sol1218 ***SPOILERS*** One of the best Lifetime Movie Network films ever ever made in that it's so off-the-wall and unbelievable yet at the same time a true story which makes you take it's mind boggling plot seriously. The film proves the famous saying that "Truth is stranger the fiction" and there's nothing more stranger and more eye-popping and hard to take then the storyline, based on a true story, of the film "Deadly Relations"Decorated US Marine Corps. combat veteran Len Fagot, Robert Urich, has the kind of life and family that most of us dream about. A very successful disability claims lawyer Len also has a loving and dedicated wife Shirley, Shelly Fabares, and four beautiful daughters Carol, Gwyneth Paltrow, Joanne, Georgia Emelin, Nancy, Jillian Boyd,and Shirley Jr,Joy Farmer. Len runs his household like a Marine boot camp with his word being the last word in anything that goes on there. It's when his oldest daughter Joanne breaks ranks and announces her engagement to George Westerfield, Matthew Perry, that the feeling betrayed and feeling hurt Len goes into action. Putting on an act that he's in favor of Joanne's decision he behind everyone backs plans to insure her husband to be and then have him knocked for the insurance money! Things get a bit strange when the straight laced and dedicated family man Len Fagot is caught literately with his pants down making out in a car with his new lady gardener Marty, Roxana Zal, by his youngest daughter Shirley Jr no less!Even though Shirley Jr. is shocked to see what her dad is doing behind her mom's as well as her and her sisters backs she's told by a very embarrassed Len that it, his fooling around with Marty, all has to do with his heart condition that Marty in offering her professional services, besides gardening, to him has greatly elevated!We soon begin to see that Len is slowly going both out of his mind and depleting his bank account as he insures everyone in his family,including himself,in order to make a killing on them if they ever happen to meet an unfortunate end. This goes so far that Len ends up shooting off, in a so-called hunting accident, his left hand in order for him to collect the insurance money! This insane act on Len's part backfires with the insurance company, smelling a rat, refusing to pay off!***SPOILERS*** Len overplays his hand, his good hand, by trying to set up his daughter Carol's husband Mike Holland, Tony Higgins, in his latest insurance fraud scam but that proves to be a bit too difficult for him. By then Len has completely lost it, as well as his savings, and everyone in the family from his wife Shirley on down know what a sick and homicidal nut case he really was. Mike who's been smuggling pot across the Mexican border had the by now desperate Len make him a partner in crime to get a cut in his pot profits .This resulted with Mike's latest pot shipment, that Len was hoping would bail him out of his financial troubles, intercepted by corrupt US drug agents who ended up selling it themselves!Completely out of his skull and desperate for cash Len goes through with his plan to knock off Mike,like he did George,to get the insurance money. But by then his favorite daughter Carol just had about all she could take from her money hungry as well as boozed up and pill popping father and decided to turn him, with her sworn court testimony,into the police and local D.A's office. This lead to Len making a complete fool of himself in court, where he was on trail for murder and insurance fraud, and later when facing life behind bars took the easy way out by ending it all.

TCall2004 I came upon this movie as I was channel-surfing on a Sunday afternoon (a bad day for television, even with digital cable).Lifetime was showing it and when I saw the cast, I decided to watch.The late Robert Urich did a marvelous job in the TV movie "Blind Faith" as Robert Marshall, the NJ insurance man who had his wife, Maria, murdered in 1984, and is now serving life in prison.He did not disappoint in this movie as a control freak of a father who went so far as to kill his two sons-in-law for insurance money (and to blow off his own right hand for the same reason).A truly scary guy.A young Gwyneth Paltrow (one of my favorite actresses) did an equally terrific job as Carol Fagot Holland, the daughter who was loyal to her father at first but , in the end, helped to bring him down.Roxanne Zal also does a good job playing Urich's psychotic second wife, Marty.Shelley Fabrares does not get enough air time in this move, but makes good use when she is on screen.Good scenery , fine acting.Nice way to kill two hours on a Sunday afternoon.I'd recommend it.

marbleann This one of my favorite Lifetime type TV movies. This is not repeated as often as most of these types of movies so I was pleasantly surprised when I caught it on Lifetime. Movie is about a domineering father of 4 daughters who life spirals out of control. He uses the daughters and their various husbands to pay for his lifestyle by taking insurance policies out out on them. I don't have say what happens. No one can play crazy murderous fathers the way Robert Urich could. He played a similar role in another true story about a husband who kills his wife. I really miss seeing him in TV movies, a void was left when he past away. Forget about Spencer for Hire, these were those roles he was best in. Ms Paltrow plays his favorite daughter, Carol. I have never been a big fan of hers. She seems to be permanently underwhelmed and she seems that way in this movie. If she got hit by a bolt of lightning you would never know it by looking at her because she would look too bothered to show any emotion. She is not a bad actress it is just that she is just there. She is OK in this movie. Shelley Fabares plays the put upon wife. She knows what is going with her hubby, but this is the mid 60's-70's what was she going to do? Her husband was a powerful lawyer at that. Her choices were very limited. She does try to leave but he won't go for it. A very sad position but a very real position for women years ago. I like the way she transforms herself. I can't think of the actor who plays Carols second hubby, Mike, but he is very good. A weasel, but we know that as soon as we meet him. But I do think he loves her. You can see that in a scene where he is arguing with her father about a failed job. He seems more concerned for Carol then the doting father. Yes he gets mad at her and they have a heated scene But the husband is mad because Carol always takes daddy side even though she knows he is a jerk. The actor is very good in the part. All in all it is very good movie. Watch it if not just to see Mr Urich at his best. I want to add that I loved the house they used for the movie. As another reviewer mentioned it does look like a Frank Lloyd Wright type of house. This movie is suppose to take place in the New Orleans area, so I don't think that house looks like a houses in that area. But it is a gorgeous place.

gorgeous_529 What some people may not realize that, while this was a great TV movie, it was also a true story. My family lived next door to LJ Fagot before he made his insurance money and my father once worked as their gardener and was friends with Carol. My father and his siblings were also babysat by Joanne.I was impressed to see the acting cast and thought they did a wonderful job. Urich's portrayal of LJ Fagot was great and very close to how dictatorial Fagot was in real life. Gwyneth Paltrow and Matthew Perry were virtually unknown when filming this movie, yet still demonstrated superb acting abilities. The house where this all took place still stands, at least it did before Katrina, and is still inhabited. It looks nothing like the house in the movie but is still beautiful in the way only New Orleans houses are. I will continue to show this movie to my children as it is apart of our family history, as well as that of the Fagot family.