In Broad Daylight (1991)

The fanatically uncompromising Len Rowan and his family insult and terrorize the citizens of a small town for years. One day the comment of a saleswoman about Len's son not being able to ... See full summary »

Director:

James Steven Sadwith

Writers:

Harry MacLean (book), William Hanley (teleplay)

Stars:

Brian Dennehy, Cloris Leachman, Marcia Gay Harden

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brian Dennehy	...	Len Rowan
Cloris Leachman	...	Ruth Westerman
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Adina Rowan
Chris Cooper	...	Jack Wilson
John Anderson	...	Wes Westerman
Ken Jenkins	...	Bob Webb
Robert Schenkkan	...	Rev. Don Douglas
David Neidorf	...	Marshal Paul Harris
Tony Frank	...	Sheriff Phil Lewis
Bill Thurman	...	Virgil Teague
Brandon Smith	...	Todd Lacey
Colleen Keegan	...	Darlene Rowan
Bill Bolender	...	Frank Snow
Greta Muller	...	Madge Summers
Dedra London	...	Cindy Rowan

Storyline

The fanatically uncompromising Len Rowan and his family insult and terrorize the citizens of a small town for years. One day the comment of a saleswoman about Len's son not being able to pay his sweets triggers off his persecution complex. As revenge for the believed insult, the whole family starts stalking the shop owner and her husband... until this escalates and the old man gets badly injured. Len is arrested, but gets off, free on bail. His clever attorney delays the court session for more than a year - while Rowan keeps threatening the witnesses. But then, the people feel they've had enough of this and decide to take the law in their own hands...

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Plot Keywords:

based on book

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Taglines:

Len Rowan is coming to town ... for the last time.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 February 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Koston iltapäivä

Filming Locations:

Elgin, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Force Ten Productions Inc., New World Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Good movie, and it happened 10 miles from me

I live 10 miles away from where this event happened, and as soon as I moved here, I was told I had to read this book and see the movie. This is a pretty good adaptation of the non-fiction book it is based on of the same title. I encourage people to not only see this movie but to also read the book, as you get MUCH backstory on not only the main character (who's real name is Ken McElroy), but also on the community and the area.

Most aspects of the book are the same as the film, although there are some differences. The main one involves the town. Skidmore (Darby in the film) is a much poorer community than what is portrayed here. I do wonder how it was in the early 80's when this happened, but I doubt it was much different. I drove through after reading the book and seeing the movie to see the place where this happened, and if you blink you miss it.

The only thing I don't like is the newscaster at the end speaking out against vigilante justice. When you read this book and see what these people really went through, you can't help but feel sorry for them. And, just as an update, nobody still has been charged or prosecuted for this crime, and the small town of Skidmore still holds the secret to this day, although most authorities (and the entire town) know what actually happened.