''Promises in the Dark'' is a 1979 American

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- ...

directed by Jerome Hellman and written by

Loring Mandel Loring Mandel (May 5, 1928 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright and screenwriter whose notable works include the TV movie ''Conspiracy''. He wrote for radio, television, film and the stage. Early and personal life Mandel was a native of ...

. The film stars

Marsha Mason Marsha Mason (born April 3, 1942) is an American actress and director. She has been nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Actress: for her performances in '' Cinderella Liberty'' (1973), '' The Goodbye Girl'' (1977), '' Chapter Two ...

Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor and comedian. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 films. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest actor in ...

, Susan Clark,

Michael Brandon Michael Brandon (born Michael Feldman; April 20, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as James Dempsey in the British drama series ''Dempsey and Makepeace'' (1985–1986). His theatre credits include the original Broadway produc ...

Kathleen Beller Kathleen Beller (born February 19, 1956) is an American actress who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in '' Promises in the Dark'' (1979) and was well known for her role as Kir ...

and Paul Clemens. It was released by Warner Bros. and

Orion Pictures Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...

on November 2, 1979. For their performances,

earned a nomination for Best Performance in a Motion Picture – Drama and

received a nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture – Drama, Comedy or Musicals at the

37th Golden Globe Awards The 37th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1979, were held on 26 January 1980. Winners Film Television Best Series - Drama ''Lou Grant'' *''Backstairs at the White House'' *'' Centennial '' *''Dallas'' *'' R ...

. Mason was also nominated that same year for the Best Performance in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Golden Globe award for her work in ''Chapter Two''.

Plot

Numbed by career demands and a recent divorce, Dr. Alexandra Kendall hides behind a hard shell of professional detachment. Then she treats Buffy Koenig, a dying 17-year-old cancer patient who reawakens Kendall to life's possibilities. Eventually, Buffy's deteriorating condition forces Dr. Kendall to weigh the consequences of keeping a promise that she had made.

Cast

Production

Writer

conceived the story for ''Promises in the Dark'' while he was employed as head writer for the daytime drama ''

Love of Life ''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation ''Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ''Th ...

''. When the soap's executive producer Darryl Hickman rejected the idea, Mandel quit the show and developed the plot into a feature screenplay. The project was initially in development at

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

, with

Elizabeth Ashley Elizabeth Ann Cole, known professionally as Elizabeth Ashley (born August 30, 1939) is an American actress of theatre, film, and television. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards, winning once in 1962 for '' Take Her, She's Mine''. Ashle ...

cast in the starring role,

John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films ('' Darling'' an ...

set to direct and Arnold Schulman and Jerome Hellman producing. However, with the exception of Hellman, no one remained with the project, which was inactive for many years.

Arthur Krim Arthur B. Krim (4 April 1910 – 21 September 1994) was an American entertainment lawyer, the former finance chairman for the U.S. Democratic Party, an adviser to President Lyndon Johnson and the former chairman of Eagle-Lion Films (1946–1949 ...

, chairman of the newly formed

, selected the script as one of the company’s first projects on the strength of Hellman’s previous productions, such as ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller ...

'' and '' Coming Home''. In addition to serving as producer, Hellman directed the film.

References

External links

* * * * 1979 films Warner Bros. films American drama films 1979 drama films Films scored by Leonard Rosenman 1970s English-language films 1970s American films Films shot in Connecticut Films set in Connecticut {{1970s-drama-film-stub