Sybil 

A young woman whose childhood was so harrowing to her that she developed sixteen different personalities is treated by a doctor.

Stars:

Joanne Woodward, Sally Field, Brad Davis

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Joanne Woodward	...	Dr. Cornelia Wilbur 2 episodes, 1976
Sally Field	...	Sybil 2 episodes, 1976
Brad Davis	...	Richard 2 episodes, 1976
Martine Bartlett	...	Hattie 2 episodes, 1976
Jane Hoffman	...	Frieda Dorsett 2 episodes, 1976
Charles Lane	...	Dr. Quinoness 2 episodes, 1976
Jessamine Milner	...	Grandma Dorsett 2 episodes, 1976
William Prince	...	Willard Dorsett 2 episodes, 1976
Penelope Allen	...	Miss Penny 2 episodes, 1976
Camila Ashland	...	Cam 2 episodes, 1976
Tommy Crebbs	...	Matthew 2 episodes, 1976
Gina Petrushka	...	Dr. Lazarus 2 episodes, 1976
Harold Pruett	...	Danny 2 episodes, 1976
Natasha Ryan	...	Child Sybil 2 episodes, 1976
Paul Tulley	...	Dr. Castle 2 episodes, 1976
Anne Beesley	...	The Selves 2 episodes, 1976
Virginia Campbell	...	The Selves 2 episodes, 1976
Missy Karn	...	The Selves 2 episodes, 1976
Tasha Lee	...	The Selves 2 episodes, 1976
Cathy Lynn Lesko	...	The Selves 2 episodes, 1976
Rachel Longaker	...	The Selves 2 episodes, 1976
Jennifer McAllister	...	The Selves 2 episodes, 1976
Kerry Muir	...	The Selves 2 episodes, 1976
Karen Obediear	...	The Selves 2 episodes, 1976
Tony Sherman	...	The Selves 2 episodes, 1976
Danny Stevenson	...	The Selves 2 episodes, 1976

Storyline

The story tells of a young woman admitting to having blackouts, fearing they are getting worse. She is diagnosed as suffering from multiple personalities, as a result of severe abuse at the hands of her mother, whom her psychiatrist, Cornelia Wilbur, believes was schizophrenic. The movie Sibyl is based upon author Flora Rheta Schreiber's biography of Shirley Ardell Mason, an American psychiatric patient, suffering from multiple personality disorder. The book, also called Sibyl, was in its turn based largely on the actual accounts of psychiatric treatment that Shirley Ardell Mason underwent, documented by American psychiatrist Cornelia Wilbur

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Plot Keywords:

dissociative identity disorder | psychiatrist | multiple personality | child molestation | split personality | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sybil

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

198 min (original television) 133 min (theatrical) 187 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The real "Sybil" was recently identified as Shirley Ardell Mason, an art teacher who died in 1998 at the age of 75 in Lexington, Kentucky. Flora Rheta Schreiber, who wrote the book on which "Sybil" was based, gave her the name based on the women prophets of Greek mythology, the Sibyls, who spoke with multiple voices.

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Goofs

In present day scenes (set in mid Seventies), Sybil appears to be in anywhere from 25-to-30 years old. But in flashbacks to her childhood scenes when she around five (which would be either late 1940's or early-mid 50's), everything (cars, fashions, hair, etc.) appears to be set in 1930's - long before she was even born.

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Quotes

Sybil Dorsett: [imitating mother; as vicky] Don't you dare tell, or I'll fix it so you ain't got nothin' to tell with.

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Alternate Versions

The original TV-version ran two nights for a total of four hours (198 minutes minus the commercials). Most video copies are pared down in length, one running 122 minutes and another "expanded" to 132 minutes. Both these versions are missing key scenes such as:

• The introduction of of the alternate personality "Vanessa"
• Sybil's first date with Richard
• Her recollection of her childhood sweetheart.
• Sybil dissociating into the personality of an infant, leading to Dr. Wilbur's memorable statements "My god Sybil, what did that monster do to you? What happened in the green kitchen?"
• Dr. Wilbur confronting Willard Dorsett over him having left his daughter in the care of such an obvious and dangerously disturbed woman as Hattie
• Sybil's two male personalities arguing with Dr. Wilbur about them being able to father children
• Sybil finally confronting and learning to accept all of her personalities while under hypnosis

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Connections

Referenced in Dédales (2003)

User Reviews

A fascinating movie detailing Behavior

I saw this film a few times, and loved Sally Field's performance. Here we see a grown up who blocks out the memories of a harrowing child abuse. What we discover is that Sybil learns to protect the psychological "inner child" by developing personalities that are warm and comforting. The way she unlocks the real Sybil is by therapy with a Dr. Wilbur.This film does not portray childhood as rosey and bright;We see the poor child hung up by a rope as the mom administers an enima.We see the mother lock her in a dark box.From the film,We understand the "hands' of evil belonged to a person Sybil dearly loved and trusted. The way Dr. Wilbur helps Sybil is to unite the personalities together in one. We hear Sybil say "I love You" as she hugs herself;That expression of affection was what the poor child never heard growing up. What this film teaches us, is to believe in our own worth and gain strength in our abilities. I loved Joanne Wooodward, and her character helps Sybil find the perfect person she truly was.