3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- Correction, 5 September 2006
Author:
jkerr8 from Austin, Texas
I haven't seen the movie but was a medical resident who helped take
care of one of the real killer's victims back in the 1980's. I don't
know exactly how old Blanche Taylor Moore was at the time but she
looked to be at least solidly in her 50's. So Elizabeth Montgomery was
not at all too old for the part. Ms. Moore was well-known to all of the
physicians and nurses. She often showed up to spend time with her
husband in his hospital room, feeding him, etc. Of course, only later
did everyone realize she was feeding him arsenic. Some time after his
death she remarried. Her new husband then presented in the emergency
room with severe leg pain and weakness and was found to be suffering
from arsenic poisoning. That began the unraveling of everything else,
as Ms. Moore's previous husbands and father were excavated for heavy
metal testing.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :- Not a classic but worth seeing on a rainy day., 21 July 2001
Author:
dhalgren74 from Tampa, Florida
First off there's Montgomery's supporting cast, especially David Clennon as
one of her boyfriends, Grace Zabriskie as her best friend, and Bruce McGill
as a police detective. Then there's Liz as this real-life cold-blooded
killer. Altho she looks pretty good here with her beautiful, long neck and
bright eyes, her character is miles away from Samantha on "Bewitched". She
seems to have absolutely zero conscience except maybe when she's hanging
out
with her gal-pal. I know Liz liked playing character roles but I prefer
her
in flicks like Second Sight & Lizzie Borden. At least you could sympathize
with the latter real-life lady. I'm glad she got to end her career playing
Edna Buchanan, not Ms Moore.
Two thumbs up for Elizabeth Montgomery's performance, 20 October 2001
Author:
(catneb@aol.com) from Virginia, US
I believe this movie could have been better in some ways. It should have
included more background and greater detail of Blanche Taylor Moore's
childhood. It would have helped us to understand more about her motives.
After watching the movie on tv, I was intrigued enough to read the book.
It
helped fill in some of the missing pieces. I watch the movie every time I
can catch it on tv, and the reason for that is Elizabeth Montgomery. I
think this movie is worth watching just for her performance. She just
drips
sweetness and southern charm, flirts like it is second nature, and has
attitude. I think she probably comes pretty close to capturing the essence
of the real Blanche Taylor. You should hear some of the lines she uses on
the men...You can really see her as the black widow catching her prey!
I've
got to say it is priceless when she says "I cannot wait for my head to hit
your pillow so I can feel the comfort of your arms." What more can you ask
for from a television movie?
One of the best true story based films I've seen., 20 July 1999
Author:
(saztail@hotmail.com) from Essex, England
This is a very gripping story, and Elizabeth Montgomery plays the lead role
with a moving, emotional performance which couldn't have worked with anyone
else. The story line is very strong and I didn't feel the need to turn to
something more interesting which I find often happens with this type genre.
It is well thought out, and has some great moments. I would recommend this
to friends, which would be more to an adult audience, as the film does
contain a couple of scenes which are not family viewing. If you're a
Montgomery fan who hasn't seen this yet, then put it on the top of the list,
because it's a brilliantly moving film, and her performance is well
done.
Pretty good movie based on a true story, 23 March 1999
Author:
Jill (moviearulz@aol.com) from United States
This movie starring Elizabeth Montgomery as
Blanche Taylor Moore, is based on a true story.
A basically psycho woman, Blanche, kills all of
her- what is it, four?- husbands with Antiants,
which is most likely a solution to kill ants. I
understand this was based on a true story, but
was it REALLY necessary to include the part about
her breast cancer? There were some things in here
that were really just not necessary to include.
It was pretty good, though, and a good performance
by Liz Montgomery with her great southern drawl!
See this one if you are a die-hard fan of someone
who's in it, otherwise it's not really worth it
to watch, but it's not really terrible either.
1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :- Not terrible, but not great., 9 October 2001
Author:
jimkis-3 from Indiana
I just happen to have read the book this was based on, and there's a lot
missing. It could have been a mini-series, and suffers at just barely over
90 minutes. Elizabeth Montgomery is okay as Blanche -- the woman was not
really any deeper than EM portrays her. If anything, she didn't have that
even that much depth. She was, apparently, a rather mindless and
conscience-less murderer with obvious motives. She was not as an
intellectual character (as you find in novels about killers). The main fault
with EM playing her is that he is just a little bit too old for the part
(being 60 at the time). In any case, because of the length of the film and
the lackluster performances by the others in the film, what could have been
a good character study becomes rather pedestrian -- just another TV movie.
The fact that it is, indeed, based on a true story doesn't make it any more
special. It is just well enough done to hold your interest -- an okay
time-killer -- worth only one viewing.
0 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :- This stuff really happens?!, 19 February 1999
Author:
Chris Winston from Fairbanks, U.S. Territory of Alaska
Don't be fooled by the # of perfect 10's this has been given or by anything
over a 7.5 rating. It's not quite that good. It's more your general,
run-of-the-mill, movie-of-the-week... another of those oh-so-common Based On
A True Story Of A Southern White Trash Trailer Park Woman With A Wickedly
Messed Up Life. The story is kind of interesting but the character
development fell short as did the script and acting talent. The last 25
minutes or so woke me up and got me re-interested with the slight twists,
turns, and wows but the first 90+ was a pretty big Yawn Question Mark Yawn.
Why exactly did this woman do what she did? What made her so screwed up?
It needed less commercials and a better writer and maybe this story could
have been better told. Oh well. I won't tell you not to see this because
if you're ever on a game show with a topic of Serial Killer Southern Women,
you might be one up on your competition... but surely don't go out of your
way to see this one. It's only average to below-average and you won't miss
anything.
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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Correction, 5 September 2006
Author: jkerr8 from Austin, Texas
I haven't seen the movie but was a medical resident who helped take care of one of the real killer's victims back in the 1980's. I don't know exactly how old Blanche Taylor Moore was at the time but she looked to be at least solidly in her 50's. So Elizabeth Montgomery was not at all too old for the part. Ms. Moore was well-known to all of the physicians and nurses. She often showed up to spend time with her husband in his hospital room, feeding him, etc. Of course, only later did everyone realize she was feeding him arsenic. Some time after his death she remarried. Her new husband then presented in the emergency room with severe leg pain and weakness and was found to be suffering from arsenic poisoning. That began the unraveling of everything else, as Ms. Moore's previous husbands and father were excavated for heavy metal testing.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-

Not a classic but worth seeing on a rainy day., 21 July 2001
Author: dhalgren74 from Tampa, Florida
First off there's Montgomery's supporting cast, especially David Clennon as one of her boyfriends, Grace Zabriskie as her best friend, and Bruce McGill as a police detective. Then there's Liz as this real-life cold-blooded killer. Altho she looks pretty good here with her beautiful, long neck and bright eyes, her character is miles away from Samantha on "Bewitched". She seems to have absolutely zero conscience except maybe when she's hanging out with her gal-pal. I know Liz liked playing character roles but I prefer her in flicks like Second Sight & Lizzie Borden. At least you could sympathize with the latter real-life lady. I'm glad she got to end her career playing Edna Buchanan, not Ms Moore.
Two thumbs up for Elizabeth Montgomery's performance, 20 October 2001
Author: (catneb@aol.com) from Virginia, US
I believe this movie could have been better in some ways. It should have included more background and greater detail of Blanche Taylor Moore's childhood. It would have helped us to understand more about her motives. After watching the movie on tv, I was intrigued enough to read the book. It helped fill in some of the missing pieces. I watch the movie every time I can catch it on tv, and the reason for that is Elizabeth Montgomery. I think this movie is worth watching just for her performance. She just drips sweetness and southern charm, flirts like it is second nature, and has attitude. I think she probably comes pretty close to capturing the essence of the real Blanche Taylor. You should hear some of the lines she uses on the men...You can really see her as the black widow catching her prey! I've got to say it is priceless when she says "I cannot wait for my head to hit your pillow so I can feel the comfort of your arms." What more can you ask for from a television movie?
One of the best true story based films I've seen., 20 July 1999

Author: (saztail@hotmail.com) from Essex, England
This is a very gripping story, and Elizabeth Montgomery plays the lead role with a moving, emotional performance which couldn't have worked with anyone else. The story line is very strong and I didn't feel the need to turn to something more interesting which I find often happens with this type genre. It is well thought out, and has some great moments. I would recommend this to friends, which would be more to an adult audience, as the film does contain a couple of scenes which are not family viewing. If you're a Montgomery fan who hasn't seen this yet, then put it on the top of the list, because it's a brilliantly moving film, and her performance is well done.
Pretty good movie based on a true story, 23 March 1999
Author: Jill (moviearulz@aol.com) from United States
This movie starring Elizabeth Montgomery as Blanche Taylor Moore, is based on a true story. A basically psycho woman, Blanche, kills all of her- what is it, four?- husbands with Antiants, which is most likely a solution to kill ants. I understand this was based on a true story, but was it REALLY necessary to include the part about her breast cancer? There were some things in here that were really just not necessary to include. It was pretty good, though, and a good performance by Liz Montgomery with her great southern drawl! See this one if you are a die-hard fan of someone who's in it, otherwise it's not really worth it to watch, but it's not really terrible either.
1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Not terrible, but not great., 9 October 2001
Author: jimkis-3 from Indiana
I just happen to have read the book this was based on, and there's a lot missing. It could have been a mini-series, and suffers at just barely over 90 minutes. Elizabeth Montgomery is okay as Blanche -- the woman was not really any deeper than EM portrays her. If anything, she didn't have that even that much depth. She was, apparently, a rather mindless and conscience-less murderer with obvious motives. She was not as an intellectual character (as you find in novels about killers). The main fault with EM playing her is that he is just a little bit too old for the part (being 60 at the time). In any case, because of the length of the film and the lackluster performances by the others in the film, what could have been a good character study becomes rather pedestrian -- just another TV movie. The fact that it is, indeed, based on a true story doesn't make it any more special. It is just well enough done to hold your interest -- an okay time-killer -- worth only one viewing.
0 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-

This stuff really happens?!, 19 February 1999
Author: Chris Winston from Fairbanks, U.S. Territory of Alaska
Don't be fooled by the # of perfect 10's this has been given or by anything over a 7.5 rating. It's not quite that good. It's more your general, run-of-the-mill, movie-of-the-week... another of those oh-so-common Based On A True Story Of A Southern White Trash Trailer Park Woman With A Wickedly Messed Up Life. The story is kind of interesting but the character development fell short as did the script and acting talent. The last 25 minutes or so woke me up and got me re-interested with the slight twists, turns, and wows but the first 90+ was a pretty big Yawn Question Mark Yawn. Why exactly did this woman do what she did? What made her so screwed up? It needed less commercials and a better writer and maybe this story could have been better told. Oh well. I won't tell you not to see this because if you're ever on a game show with a topic of Serial Killer Southern Women, you might be one up on your competition... but surely don't go out of your way to see this one. It's only average to below-average and you won't miss anything.
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