''Nightmare in the Daylight'' is a 1992 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Lou Antonio Louis Antonio (born January 23, 1934) is an American actor and TV director best known for performing in the films '' Cool Hand Luke'' and ''America America''. He also starred in two short-lived TV series, ''Dog and Cat'', and '' Makin' It''. Ear ...

, starring

Jaclyn Smith Jacquelyn Ellen "Jaclyn" Smith (born October 26, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is best known for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead ...

and

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film ''Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, ...

. It premiered on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

on November 22, 1992.

Plot

Sean Farrell (Reeve) is a lawyer working in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, who in the past

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

his long-lost wife, Jean, who disappeared in the

1985 Mexico City earthquake The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico City area a ...

. One day, he notices Megan Lambert (Smith), a Wisconsin teacher visiting the city with her husband Peter (Mason) and son Jamie (Bell). He grows convinced that Megan is his wife, and ignores any denials she is making. After kidnapping her for a short period of time, he contacts his first wife's father, who tells Sean that Megan is not his daughter. Sean, by now, is too obsessed with Megan though, resulting in the woman and her family living in constant fear.

Cast

as Megan Lambert *

as Sean Farrell * Tom Mason as Peter Lambert *

Glynnis O'Connor Glynnis O'Connor (born November 19, 1956) is an American actress of television, film, radio, and theater. She first gained wide attention in the mid-1970s with leading roles in the television version of ''Our Town'' and in the short-lived series ...

as Sloan Evans *

Christina Pickles Christina Pickles (born 17 February 1935) is a British-American actress. She is known for her role as Nurse Helen Rosenthal in the NBC medical drama '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–1988), for which she received five nominations for the Primetime Em ...

as Sarah Jenner *Eric Bell as Jamie Lambert *

John Ingle John Houston Ingle (May 7, 1928 – September 16, 2012) was an American actor best known for his roles as scheming patriarch Edward Quartermaine in the ABC soap opera '' General Hospital'' and Mr. Threehorn, the father of the main characte ...

as Walter Scripps

Production

The film was shot in

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

.Cbs Sunday Movie Nightmare in the Daylight
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' (November 19, 1992).

Reception

'' wrote of the film: "The game-playing limps on, with Smith distressed and Reeve looking severe as though they'd both just read the script. Smith and Mason play well through some good naturalistic domestic scenes, but that doesn't much help the cause. By the end of the caper, ''Nightmare in the Daylight'' affirms the purposelessness of the venture. Tech credits are swell, with Michael Paul Clausen's production design a plus."

References

External links

* 1992 television films 1992 films CBS network films Films set in San Francisco Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in San Francisco Films about missing people 1992 thriller films American thriller films American thriller television films 1992 drama films Films directed by Lou Antonio American drama television films 1990s American films {{US-tv-thriller-film-stub