I thought John Ritter was great in this. Unfortunately, I did not see this movie until after Ritter's death but I think he would have had a career as a bad guy! Hard to believe but the lovable "Jack Tripper" can really look evil! Marg Helgenberger looks older than she does in CSI but that is because she is not made up to look like a hooker as she often does now. She was matronly and quite believable as the woman who, 14 years after her divorce, comes to suspect her friendly ex of some dastardly deeds. It was totally unbelievable, though, that the police would have believed her so quickly and acted on her information. I tried to find a book on this subject since it was based on a "true story" but was unable to find one. It would interesting to see how the events really unfolded.
13 Reviews
Murder Most Strange
sol-kay4 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
**SPOILERS** It wasn't enough that Dr. David Farris', John Ritter, first wife Ellen, Marg Helgenberger,ended up in the hospital with what later turned to be an acute case of selenium/cyanide poisoning his second wife Lorraine,Megan Gallagher,of some 14 years now came down with the very same symptoms. These strange events had the now ex-wife Ellen suspect that not only was she poisoned by her then husband David but that he pulled the same dastardly deed on Lorraine as well.
Lorraine turned out not to be as lucky as Ellen dying from so-called "natural causes" at the ripe young age of 38. David acting the part of the grieving husband and father of his and Lorraine 12 year-old son Graham, Miko Hughes, put on an act that would fool everyone but for some strange reason Ellen didn't fall for it. The similarities of her and Lorraine's illness were just too convenient, for the grieving David Fariss, to be just mare coincidences. They were acts of attempted, and in the case of Lorraine, and first degree murder.
The film "Lethal Vows" has you wondering if David Ferris is either innocent or just so psychotic and pathological that he's actually a murderer but convinced himself, in his own sick mind, that he isn't. Ferris it turned out is a man with absolutely no conscience at all and even when confronted with the truth of his actions he just lies his way out as if he's been accused of just stealing cookies out of the cookie jar.
What was really shocking about David Ferris' actions in the movie is just how cold-blooded selfish and unfeeling they were. All Ferris wanted out of life was getting whatever struck his fancy like a new and younger wife every ten or so years and discarding the old model, like Ellen & Lorraine, as if she were a broken down jalopy. In fact after Lorrine was dispatched, or murdered, Ferris didn't waste any time getting married again to young pretty and rich Catherine Moray,Kim Huffman.
Based on a true story, the murder by poison Richard Overton case, the movie would be almost impossible to believe if it didn't really happen. Farris covers all the bases and destroys all the evidence that can connect him to his crimes but as usual, this in the very early days of the internet, he's a bit unfamiliar with the new technology of hard drives and computer memory systems. Erasing the evidence from his computer, in how to murder his wives, just didn't work with a permanent record still left on his computer hard-drive. Maybe if he destroyed the whole thing, his computer, he may well have gotten away with it.
Going so far as to invest $5,000.00 in an almost worthless gold mine Ferris had excess to the both selenium and cyanide that was used to process the gold ore. It was those two poisonous elements that he used to do in both of his wives! Wife # one, Ellen, getting out of his marriage with her and wife # two, Lorraine, by getting her out of his and her life all together.
In the end the wheels of justice caught up with Feriss who in a last desperate attempt, after poisoning his lawyer who wouldn't go along with his insane scheme, tried to implicate the local police in his second wife's, Lorraine, murder! Lorraine having been elected to the town council was supposed to have the goods, whatever they were, on the police and was murdered by them, so the crazed Fariss told a shocked courtroom, to shut her up!
It was a good try on Fariss' part but by then he just about plain ran out of tricks as everyone was finally on to him even his up until them loyal and naive son Graham. A heart-broken Graham left his father hanging as he pleaded for his support at the prisons visitors glass partition booth. Feriss should have thought about Graham's feelings before he poisoned his mother and, with him now being sent away for life, left him an orphan.
Lorraine turned out not to be as lucky as Ellen dying from so-called "natural causes" at the ripe young age of 38. David acting the part of the grieving husband and father of his and Lorraine 12 year-old son Graham, Miko Hughes, put on an act that would fool everyone but for some strange reason Ellen didn't fall for it. The similarities of her and Lorraine's illness were just too convenient, for the grieving David Fariss, to be just mare coincidences. They were acts of attempted, and in the case of Lorraine, and first degree murder.
The film "Lethal Vows" has you wondering if David Ferris is either innocent or just so psychotic and pathological that he's actually a murderer but convinced himself, in his own sick mind, that he isn't. Ferris it turned out is a man with absolutely no conscience at all and even when confronted with the truth of his actions he just lies his way out as if he's been accused of just stealing cookies out of the cookie jar.
What was really shocking about David Ferris' actions in the movie is just how cold-blooded selfish and unfeeling they were. All Ferris wanted out of life was getting whatever struck his fancy like a new and younger wife every ten or so years and discarding the old model, like Ellen & Lorraine, as if she were a broken down jalopy. In fact after Lorrine was dispatched, or murdered, Ferris didn't waste any time getting married again to young pretty and rich Catherine Moray,Kim Huffman.
Based on a true story, the murder by poison Richard Overton case, the movie would be almost impossible to believe if it didn't really happen. Farris covers all the bases and destroys all the evidence that can connect him to his crimes but as usual, this in the very early days of the internet, he's a bit unfamiliar with the new technology of hard drives and computer memory systems. Erasing the evidence from his computer, in how to murder his wives, just didn't work with a permanent record still left on his computer hard-drive. Maybe if he destroyed the whole thing, his computer, he may well have gotten away with it.
Going so far as to invest $5,000.00 in an almost worthless gold mine Ferris had excess to the both selenium and cyanide that was used to process the gold ore. It was those two poisonous elements that he used to do in both of his wives! Wife # one, Ellen, getting out of his marriage with her and wife # two, Lorraine, by getting her out of his and her life all together.
In the end the wheels of justice caught up with Feriss who in a last desperate attempt, after poisoning his lawyer who wouldn't go along with his insane scheme, tried to implicate the local police in his second wife's, Lorraine, murder! Lorraine having been elected to the town council was supposed to have the goods, whatever they were, on the police and was murdered by them, so the crazed Fariss told a shocked courtroom, to shut her up!
It was a good try on Fariss' part but by then he just about plain ran out of tricks as everyone was finally on to him even his up until them loyal and naive son Graham. A heart-broken Graham left his father hanging as he pleaded for his support at the prisons visitors glass partition booth. Feriss should have thought about Graham's feelings before he poisoned his mother and, with him now being sent away for life, left him an orphan.
The True Story
estatescapes9 August 2008
Here is a portion of the true story.
Boyer read the obituary in the newspaper and decided it was time she spoke up. She called the police and told them Overton had tried to poison her 15 years earlier. By that time the remains of Janet Overton had been cremated. But police ordered an analysis of her ashes, which confirmed the first wife's hunch -- traces of cyanide.
Overton, who was by this time a professor at the University of Southern California, was arrested and charged with murdering his third wife, a trustee of the Capistrano School District. The case was handled by the Orange County, Calif., District Attorney's Office, and became one of the county's most famous and twisted murder cases.
Although they had been divorced for almost 15 years, Boyer's testimony revealed the whole scheme that led up to her coffee-can poisoning. At that time, the defendant worked for an aerospace contractor and had a top-secret-level clearance. While married, he met and married another woman -- Karoline Wallace -- adopting the identity of a co-worker to legally marry the second woman. He would tell one wife he was on a business trip while he lived with the other wife. Every few weeks, one would drop him off at the airport as if he was leaving, and the other would pick him up as if he was returning. For a year and a half, his scam worked.
You can read the entire story from the link below.
http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/96104
Boyer read the obituary in the newspaper and decided it was time she spoke up. She called the police and told them Overton had tried to poison her 15 years earlier. By that time the remains of Janet Overton had been cremated. But police ordered an analysis of her ashes, which confirmed the first wife's hunch -- traces of cyanide.
Overton, who was by this time a professor at the University of Southern California, was arrested and charged with murdering his third wife, a trustee of the Capistrano School District. The case was handled by the Orange County, Calif., District Attorney's Office, and became one of the county's most famous and twisted murder cases.
Although they had been divorced for almost 15 years, Boyer's testimony revealed the whole scheme that led up to her coffee-can poisoning. At that time, the defendant worked for an aerospace contractor and had a top-secret-level clearance. While married, he met and married another woman -- Karoline Wallace -- adopting the identity of a co-worker to legally marry the second woman. He would tell one wife he was on a business trip while he lived with the other wife. Every few weeks, one would drop him off at the airport as if he was leaving, and the other would pick him up as if he was returning. For a year and a half, his scam worked.
You can read the entire story from the link below.
http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/96104
Lethal Vows Awfully Good ***1/2
edwagreen3 June 2006
John Ritter, in a sinister performance, as a Ph.D person who has poisoned 2 wives.
It is hard to believe that the ex-wife and current wife could have such an excellent relationship, but the story is well-told and Ritter's performance, his subtle ways, his slow but menacing talk, are all memorable. He really showed versatility as an actor in this film.
Nice to see Madeline Zinna,"The Nanny's" youngest charge, and Jessica Bowman, who starred in "Dr. Quinn-Medicine Woman." in teenage roles.
The women who play the wives are convincing and this movie should have been highly rated and emmy nominated.
It is hard to believe that the ex-wife and current wife could have such an excellent relationship, but the story is well-told and Ritter's performance, his subtle ways, his slow but menacing talk, are all memorable. He really showed versatility as an actor in this film.
Nice to see Madeline Zinna,"The Nanny's" youngest charge, and Jessica Bowman, who starred in "Dr. Quinn-Medicine Woman." in teenage roles.
The women who play the wives are convincing and this movie should have been highly rated and emmy nominated.
Not bad
Kingslaay8 January 2023
I enjoyed Lethal Vows. It was evident that John Ritter's character was the antagonist from the start. We see and learn how dangerous and devious he was. He took advantage of the better nature of people and did away with people he had no use for anymore. John Ritter is a standout in this film and carries it well. He shows his great range and plays a dark and evil character very well. Like a light switch being turned each way, he easily alternates from doting father and good Samaritan to a dangerous figure who cannot trust.
What is shocking is this film was based on the true story. What a despicable and evil person Richard Overton was.
What is shocking is this film was based on the true story. What a despicable and evil person Richard Overton was.
Ex Wife REALLY nails hubby.
rmax30482315 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Strikes me as routine, as far as TV movies go. I can believe that it's based on a true story because the plot seems too clumsy to have been written by anyone with storytelling skills.
For instance, good old John Ritter (now a rather bulky and bearded villain) poisons his wife enough to make her ill, then accuses her of being psychosomatic and leaves to marry another young woman immediately. Fourteen years pass before the story picks up again. Why fourteen years? I would guess that though the narrative doesn't demand it, history does.
Some of the particular scenes, however, are so cinematically apt that they were almost certainly dreamed up by a writer. Pawing through her attic, Helgenberger, Ritter's first wife, stumbles across an old electrical appliance and has one of those black-and-white flashbacks with stings on the score -- suddenly she recalls when, fourteen years ago, she discovered Ritter shaving selenium filings from a rectifier, carefully collecting them, and putting them in her shampoo and her eyelash liner (or whatever it's called). Later it develops that he was putting it into her coffee as well.
Frankly, I don't believe it. I don't believe either that she had that particular epiphany in the attic or that Ritter put selenium shavings into her shampoo or eyeliner. Selenium is referred to in the movie as a "toxic metal" and I suppose it is, in sufficient quantity, but it's also an anti-oxidant that's sold over the counter in drug stores and swallowed. Someone will have to demonstrate -- as no one does in this movie -- that it is a topical poison. Many people have tried the nicotine patch and failed. So how come some selenium in her shampoo gives Marg Helgenberger immediate and drastic headaches? And her eyes become as painful as boils when she applies makeup? I think the anthropologist E. B. Tylor called this simple-minded idea "sympathetic magic," but I'm not sure.
Mais je divage. Anyway Ritter evidently tries the same stunt with his second wife fourteen years later, although no evidence of trickery is ever produced when she becomes ill with the same symptoms. Wife Number Two is taken to Mexico and apparently cured but suddenly drops dead shortly after her return. Circumstantial evidence piles up against Ritter, who plays the villain with all the stops out -- when his first trial is dismissed he SMIRKS at Helgenberger, who has prompted the investigation.
You see, Helgenberger was good friends with Ritter's second wife and was terribly disturbed at her demise and its manner. (I'll bet.) And she wants to prevent the same thing from happening to the wealthy young woman who seems lined up for third place in Ritter's marital schedule. (Sure.) The best performance is given by the guy who plays Detective Mauser -- Lawrence Dane? Everyone else acts by the numbers. They project emotions and thoughts with the subtlety of a warning at a railroad crossing. But Dane does little things that are original. "I'm told you want to report a murder. (Long pause while he sits down and waits), then abruptly thrusts his face towards Helgeberger and inquires in a reasonable and curious voice, "So who was murdered"? I suppose except for the bare bones of the historical events, nothing prevented characters or their actions from being drawn differently than they were in real life. I mean, what the heck, Ritter is still in jail convicted of murder and Helgenberger's character is dead, so who is to object? I wish the forensic stuff had been made clearer. Ritter seems to have used so many poisons and toxic metals -- let me see, selenium, cyanide, a massive dose of chlorine, and maybe something else -- that I was confused by it all. Not that I was rooting for Ritter. Here's a mathematician with a Ph.D. who insists people call him "doctor." He even corrects people who address him merely as "professor." Most Ph.D.s get that narcissistic problem behind them very quickly. "Jes' call me Whitey, even though I know how to get a standard deviation and you don't." Average TV fare.
For instance, good old John Ritter (now a rather bulky and bearded villain) poisons his wife enough to make her ill, then accuses her of being psychosomatic and leaves to marry another young woman immediately. Fourteen years pass before the story picks up again. Why fourteen years? I would guess that though the narrative doesn't demand it, history does.
Some of the particular scenes, however, are so cinematically apt that they were almost certainly dreamed up by a writer. Pawing through her attic, Helgenberger, Ritter's first wife, stumbles across an old electrical appliance and has one of those black-and-white flashbacks with stings on the score -- suddenly she recalls when, fourteen years ago, she discovered Ritter shaving selenium filings from a rectifier, carefully collecting them, and putting them in her shampoo and her eyelash liner (or whatever it's called). Later it develops that he was putting it into her coffee as well.
Frankly, I don't believe it. I don't believe either that she had that particular epiphany in the attic or that Ritter put selenium shavings into her shampoo or eyeliner. Selenium is referred to in the movie as a "toxic metal" and I suppose it is, in sufficient quantity, but it's also an anti-oxidant that's sold over the counter in drug stores and swallowed. Someone will have to demonstrate -- as no one does in this movie -- that it is a topical poison. Many people have tried the nicotine patch and failed. So how come some selenium in her shampoo gives Marg Helgenberger immediate and drastic headaches? And her eyes become as painful as boils when she applies makeup? I think the anthropologist E. B. Tylor called this simple-minded idea "sympathetic magic," but I'm not sure.
Mais je divage. Anyway Ritter evidently tries the same stunt with his second wife fourteen years later, although no evidence of trickery is ever produced when she becomes ill with the same symptoms. Wife Number Two is taken to Mexico and apparently cured but suddenly drops dead shortly after her return. Circumstantial evidence piles up against Ritter, who plays the villain with all the stops out -- when his first trial is dismissed he SMIRKS at Helgenberger, who has prompted the investigation.
You see, Helgenberger was good friends with Ritter's second wife and was terribly disturbed at her demise and its manner. (I'll bet.) And she wants to prevent the same thing from happening to the wealthy young woman who seems lined up for third place in Ritter's marital schedule. (Sure.) The best performance is given by the guy who plays Detective Mauser -- Lawrence Dane? Everyone else acts by the numbers. They project emotions and thoughts with the subtlety of a warning at a railroad crossing. But Dane does little things that are original. "I'm told you want to report a murder. (Long pause while he sits down and waits), then abruptly thrusts his face towards Helgeberger and inquires in a reasonable and curious voice, "So who was murdered"? I suppose except for the bare bones of the historical events, nothing prevented characters or their actions from being drawn differently than they were in real life. I mean, what the heck, Ritter is still in jail convicted of murder and Helgenberger's character is dead, so who is to object? I wish the forensic stuff had been made clearer. Ritter seems to have used so many poisons and toxic metals -- let me see, selenium, cyanide, a massive dose of chlorine, and maybe something else -- that I was confused by it all. Not that I was rooting for Ritter. Here's a mathematician with a Ph.D. who insists people call him "doctor." He even corrects people who address him merely as "professor." Most Ph.D.s get that narcissistic problem behind them very quickly. "Jes' call me Whitey, even though I know how to get a standard deviation and you don't." Average TV fare.
Clever
llihilloh28 December 2000
This is the kind of movie that, in my opinion, is good from start to finish. It is cleverly put together and with the help of a talented group of actors, this is one of the better TV movies I have seen.
The plot is very unusual and interesting. One of the things that really struck me is that the crew must have done a lot of research in order for the story to be accurate. (I'm referring to the medication side effects.) A lot of hard work and excellent writing went into this production.
The actors perform exceptionally well. Especially John Ritter, who plays the evil David Farris. Marg Helgenberger comes very close to being as good as Ritter but there's no stopping him. Helgenberger plays the part of Ellen Farris particularly good also. The rest of the cast adds their two cents to make this not so typical family shine.
The writing, cast, and idea overall is phenomenal. With the luck that CBS will decide to air this again, be prepared because you never know who you may be dealing with.
The plot is very unusual and interesting. One of the things that really struck me is that the crew must have done a lot of research in order for the story to be accurate. (I'm referring to the medication side effects.) A lot of hard work and excellent writing went into this production.
The actors perform exceptionally well. Especially John Ritter, who plays the evil David Farris. Marg Helgenberger comes very close to being as good as Ritter but there's no stopping him. Helgenberger plays the part of Ellen Farris particularly good also. The rest of the cast adds their two cents to make this not so typical family shine.
The writing, cast, and idea overall is phenomenal. With the luck that CBS will decide to air this again, be prepared because you never know who you may be dealing with.
A real story ,but nothing
johnng4530 December 2002
Warning: Spoilers
Spoilers One day,I got up early to see this TV movie on HBO, and Miko Hughes as the young boy was good. The story was a cheat ! A bad man made her ex-wife to sick because he felt she loved another man,and it happened again ! He put the virus again,and his wife was killed.The ex-wife found out something about he killing the woman........
The bad man sucks !!He broke women's hearts ! He cheated his ex-wife's feelings & time ! He tried to make his son to get him away. Heartless ! I like some exciting movies like Silence of the lambs & Hannibal. Frankly speaking,It is good for me to watch once only
The bad man sucks !!He broke women's hearts ! He cheated his ex-wife's feelings & time ! He tried to make his son to get him away. Heartless ! I like some exciting movies like Silence of the lambs & Hannibal. Frankly speaking,It is good for me to watch once only
Up to the usual high standard of t.v. movies
Castor-1114 October 1999
I've noticed for a long time, now, that I'm seldom disappointed by a t.v. movie - the reverse is true for most of the "theatre" movies available on cable right now...I wonder if it's because pay-per view, and satellite dish companies are snapping up the good "theatre" stuff leaving us cable viewers with the rubbish?...small wonder then that my local cable company is resorting to "attack" ads on satellite dish t.v, which ads are having the effect of turning me on to dish my local cable co!
Anyway, "Lethal Vows" is a good solid suspense yarn, with believable situations, attractive characters (even the villain!)and natural-sounding dialogue. It's based on a true story, as so many of these t.v. movies are, truth being more entertaining than fiction, telling the story of a long divorced ex-wife, coming to suspect that her (still-friendly)former spouse, and father of her two daughters, is guilty of slowly poisoning her, and his present wife who is currently displaying the same symptoms that our heroine experienced during her marriage to the man - the effects of such poisoning lingering to the time-set of the movie, 14 years after the divorce.. There is no doubt of the villain, from the get-go - the charming John Ritter, who is as pleasant a madman, as he is in his usual role of good guy. The many women in the movie, are good to look upon -many familiar faces which cause my irritation at IMB's lack of a cast-list -with the minor characters also being up to snuff. Altogether, an absorbing movie.
Anyway, "Lethal Vows" is a good solid suspense yarn, with believable situations, attractive characters (even the villain!)and natural-sounding dialogue. It's based on a true story, as so many of these t.v. movies are, truth being more entertaining than fiction, telling the story of a long divorced ex-wife, coming to suspect that her (still-friendly)former spouse, and father of her two daughters, is guilty of slowly poisoning her, and his present wife who is currently displaying the same symptoms that our heroine experienced during her marriage to the man - the effects of such poisoning lingering to the time-set of the movie, 14 years after the divorce.. There is no doubt of the villain, from the get-go - the charming John Ritter, who is as pleasant a madman, as he is in his usual role of good guy. The many women in the movie, are good to look upon -many familiar faces which cause my irritation at IMB's lack of a cast-list -with the minor characters also being up to snuff. Altogether, an absorbing movie.
Not bad for a TV movie
novella22130 July 2005
In all honesty I really liked this film, so much that i've seen it about 6 times. Yes, it's a cheap TV movie but it has good acting and a great storyline which should be as it is a true story. It's a sad, but very interesting story and never does it get boring. John Ritter(RIP) is great at playing the sleazy baddie. Not only is this film interesting but it's sure to teach you a few things about 'selenium' which is the 'killer' in this movie. A good film but I hope no viewers get any ideas in such a discreet way of killing another. Just watch it when it's next on and you will know what i'm going on about. A pure TV movie which I think everyone should watch!
sad good movie
monika00305 January 2009
even though "true stories" may be more compelling that others, this movie is incredibly sad, intriguing and possibly disturbing due to the plot. john Ritter (R.I.P) who did a fantastic job...would've loved to have seen him be "bad" more...portrayed the factual Richard Overton fantastically. not the kind of movie that becomes number one at a theater box office, but definitely something a local station could play and get men and women, alike, to be enthralled by. VERY good movie. agreed that its good to see little madeline zima grown up and doing a great job as a teen in dramatic roles. no outside info on the true story though...anyone?
Husband kills wife after a similar poisoning attempt that he used on his ex-wife in this well-written made for TV murder drama
jraybosco9 August 2008
Warning: Spoilers
John Ritter is the Villain in this clever murder drama, based on a true story.
I was intrigued on what was changed in the movie from the actual events, so I did a bit of research. Of course, the names were changed, but there were also other changes to make the movie more dramatic.
In the movie, the ex-wife suffered unexplainable symptoms and was still friendly with her ex, even after a divorce that she thought was a result of her illness. After befriending his new wife, she found out that they had more than John Ritter in common; they had similar symptoms of this unknown disease. Well, the new wife gets treatment in Mexico and is miraculously cured, but then dies of what is later known as cyanide poisoning. After being suspicious of her ex because of not mentioning the selenium and hastily cremating his wife's body, The ex-wife has flashbacks of her ex tainting her shampoo with selenium. Her investigation leads her to the conclusion that it was her ex-husband who was behind their illness by the selenium poisoning. We never find out why he poisoned the ex-wife, but we do find out that he killed his current wife because he thought she was cheating on him, which the story said she was not. Well, the story continues, and the ex-wife appears to be instrumental in bringing her ex-husband to justice. Now the real story...
David Farris is actually Richard Overton, who poisoned his ex-wife, Dorothy Boyer. Boyer angered Overton by suing for divorce, so he tried to poison her by putting selenium in her beverages, shampoo and make-up. She didn't press charges, and Overton was admitted to a mental institution. This was in the 1970's. In the 80's, his new wife, Janet, angered him by having an affair. At the trial, a man did describe himself as Janet Overton's lover, and said they had an affair in 1984. Richard slowly poisoned his wife with selenium, similar to his ex-wife, Boyer. He finished the job by allegedly putting cyanide in her coffee the day she died in 1988. The police, in their investigation, used documents in the Boyer case to help convict Overton. There is no mention that Boyer and Janet Overton ever knew each other. There was also no mention that Boyer kept in contact with her ex-husband. Boyer did eventually die of cancer because of the poisoning.
It's interesting on how movie writers change things around to make a true story more interesting. I guess that's why they say, "Based on a true story". If you want to know more about this story, read "Final Affair" by Frank McAdams.
I was intrigued on what was changed in the movie from the actual events, so I did a bit of research. Of course, the names were changed, but there were also other changes to make the movie more dramatic.
In the movie, the ex-wife suffered unexplainable symptoms and was still friendly with her ex, even after a divorce that she thought was a result of her illness. After befriending his new wife, she found out that they had more than John Ritter in common; they had similar symptoms of this unknown disease. Well, the new wife gets treatment in Mexico and is miraculously cured, but then dies of what is later known as cyanide poisoning. After being suspicious of her ex because of not mentioning the selenium and hastily cremating his wife's body, The ex-wife has flashbacks of her ex tainting her shampoo with selenium. Her investigation leads her to the conclusion that it was her ex-husband who was behind their illness by the selenium poisoning. We never find out why he poisoned the ex-wife, but we do find out that he killed his current wife because he thought she was cheating on him, which the story said she was not. Well, the story continues, and the ex-wife appears to be instrumental in bringing her ex-husband to justice. Now the real story...
David Farris is actually Richard Overton, who poisoned his ex-wife, Dorothy Boyer. Boyer angered Overton by suing for divorce, so he tried to poison her by putting selenium in her beverages, shampoo and make-up. She didn't press charges, and Overton was admitted to a mental institution. This was in the 1970's. In the 80's, his new wife, Janet, angered him by having an affair. At the trial, a man did describe himself as Janet Overton's lover, and said they had an affair in 1984. Richard slowly poisoned his wife with selenium, similar to his ex-wife, Boyer. He finished the job by allegedly putting cyanide in her coffee the day she died in 1988. The police, in their investigation, used documents in the Boyer case to help convict Overton. There is no mention that Boyer and Janet Overton ever knew each other. There was also no mention that Boyer kept in contact with her ex-husband. Boyer did eventually die of cancer because of the poisoning.
It's interesting on how movie writers change things around to make a true story more interesting. I guess that's why they say, "Based on a true story". If you want to know more about this story, read "Final Affair" by Frank McAdams.
DEAD ON!
deniseh-6063122 April 2021
I know about poisoners. This movie accurately portrayed the charming personality of the husband, who deep down inside is seething with rage against his wife. This happens far more than anyone suspects. Death by poison accounts for 60% of all deaths. While this sounds absurd, it is statistically true. I thought the movie was very well done, very accurate about how far a serial killer will go, and showed the pattern of behavior over years. I give it full stars for accuracy. It makes one wonder how many people have truly died from poison. I read in the "Poisoners Handbook' over 50% of the graveyard would sit up if you asked if they'd been poisoned. It sure is an easy method to rid one's self of a problem. A few lies here and there, and it would be easy to make someone appear ill and incapable to unsuspecting onlookers. Beware is all I can say... they don't exactly announce it. :)
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
