Right of Way (1983) (TV)

Director:

George Schaefer

Writer:

Richard Lees (play)

Release Date:

1 April 1988 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Miniature Dwyer is named after her mother, who was making miniature doll houses when Minnie was born...

Plot Keywords:

Old Age | Based On Play

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Bette Davis	...	Mini Dwyer
James Stewart	...	Teddy Dwyer
Melinda Dillon	...	Ruda Dwyer
Priscilla Morrill	...	Mrs. Finter
John Harkins	...	G. Clayburn
Jacque Lynn Colton	...	Mrs. Belkin
Louis Schaefer	...	Kahn
Charles Walker	...	Kahn's Assistant
Ismael 'East' Carlo	...	Gardener (as East Carlo)
Edith Fields	...	Saleswoman
Michael Canavan	...	Process Server (as Michael V. Murphy)
Philip Littell	...	Cashier
Robert Jayne	...	Mrs. Belkin's Son (as Bobby Jacoby)
Jodi Hicks	...	Mrs. Belkin's Daughter
Erin Karpf	...	Mrs. Belkin's Daughter

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, USA

Company:

HBO Premiere Films

Quotes:

Mini Dwyer: Would you like to know what it is we want to spare you from? The doctors describe it as a kind of starvation death. Except every cell in my body is a stomach. The pain will be immense. I'll lose all sense of who I am or what I am. I'll lose my insides and I'll lose my outsides. I'll be half my size and weight. Or smaller. A tiny figure lying on a rubber sheet in some hideous cinder-block building they call a hospital.

"On Golden Pond 2"

This made-for-TV movie was released hot on the heels of the success of "On Golden Pond" starring two well-respected film veterans, Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda.

This time, it is Bette Davis and Jimmy Stewart and the plot is about an aging couple who want the right to choose their own time of death. The subject of euthanasia has and always will be controversial. When this telemovie was released in the early 80's, the subject matter was very much ahead of its time.

Jimmy Stewarts' performance is rather restrained compared to Bette Davis who has always preferred the limelight when it comes to sharing top billing for a film. It was revealed in Jimmy Stewarts' biography that whilst filming this telemovie, times weren't always easy on the set. Bette Davis usually delayed filming of the project, spending hours in her trailer. When they shared scenes together, Bette Davis did not warm up to any scenes displaying shared physicality or emotion and therefore the outcome portrays her character as being rather hard and bitter.

When I watched the two legends share the screen together, I must admit that I was not convinced that this couple had shared a long life of hardship and love together. Their children try to intervene legally when Bette Davis' character wants to end her life after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. I realize this sounds like yet another plot from an episode of "The Practice" or "Family Law", but you have to realize that this was groundbreaking material for its time.

The outcome of the film is respectable, but unfortunately, I think another actress other than Bette Davis should have been chosen for this role. Kudos to Jimmy Stewart for trying.

5/10