IMDb > Small Sacrifices (1989) (TV)

Small Sacrifices (1989) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   317 votes
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Down 14% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
David Greene
Writers (WGA):
Ann Rule (book)
Joyce Eliason (teleplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Small Sacrifices on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 November 1989 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
Her children got in the way of her love
Plot:
On the 19th of May 1983 Diane Downs stops at the McKenzie-Williamette-Hospital and cries for help. She... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
Fawcett nominated for posthumous Emmy
 (From digitalspy. 16 July 2009, 11:35 AM, PDT)
Farrah Fawcett Receives Posthumous Emmy Nod
 (From PEOPLE.com. 16 July 2009, 10:05 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
A great film about a sickening crime more (13 total)

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Farrah Fawcett ... Diane Downs

Gordon Clapp ... Detective Doug Welch

Ryan O'Neal ... Lew Lewiston

John Shea ... Frank Joziak

Emily Perkins ... Karen Downs
Gary Chalk ... Boyd Paul Downs
Ken James ... Daryl Chapman

Sean McCann ... Russell Wells
Tom Butler
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julie Bond ... Reporter #2
Lynne Cormack ... Lola Joziak
Robert Corness ... Orthopedic Surgeon

Jayne Eastwood ... Evelyn Slaven
Karen Gartner ... Chris Rosage
Elan Ross Gibson

John B. Lowe
Maxine Miller ... Diane's Mother
Bob Roitblat ... Reporter
Garwin Sanford ... Matt Jensen

Alana Stewart
Vicki Wauchope ... Shauna Downs
more
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
Germany:205 min (2 parts) | USA:159 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Stereo
Certification:
Iceland:12
Filming Locations:
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful.
A great film about a sickening crime, 15 October 2006
7/10
Author: Mel J from Dundee, Scotland

This is a film based on a story that defies belief that someone, especially a mother, could be so cruel. Based on a true story that occurred in 1983, a wounded Diane Downs claims that she and her children were attacked by an armed man leaving her eight-year-old daughter in a coma, her three-year-old son paralysed and her five-year-old daughter dead. But DA Frank Joziak and Detective Doug Welch aren't convince and build evidence that proves the person who shot the children was Diane herself.

The actors in this film all give great effort in bringing this shocking story to life. Farrah Fawcett is excellent as the pathological liar that is Diane Downs, portraying the role as a woman almost bored with motherhood. John Shea's Joziak was nicely depicted with a sense of warmth, determination and anger for what he knows Downs did while a young Emily Perkins gives a strong performance as the deeply traumatised Karen Downs, the eight-year-old who awakens from a coma with the knowledge of what her mother did.

This film is fascinating on a level that will shock and disgust the viewers as it is reveals just how insidious and self-obsessed Diane Downs is, how she tries to lie her way out of the court case and the reasons for why a mother would commit a monstrous crime upon her own small children. The story is sickening but it is one that should be told, if only to emphasis to people why Downs should never be allowed to be free.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Small Sacrifices (1989) (TV)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Song played on car tape? zany_beat
Diane Downs's Sentencing Elainethegreat25
What was everyone's opinion bethliebner-1
What the heck............... alan_and_john
Diane Downs Denied Parole Today jbcoops
Diane Downs Up For Parole jbcoops
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