Small Sacrifices (1989)

A peculiar and disturbing case catches the attention of the police when a young mother and her children, all severely injured, show up in a hospital's emergency room.

Director:

David Greene

Writers:

Ann Rule (book), Joyce Eliason (teleplay)

Stars:

Farrah Fawcett, Ryan O'Neal, Gordon Clapp

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Farrah Fawcett	...	Diane Downs
Gordon Clapp	...	Detective Doug Welch
Ryan O'Neal	...	Lew Lewiston
John Shea	...	Frank Joziak
Emily Perkins	...	Karen Downs
Garry Chalk	...	Boyd Paul Downs (as Gary Chalk)
Ken James	...	Daryl Chapman
Sean McCann	...	Russell Wells
Garwin Sanford	...	Matt Jensen (Part 2)
Tom Butler
Elan Ross Gibson	...	Rosalind Dyring
Lynne Cormack	...	Lola Joziak
Jayne Eastwood	...	Evelyn Slaven
Christopher Caravalho	...	Robbie Downs
Anne Bradley Jaeger	...	Herself

Storyline

On the 19th of May 1983 Diane Downs stops at the McKenzie-Williamette-Hospital and cries for help. She is wounded on her arm and her three children are also wounded seriously. She says that a stranger shot at them but the investigation of detective Welch bring out that Diane is a liar.

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Plot Keywords:

histrionic personality disorder | murderess | spandex disco jeans | filicide | oregon | 

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Taglines:

Her children got in the way of her love

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | History

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Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blick in den Abgrund

Filming Locations:

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 7,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Louis Rudolph Films,Motown Productions,Allarcom Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

205 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Other than Diane Downs most of the names have been changed and are not the same as those in the actual case.

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Goofs

When Diane brings a pizza over to her mailman friend Matt Jensen's house, she asks him if he likes mushrooms on his pizza while holding the pizza out to him. He says yes. But the pizza has no mushrooms on it, it is clearly plain.

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Quotes

Frank Joziak: [after delivering a telling argument against Diane's version of the story] A child, Shauna, was killed. A little girl who isn't here anymore. For what? For Diane Down's warped sense of values. Robbie won't walk, Karen won't have the use of her arm the way it was.
[His voice wavers]
Frank Joziak: These children will *never* be the same.
[Begins to erupt in rage]
Frank Joziak: And look, Diane Downs-! For once, you're not going to lie your way out of this situation, it just doesn't cut it! You're a murderer! A cold-blooded, ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Kids of Killers (2010)

User Reviews

hungry like the wolf

The TV movie format has been used endlessly to depict true crime stories, from parents who kill their children, to children who kill their parents, to rape, to theft, to abuse. I myself saw two or three similar films just last week. So what makes a rather unassuming TV movie from 1989 like "Small Sacrifices" stand out so much? It's hard to say. Certainly the acting has a lot to offer. Farrah Fawcett, Ryan O'Neal, and John Shea - three well-known actors whom I was familiar with but never previously cared for - are the dramatic core of the script. They all perform well beyond expectations. Fawcett, for example, who I would've thought incapable of such depth, is alternately terrifying and emotionally unhinged. It's a breathtaking performance. The real surprise, however, is young Emily Perkins. Or not such a surprise for me, because I'd been familiar with her heartbreaking role in the last four seasons of "Da Vinci's Inquest". But even at the tender age of twelve, she is a fully realized actress of incredible range. Her testimony on the stand is so emotional that it left me in tears. This is a performance without cliché.

"Small Sacrifices" isn't yet another painful exercise in domestic unrest, like it might appear to be on the surface. David Greene seems very aware of what he wants to get out his film here, and he directs the human interaction brilliantly. It's a hard film, sure - really hard - but powerfully dramatic. One of the best of its kind.