Fire in the Dark (1991) (TV)

Director:

David Hugh Jones

Writer (WGA):

David J. Hill (written by)

Release Date:

6 October 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Olympia Dukakis	...	Emily Miller
Lindsay Wagner	...	Janet
Jean Stapleton	...	Henny
Ray Wise	...	Richard
George Hearn	...	Arthur
Joan Leslie	...	Ruthie
Paul Scherrer	...	Eric
Amzie Strickland	...	Gladys
Edward Herrmann	...	Robert
Sheila Allen-Jones	...	Mrs. Friedan
Martin Goslins	...	Dr. Jack Bergman
Michele Harrell	...	Elaine
Denis Heames	...	Tommy
Tim Conover White	...	The Yardman
Carol Bivins	...	Furniture Buyer
Todd Cameron Brown	...	Young Robert
Issac Clay	...	Medical Salesman
Kort Falkenberg	...	Charles
Suzanne Goddard-Smythe	...	Physical Therapist (as Suzanne Goddard)
Neal Lerner	...	Furniture Buyer
Don Lewis	...	Physical Therapist
Lulie Newcomb	...	Young Emily
Lyndsay Riddell	...	Young Janet
Robert Rothwell	...	Minister
Steve Rogers	...	Young Arthur
Viola Kates Stimpson	...	Cathryn
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Blass	...	Mourner (uncredited)

Directed by
David Hugh Jones

Writing credits (WGA)
David J. Hill		(written by)

Produced by
Don Gregory	....	producer
David J. Hill	....	associate producer
Bernard M. Kahn	....	producer
Donald Kushner	....	executive producer
Peter Locke	....	executive producer
Sylvia M. White	....	line producer

Original Music by
Arthur Kempel

Cinematography by
Brian West

Film Editing by
Pamela Malouf		(as Pamela Malouf-Cundy)

Casting by
Rachelle Farberman

Production Design by
Barbara Dunphy

Set Decoration by
Donald Elmblad

Costume Design by
Giovanna Ottobre-Melton

Makeup Department
Richard Arias	....	makeup artist
Tom Brumberger	....	makeup artist
Jeffrey Sacino	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Jonathan Debin	....	executive in charge of production
Brenda K. Kyle	....	production supervisor
Sylvia M. White	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jerry Fleck	....	first assistant director
Barbara M. Ravis	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Stephen Gibson	....	props
Christopher Harwood	....	leadman
Dick Kyker	....	property master
Dallas L. Prince	....	assistant property master
Veronica Wirth	....	assistant production designer: Milano

Sound Department
David E. Fluhr	....	sound re-recording mixer
George R. Groves Jr.	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael C. Gutierrez	....	supervising sound editor
Bill King	....	boom operator
Clark King	....	sound mixer
Jeff Porrello	....	boom operator
Troy Porter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Don Sanders	....	sound mixer

Stunts
Rick Avery	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Kevin M. Andersen	....	electrician: USA
Brian Branigan	....	key grip
Charlie Edwards	....	best boy (as Charles Edwards)
Rick Faigh	....	best boy
John T. Martin	....	grip
Larry S. Prinz	....	gaffer
Henry Tirl	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Daniel L. Turrett	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Liane Dietz	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Renee Alaina Sacks	....	costume supervisor (as Renee A. Sacks)

Editorial Department
Jim Page	....	assistant editor
Kim Percival	....	post-production coordinator (as Kimberly E. Percival)

Music Department
Diana Dru Botsford	....	music supervisor
James Burt	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Lawrence Morgan	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Bundy Chanock	....	set medic
Terry Edinger	....	production accountant
Jolene Hastings	....	production coordinator
Patricia Jordan	....	script supervisor
Gretchen Ann Ritter	....	production secretary
Cynthia R. Woodard	....	location manager

Production Companies

• Kushner-Locke Company, The

Distributors

• 905 Entertainment
• Aquarius TV (2000) (Greece) (TV)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1991) (USA) (TV) (original airing)

Other Companies

• Larson Sound Center  audio post-production
• Varitel Video  electronic lab services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements and some mild language

Runtime:

USA:120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | Iceland:L

Company:

Kushner-Locke Company, The

that's what you are to me. it's a compliment.

Lindsay Wagner is Janet, the daughter of Emily Miller (Olympia Dukakis) a 75 year old former teacher who is becoming less independent as she gets older. A broken hip, the death of her best friend Henny Dutton (Jean Stapleton), and a burglary where she confronts the thief all contribute to Emily's deteriorating spirit. Janet takes her mother to live with her family, but things aren't easy.

Wagner doesn't shy away from the challenge of Dukakis or Edward Herrmann as her failed brother Robert, even if she doesn't look like a relative of either and their theater backgrounds make their acting choices larger than Wagner. However their bigness works for their characters who have more dimension than Janet who is arrogant superiority and anger shrouded in martyrdom. Wearing her hair partly tied in a bun to suggest her control and intellectualism, Wagner is best when chiding her husband Richard (Ray Wise) about his inability to serve food at a party that she has prepared. A scene when Emily and Janet look at a retirement home shows the difference in mugging between Dukakis and Wagner, with Dukakis underplaying her horror and Wagner wide-eyed reacting to Dukakis.

The teleplay by David J Hill explains the title as what Emily's deceased husband Arthur (George Hearn) says she means to him, and Hill opens with the scene that he concludes with, so the outcome is telegraphed. Character delineation is evident in an exchange between Janet and Emily, where Janet tells her `I'm trying to help you' and Emily replies `Right into the next world'.

Director David Jones may have gone overboard with Dukakis' aging makeup, it's a shame Stapleton is killed off so quickly, and he uses black and white footage for Emily's flashbacks which turn to color by the end.