law students, however.

It should be noted that this DVD is an extremely poor transfer. It looks like a taped-at-home video. Neither the box nor the movie credits list the production company. If you're a Hopkins fan, it might be worth a look, but expect to be disappointed in the audio-visual quality.

A must for Hopkins fans

[jtrapp1 · 7/10 · 27 February 1999]

Clever, restrained yarn with enough plot twists to please Hitchcock himself! A *must* for Hopkins fans-- the film contains more extended close-ups of his face than any of his other films (I should know, I'm a fanatic)! Tony is IT!!!

Wow...

[electronsexparty · 9/10 · 14 June 2005]

As my brother might say, "This has more twists than a bag of pretzels."

I wasn't expecting much and came out with feeling of extreme satisfaction, for this film is great. The beginning is a little slow but it soon picks up speed quickly and then you are on the edge of your seat.

Some people said 'GuiltyConscience' was predictable, but I severely disagree. Not only did Ihave no idea was was going to happen, but I gasped out loud at several points. The plot was simple but complicated. Hopkins was fantastic as the scheming husband and cross examiner. The rest of the cast was excellent as well. Thoroughly entertaining.

Check this film out if you are looking for interesting mystery-drama; you won't regret it.

"Murdering a spouse has its difficulties"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 7/10 · 15 April 2022]

'Guilty Conscience' has a compelling script by the artful Richard Levinson and William Link, three stellar performances by Blythe Danner, Swoosie Kurtz and Anthony Hopkins and unfussy direction by David Greene who just lets the narrative unfold up to the rather good climax. One of the best television movies of the 1980's. It was clever to have the Anthony Hopkins character cross-examine himself, that was well filmed. A fine mystery, well executed.

Murder-fantasy without enough of the former and too much of the latter...

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 13 September 2017]

Writers Richard Levinson and William Link open this drama for CBS very unfairly: a smug, self-assured criminal attorney (Anthony Hopkins) gives a speech on the profitable business of murder to his amused colleagues just before slipping out unnoticed, breaking into his own house and shooting his wife (Blythe Danner). He then fantasizes his own day in court, with himself as both witness and prosecutor. But it turns out the entire opening is a rather elaborate ruse to get our attention; the remaining drama derives from the false-front marriage of this cheating husband--who has also been abusive--and his kissless spouse, both of whom have their reasons for wanting the other eliminated. Stultifying exercise must have looked promising on paper--how else to explain the presence of Hopkins in a made-for-TV movie?--but Columbo would have reached these same conclusions in less than an hour.

Great soliloquies from Hopkins!

[Phurt · 9/10 · 7 August 1998]

For a TV movie, this is awfully good. Hopkins spends much of the movie playing out scenarios of how his murder trial would play out if he killed his wife, with a portrait of his father playing the judge. He goes through different methods of killing her, and plays out the trial until he finds the mistake in his plan. These one-man scenes are very funny, and Hopkins delivers them expertly, as one would expect.

Not SLEUTH but the intention is obvious

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 2 November 2022]

It is sophisticated, smart, sharp as a Swiss mechanic. But it is a bit too much talkative and that may lead some audience to leave the show earlier than it should be. Shame on them. I am sure it could have been made for a stage play, and it is splendidly acted by Anthony Hopkins. He was a friend of Laurence Olivier, another famous Sir from the British stage ; so it could be here a kind of tribute to Laurence Olivier in this role for Hopkins. The latest would be perfect is a SLEUTH remake. The flaw here is the women's presence, I think it could have been better without them, or more precisely with less presence. It was a bit boring for me. Don't misunderstand me, I have nothing against women's stories, but this movie did not prepare me to that. Anyway this is a worth watching story, written and produced by COLUMBO screenwriters. A good reference.

Guilty Conscience

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 5 June 2023]

Written by Richard Levinson and William Link, the creators of Colombo. This is an American television movie from the mid 1980s.

Arthur Jamison (Anthony Hopkins) is a much lauded defence lawyer. Unfortunately his his wife Louise (Blythe Danner) wants a divorce and it is going to be an expensive one for him.

Years earlier she was a good catch, her father was a judge. An ideal match for an aspiring lawyer. Now he is successful and wealthy and he plans to kill Louise.

Only with the plans in his head. Arthur cross examines each murder scenario to see if he can get away with murder.

Later a curve ball is thrown, when his mistress Jackie (Swoosie Kurtz) turns up and it seems both her and Louise have met before. Maybe even cooked something up.

The story is very much like a stage play, a three hander. This plays into Hopkins strengths as he in essence interrogates himself for long portions.

It is clear that Guilty Conscience is an updated version of Sleuth. It is not as captivating as the Caine/Olivier movie.

Brilliant and amusing....

[MarieGabrielle · 8/10 · 20 November 2007]

Hopkins always delivers his svelte, arrogant and yet intimidating and refreshing self to any performance. Blythe Danner as his beleaguered wife, in an unhappy marriage. Hopkins, an esteemed trial attorney, plays the Socratic "what if?" hypothesis game with himself, as he debates how to rid himself of his bothersome wife.

Blythe Danner, however, is an equal match. She is not to be fooled. She utilizes her patrician hauteur and surprise when she discovers his one (of several) mistresses. Swoosie Kurtz portrays a young sometime lover, Jackie, who at first seems to be in league with Hopkins. She plays the damsel in distress, and Danner is intrigued.

There is an interesting twist at the conclusion, which I will not spoil. Suffice to say, well worth watching for murder and mayhem as only Anthony Hopkins can project on the screen. 8/10.

Excellent murder mystery, horrid DVD transfer

[canenas · 10/10 · 21 March 2005]

My edition is "Authored and remastered by DDC Labs - Made in Canada," packaged as a double feature with "Dangerous Relations." There is no other edition information on jacket. The DVD transfer is so bad, it is nearly unwatchable. The low price (USD 2 + tax) is no excuse for a sloppy job. This is very unfortunate because the movie is excellent, as far as murder mysteries go. I give it highest grade for story and acting. I am sure that there were other production values such as photography, sound, and production design, however I cannot evaluate those because of the poor video and audio quality. I would like to know what editions the other reviewers were evaluating.

A Corrupt Attorney's Mind At Work

[theowinthrop · 8/10 · 13 May 2007]

Although it seems a little confusing this film (by "Columbo" Creators Levinson and Link) is extremely clever at watching the activities - for most of the film - of the active mind of the protagonist.

I've explained in reviewing one of the "Columbo" movies that the genesis of that type of mystery plot goes back to English writer R. Austin Freeman. His first "Dr. Thorndyke" novel, THE RED THUMB MARK (1905) is an inverted detective story wherein we see the crime committed first and then wait to find the hidden flaw or flaws revealed by the detective. GUILTY CONSCIENCE (which I saw again on the FOX MOVIE CHANNEL yesterday) is the same type of plot taken one step further: no detective involved here, but rather a corrupt and cynical lawyer thinking of how to get rid of his wife.

All of us have had evil thoughts at one time or another, and most of us never really carry them out because in thinking seriously about them we realize how they might be traced back to us and give us really major problems. Arthur Jamison (Anthony Hopkins) is a great criminal trial lawyer, who sees nothing amiss in misappropriating client's property or breaking professional ethical standards and court rules to win cases. His marriage to his wife Louise (Blythe Danner) is crumbling because of manifest infidelities. She has long wanted a divorce, but she signed (upon marriage) an unfair Pre-nuptial agreement that prevents her from getting any of Jamison's substantial estate. Then she uncovers several criminal acts by her husband that (if she reveals to the district attorney) will result in disbarment and criminal prosecution. She tells him she will reveal this by mail if he does not give her half his property in the divorce settlement. He blackens her eye (we never see this but we see the resulting shiner), and then goes to Houston for a trial he is working on.

Hopkins has a break in the trial and returns to his home in San Francisco. He is aware now (Louise has told him this) that her letter is in a sealed envelope addressed to the District Attorney in a safety deposit box. She will either mail it, or she has left instructions for it to be given to the D.A. if she dies suddenly or violently. So Hopkins is thinking of two things:

1) Getting that letter back unread by anyone else in legal or police authority.

2) Killing Louise.

But he's a clever man, and we watch him go through several scenarios of how to kill her while giving himself an alibi or making it seem like robbers, or making it an accident. Each time he does he confronts himself, his super-ego taking on the personality of Jamison the expert trial lawyer reviewing the crime and ("Columbo" or "Thorndyke" like) revealing all the little flaws that Jamison's imagination and id did not see clearly. Little things like recommending the location of an alibi-establishing dinner to the committee person choosing the place for it (it is fifteen minutes from Jamison's house).

We soon learn that Jamison has a mistress, Jackie Willis (Swoozie Kurtz), an office temp. whom he met when she had to be hired while his secretary was ill. They have been having their affair for nearly a year. She starts intruding into these scenarios when he starts seeing problems in his relation with her, both as motive for killing Louise and on it's own. It seems that Jamison has met another woman (we know her as Gail, but we never see her), so he is two timing his wife and mistress. Soon his scenario plays out in the nightmare situation of both the jilted ladies making peace with each other to get him.

The wonders of this television film (which has enough twists and turnabouts until the conclusion) keeps our attention. Hopkins is properly detestable as a heel, but his mental agility (captured by his wonderfully pinpoint pupil-ed eyes) and the joy of his skulduggery makes us like him. Danner is properly lady-like, with her veneer slowly cracking under the strains of hating this heel she is stuck with. Kurtz varies between comic bits (she seems scatterbrained, especially with her business finding things in her pocketbook) with a serious - deadly serious - side to her nature that Hopkins can't control.

It is a film that works pretty well. Oddly enough, one scenario is never tried by Hopkins. It is probably because it would leave his personal reputation in tatters. He never imagines Louise and Jackie having a confrontation and killing each other. But if (as the film illustrates) there are manifold difficulties in committing one perfect crime, one has to cube it to commit two perfect crimes.

Just when you think you know what's going on...!

[bobvend · 9/10 · 31 August 2012]

This movie will mess with your head, and you'll be delighted about it! A true sleeper, Guity Conscience is a bit talky, but delivers a deliciously tongue-in-cheek story of a prominent criminal attorney's (Anthony Hopkins) attempt to devise the perfect murder. His intended victim is his wife (Blythe Danner). Their marriage is anything but blissful, and their early interplay is civil yet icy.

Into the mix comes Hopkins' ditsy girlfriend, wonderfully played by Swoozie Kurtz, who may be much smarter than she seems. Soon the surprises start coming out of nowhere (or do they?) and the many clever plot twists along the way lead up to an equally unexpected finish. Nothing is what it seems, or is it? Finding out the answer is great fun.

A WARNING- Most DVD versions that I've seen of Guilty Conscience are very poor, both in sound and picture quality. This will detract from the viewing enjoyment, so it's worth searching out a good one.

Alibi: Latin word for elsewhere

[sol1218 · 8/10 · 27 January 2009]

***SPOILERS*** Clever made for TV movie involving a top defense attorney Arthur Jamison, Anthony Hopkins, trying to figure a way in "off" his annoying and blackmailing wife Louise, Blythe Danner, and make it look like either an accident or break-in murder. We get to see the well laid plans of Arthur in action at the beginning of the film as he set up his alibi and then goes through with murdering his wife Louise in their San Francisco mansion.

It's then that we see that Authur was only doing all this, murdering Louise, in his mind as he together with his alter ego or double, Donegan Smith, debate how to plug all the gaps in his murder plan. It's later that a new ingredient is added to the mix, or movie, with Jackie Willis, Swoosie Kurtz, who shows up unexpectedly at the Jamison Mansion! Jackie wants to know if the Jamisons have the key to their next door neighbors, the Starks, home. Jackie was to water the Starks, who are away on vacation, plants and lost the key to their house.

As the movie starts to unfold it becomes apparent that Jackie isn't just an innocent bystander in this bizarre murder plot but one of the main characters in it! In fact she's both Arthur's mistress as well as Louise's co-conspirator in a murder plot to "off" her unsuspecting husband!

Even though the movie goes in and out of sub-plots in how both Arthur and his wife Louise plan to murder each other it's Jackie who holds the key to how the crime will be both committed and covered up. Playing both sides to her advantage Jackie knows, by the skillful cover-up of her relationship with the Jaminsons, that in the end no matter who of the two wannabe murders succeed she'll alway have an alibi in not being connected at the murder scene.

There's also Arthur's double, or conscience, who gives him, as well as in the audience, a free lesson in the workings of law that even the very best law schools, costing as much as $25,000.00 a semester in tuition, will have a hard to to match. You learn so much about the in's and out's of criminal law in the conversations between Arthur and his double, as well as with Louise and Jackie, that you'll easily be able to pass the bar exam without as much as a sweat!

****SPOILERS**** The movie ends as it began but with the opposite results which shows that the smartest and most thought out plans to murder someone don't always work out!

You'll love it.

[rhoughton · 8/10 · 18 October 2000]

Hopkins and Danner are great as the opposing spouses. His conversations with himself are fun to watch, as he tries to work out how to kill his wife. Not so much a whodunit, as a who's going to do it, with a wonderful twist at the end. And don't miss a word of the dialogue.

Clever but - SWOOSIE KURTZ is the star here

[Enrique-Sanchez-56 · 8/10 · 7 November 2001]

Lots of nice words about Hopkins and Danner in these reviews - which I both believe did a fantastic job in this play...but PLEASE....the quirky character played by SWOOSIE KURTZ is - by far - the most fascinating and her performance the most whimsically memorable in this wonderful murder mystery.

Even if I know what's going to happen, I love to run into this fascinating movie and it becomes new every time.

Very talky...but also quite enjoyable.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 12 January 2024]

"Guilty Conscience" is a made for TV movie which features a plot and style which make it seem more like a taped play than a typical movie. It mostly takes place in one room and almost all the acting is done by three people.

The story is very much like the wonderful French film, "Diabolique"...though the story is also quite different...different enough to make both worth seeing. Arthur is an unfaithful husband who is also a very successful and unscrupulous defense attorney. He plans on murdering his wife and getting away with it. After all, he enjoys cheating on her and now that his wife has had enough, she's planning on raking him over the coals. No, I'm not talking about alimony. Instead, she knows about some highly illegal things he's done with a client's trust fund...and unless Arthur gives her a hefty settlement, she's going to the police. But this is only the beginning of the story...it's MUCH more complicated and soon Arthur's mistress (Swoozie Kurtz) also gets in on the plot...but on whose side?

I could say a lot more about the plot, but it would ruin the film. It is, however, a film that won't appeal to everyone. If you love action, well, you'll be disappointed because of the movie's play-like pace and setting. But if you don't mind all the talking and look to the acting and plot twists, you're bound to enjoy this movie.

twists and turns galore

[myriamlenys · 8/10 · 17 November 2022]

A middle-aged man has grown VERY tired of his wife. As an experienced criminal lawyer, he knows that the husband makes for the most logical suspect, meaning that he'll have to develop a foolproof plan. Meanwhile his wife is no longer the naive and starry-eyed girl he carried over the threshold. She has grown teeth and claws of her own...

"Guilty Conscience", an enormously twisty thriller, is a bravura piece of cleverness and ingenuity. It spins ever more variations on a single theme, to wit "How to get rid of a much-disliked spouse without doing twenty years in the slammer". Factual developments intermingle with murderous daydreams and what-if scenarios, which means that the viewers are kept on their toes. There are only three protagonists but thankfully they do wonderfully well, all of them.

The work also functions as a biting satire on the profession of criminal lawyer. Criminal lawyers come in all sizes and shapes, but there exists a sizeable proportion which goes around defending the indefensible in return for a fee. ("Ladies and gentlemen, my client did throw an old lady out of the window, but who's to say she didn't die of a heart attack on the way down ? And of course no one is to blame for a death by natural causes.") So what would happen if one of these brilliant-but-morally-challenged chaps decided to commit murder himself - cutting out the middle-man, so to speak ?