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

Ellen Burstyn received an Emmy nomination for her performance, even though her character only appears on screen for 11 seconds and has only two lines.

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Quotes

Arthur Schulte: I was asleep. You never expect one of those wee-hours phone calls informing you that... that your good friend's just been shot dead. When Lynne hung up, I said to Viv "Well, if he's dead why couldn't she have waited until morning?".

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Connections

Featured in The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2006)

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Soundtracks

It Must Be Him

User Reviews

Riveting Performances by A Cast of Veteran Actors

I always wanted to know the details of the Jean Harris murder story. However, because I kept to scholarly reading, I didn't want to take the time or money to buy the books & magazines about her circumstances.

Now that I've seen the show, I have a greater understanding of the background history & consequential events that led to Harris's trial & conviction.

My knowledge grew because I witnessed riveting performances by a host of veteran actors: ones that I have grown to trust NOT to be involved in shameless mockeries of the truth, like the "Path to 9/11" is. I'm more curious to go back & read the books, newspapers & magazines about "Mrs. Harris."