"American Playhouse" Three Sovereigns for Sarah (1985)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Philip Leacock

Writer:

Victor Pisano (writer)

TV Series:

"American Playhouse" (1982)

Original Air Date:

27 May 1985

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Family Relationships | Satan | Justice | Minister | Hysteria

Cast

Vanessa Redgrave	...	Sarah Cloyce
Kim Hunter	...	Mary Easty
Will Lyman	...	Rev. Parris
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Buffy Baldauf	...	Mercy Lewis
Les Barden	...	Ipswich Jailer
Hamilton Benz	...	Israel Portor
Barbara Blossom	...	Lydia
Judy Braha	...	Elizabeth Parris
Stacey Caplin	...	Bette Parris
Christopher Childs	...	Rev. Noyes
Jim Chiros	...	Jailer / Guard
Mara Clark	...	1st Matron
Bijou Clinger	...	Sarah Good
Bob Colonna	...	Judge Corwin
Shay Duffin	...	Judge Hathorne
John Dukakis	...	Joseph Putman
Jennifer Dundas	...	Anne Putnam Jr. (as Jennie Dundas)
Martha Farrar	...	2nd Matron
Rebecca Fasanello	...	Liz Hubbard
Richard Grusin	...	Sargeant
David Hannegan	...	1st Magistrate
Ronald Hunter	...	Samuel Nurse
John Kelly	...	Giles Cory
Karol Kostka	...	2nd Minister
Richard Joseph Lafond Jr.	...	Youth
Victor Magnotta	...	Executioner
Patrick McGoohan	...	Chief Magistrate
Judy McIntyre	...	Farmer's Wife
Jessica Pisano	...	Jailer's Daughter
Maryann Plunkett	...	Anne Putnam Sr.
Sigmund Polozny	...	1st Minister
Dana Putnam	...	Dorcy Good
Harriet Rogers	...	Hana
John Savoia	...	Sheriff
Brian Smiar	...	Sargeant's Ass't
Sylvia Anne Soares	...	Tituba
Donald Symington	...	Peter Cloyce
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Rebecca Nurse
Rino Thunder	...	John Indian
Derek Till	...	2nd Magistrate
Maria Todd	...	Mary Wolcott
Daniel von Bargen	...	Thomas
Kyrsha Wildasin	...	Abigail Williams
William Young	...	Dr. Griggs

Runtime:

171 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

American Playhouse

Trivia:

Patrick McGoohan took over the role of the Chief Magistrate at short notice, to replace 'Mason, James' who died shortly before shooting was scheduled to begin.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Divine Magic: The Witch Hunt (1995) (TV)

Could be better, could be worse

Apart from Vanessa Redgrave, this was probably one of the most irritating movies I have ever been forced to sit through. We studied the Salem witch trials in my Humanities classes. They are interesting, but this movie is pretty annoying. The child actors look like rejects from bad Nickelodeon shows. They don't appear to know what they're doing for most of their scenes. However, my main problem is with the background score. It is just plain awful. The excruciatingly melodramatic music is unintentionally hilarious. They also put the music in at random parts of the story. For example, at a potentially suspenseful part, like when someone is about to be hanged or when the innocent Rebecca Nurse is standing trial, or when a man has just been crushed by stones, there is complete silence. However, when such a riveting, emotionally powerful event, like the cutting down of a tree by some unidentified man, occurs there is this awful harpsichord music with drums going off. It is incredibly distracting. Other than that, the movie was somewhat interesting with good performances by a couple of the actors.