Mrs. Harris (2005)

Based on the sensational 1980s media event, famed cardiologist Herman Tarnower meets a particularly brutal end at the hands of his jilted lover, Jean Harris.

Director:

Phyllis Nagy

Writers:

Shana Alexander (book), Phyllis Nagy (screenplay)

Stars:

Annette Bening, Ben Kingsley, Cloris Leachman

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 6 wins & 32 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Annette Bening	...	Jean Harris
Ben Kingsley	...	Herman Tarnower
Cloris Leachman	...	Pearl 'Billie' Schwartz - Tarnower's Sister
Lawrence O'Donnell	...	Judge Leggett (as Lawrence O'Donnell Jr.)
Frank Whaley	...	George Bolen
Bill Smitrovich	...	Joel Arnou
Frances Fisher	...	Marge Richey Jacobson
Michael Gross	...	Leslie Jacobson
Ronald Guttman	...	Henri
John Patrick Amedori	...	Young David Harris
Brad McCoy	...	Young Jimmy Harris
John Rubinstein	...	Tarnower's Best Friend
Brett Butler	...	Tarnower Ex #1
Lee Garlington	...	Tarnower's Ex #2
Ellen Burstyn	...	Former Tarnower Steady

Storyline

Fact-based story about Jean Harris (Annette Bening), a woman who was accused of murdering famed Scarsdale Diet Dr. Herman (Hi) Tarnower (Ben Kingsley) after being in a relationship with him for 14 years. Depicted as a womanizer, Dr. Tarnower had earlier asked Mrs. Harris, a divorced school teacher, to marry him. But when faced with upcoming nuptials, he backed out. The story depicts Mrs. Harris as a distraught and obsessive woman who may have been suffering from some mental illness and based on a note sent to the doctor, may have been suicidal at the time of the murder. She contended that Dr. Tarnower was shot while the two wrestled with a gun she was going to use to kill herself. Contains profanity and sexual situations, including implied masturbation.

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Plot Keywords:

cardiologist | teacher | school | murder | diet | 

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Taglines:

She Loved Him, So She Shot Him.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

HBO [United States]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doamna Harris

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Center Studios - 450 S. Bixel Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Killer Films, Number 9 Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jean Harris served her prison term at the Bedford Hills Correctional Institute. It still functions as a women's prison. In a strange coincidence, the name of the road that leads to the main gate is Harris Road.

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Quotes

Jean Harris: I realize that you are just a secretary and weren't as fortunate as I in graduating magna cum laude from Smith, but surely any well-read 10-year-old knows the meaning of the word "bizarre".

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Connections

Featured in The 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2007)

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Soundtracks

It Must Be Him

User Reviews

Choppy

Despite two strong lead actors in Ben Kingsley and Annette Benning, Mrs Harris flops. The tone of the script is the problem. It should combust at the end after a slow, almost unbearable build-up of tension. The audience should FEEL Jean Harris' rage, frustration, and hopelessness. Instead, we're supposed to laugh. The script is written as farce, not drama. Good drama can contain cynical humour and pathos, as long as it's not dominated by either one. Then it's not drama. I'm sure Hollywood bigwigs said to the poor scriptwriter, "no one wants to watch a tragic love-story between two fiftyish neurotics, even if the broad murders the guy in the end." Of course, the producers would be too young to remember the case itself. So, they took the easy route and made the autumn romance a farce. They sporadically threw in some booty, and the murder as teasers to make the movie bearable to watch.

Yup, they missed the boat with this one.