''Shattered Dreams'' is a 1990 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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Robert Iscove Robert Iscove is a Canadian film and television director, television producer and a choreographer. Filmography * ''Love and Larceny (1985 film), Love and Larceny'' (1985, TV) * ''The Lawrenceville Stories'' (1987-1989, miniseries) * ''Shattered ...

, based on the 1987 book, ''Shattered Dreams: The Story of Charlotte Fedders'' by Charlotte Fedders. The film stars

Lindsay Wagner Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American film and television actress, model, author, singer, and acting coach. Wagner is best known for her leading role in the American science-fiction television series ''The Bionic Woman'' (1976 ...

and

Michael Nouri Michael Nouri (born December 9, 1945) is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his television roles, including Dr. Neil Roberts on ''The O.C.'', Phil Grey on ''Damages'', Caleb Cortlandt on ''All My Children'', Eli David in ...

. The film premiered on Sunday, May 13, 1990 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 Entertainmen ...

Plot

Charlotte O'Donnell and John Fedders meet at Catholic University where John is in law school, and Charlotte attends nursing school. The two fall in love, date, and get married. In 1968, they move to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where John works at a prominent

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

law firm and Charlotte becomes a nurse. Their marriage begins to deteriorate due to John's increasingly abusive behavior. After John hits her, breaking her eardrum, Charlotte goes home to her parents and asks John for a divorce. John cries and apologizes, saying it will never happen again. Charlotte says they have more than just themselves to think about, and announces she is pregnant. By 1973, the Fedderses have moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

They have two sons, Luke, and Mark, and Charlotte is pregnant again. Charlotte has given up nursing to be a housewife. John continues his controlling and abusive behavior. Charlotte goes to talk to a priest, who reminds her of her sacred vows, telling her to go home and love John, and look to the heavens for answers. By 1978, the Fedderses have four sons and John's behavior has not changed. After John beats her in front of the children, Charlotte takes the boys to her neighbor Elaine's house to call her sitter Dotty. Dotty and Elaine try to convince Charlotte to press charges, but she refuses and locks herself in a bathroom. Charlotte goes back to the house to pack and leave a letter for John, hoping he will get help. Before she leaves, John apologizes again, and she takes him back. By 1983, the Fedderses have five sons and John has gotten a job as the Director of Enforcement for the SEC. Charlotte goes to counseling on her own, where she learns about

battered woman syndrome Battered woman syndrome (BWS) is a pattern of signs and symptoms displayed by a woman who has suffered persistent intimate partner violence: whether psychological, physical, or sexual, from her male partner. It is classified in the ICD-9 (code ) a ...

. When John nearly hits their oldest son, Charlotte throws him out. Charlotte hires an attorney, and they go to court. On the witness stand, John testifies that he believes Charlotte enjoyed the abuse. The next day, John's lawyer asks for him to be granted the time to pursue reconciliation because he is remorseful. Charlotte's lawyer counters that he was always remorseful for the abuse, nothing changes, and she does not want to reconcile. The judge grants 60 days for reconciliation, and Charlotte storms out of the court. John resigns his position at the SEC, in wake of negative attention his personal problems are causing. John sends Charlotte a letter saying he hopes to meet with her when she's ready. She goes to meet him, only because of court order. John starts to pressure her about a reconciliation. She throws his ring on the ground and drives away. They are granted a divorce and Charlotte helps other battered women.

Cast

as Charlotte Fedders *

as John Fedders *

Georgann Johnson Georgann Johnson (born Georgia Anne Johnson, August 15, 1926 – June 4, 2018) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was also known as Georgiann Johnson and Georgianne Johnson. Early years Johnson was born in Decorah, Iow ...

as Helen O'Donnell *

James Karen James Karen (born Jacob Karnofsky; November 28, 1923 – October 23, 2018) was an American character actor of Broadway, film and television. Karen is known for his roles in '' Poltergeist'', ''The China Syndrome'', '' Wall Street'', ''The Retu ...

as Charles O'Donnell *

Stan Ivar Stan Ivar (born January 11, 1943) is an American actor who is best known for his role as John Carter in ''Little House on the Prairie'', and also known for his roles as Ben Robinson in '' NCIS'', Daniel Scott in ''Days of Our Lives'', Mark Johnso ...

as Bryan Renehan

Release

The film premiered on Sunday, May 13, 1990 on

Reception

Richard F. Shepard of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said "an intelligently thought-out script acted with powerful but restrained emotion makes ''Shattered Dreams,'' a new made-for-television film about wife abuse a moving and believable drama". David Hiltbrand of ''

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

'' gave the film a "B", saying, "Wagner is good as the battered woman, but it is Nouri’s ferocious intensity that makes this drama so disturbing."

Home media

The film was released on DVD on December 16, 2003 from

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

References

External links

* {{Robert Iscove 1990 films 1990 television films 1990 drama films American drama television films CBS network films Carolco Pictures films 1990s English-language films Films about domestic violence Films directed by Robert Iscove Films scored by Michael Convertino 1990s American films