''The True Story of Lynn Stuart'' (originally titled ''The Other Life of Lynn Stuart'') is a 1958 American

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film starring

Betsy Palmer Betsy Palmer (born Patricia Betsy Hrunek; November 1, 1926 – May 29, 2015) was an American actress, who was known as a regular supporting film and Broadway actress and television guest star, as a panelist on the game show ''I've Got a Secret'' ...

Jack Lord John Joseph Patrick Ryan (December 30, 1920 – January 21, 1998), best known by his stage name, Jack Lord, was an American television, film and Broadway actor, director and producer. He starred as Steve McGarrett in the CBS television progra ...

Barry Atwater Garrett "Barry" Atwater (May 16, 1918 – May 24, 1978) was an American character actor who appeared frequently on television from the 1950s into the 1970s. He was sometimes credited as G.B. Atwater. Life and career The son of the landscape p ...

and released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. Marking the final directorial effort of

Lewis Seiler Lewis Seiler (September 30, 1890 – January 8, 1964) was an American film director. He directed more than 80 films between 1923 and 1958. Seiler was born in New York City and died in Hollywood, California. Partial filmography *''A Bankru ...

, it dramatizes the true story of a young

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...

who became a volunteer

undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...

narcotics agent in the 1950s. The woman, known publicly only by the pseudonym Lynn Stuart to protect her from possible reprisals, served in that capacity for six years and provided information which ultimately led to approximately 30 drug-related convictions.(1957, August 29). Coats, Paul V.
Confidential file
''

Los Angeles Mirror-News The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

Plot

In a prologue, Edmund "Pat" Brown, who was the

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...

at the time of the film's production, makes a statement directly to the viewer, attesting to the veracity of the film's story and to the societal scourge presented by

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

. The film then opens with a police car chase through

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, which ends with the fleeing vehicle crashing, killing both of its occupants. It turns out that both were drug addicts and under the influence at the time of the chase. At a hearing, one of the boys' aunt, an attractive young mother and housewife named Phyllis Carter (

), angrily denounces police efforts to control the flow of illegal narcotics. Phyllis comes to the police offering to volunteer her services as an undercover narcotics agent. The police originally reject her offer, but after discovering that their primary source of information on a particular gang of drug smugglers has been murdered, they reconsider. Ralph Carter (

Kim Spalding Kim Spalding (born Ross F. Latimer; December 7, 1915 – November 18, 2000) was an American film, television and theatre actor. Life and career Spalding was born in Washington, Missouri, the son of Ross Latimer. He began his film career in ...

), Phyllis' husband, initially laughs off the idea, but when he finds out that the police actually want make use of Phyllis, he becomes worried. He consents on the condition that should he ever ask her to quit, she and the police will comply. Phyllis Carter is provided with a new identity: Lynn Stuart, an ex-convict from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

who had served 18 months in prison for her part in a bank robbery. She is also given a job as a waitress in a local diner, where members of the targeted gang are known by police to congregate. The police direct her to Willie Down (

), whom they suspect might be able to lead them to the head of the outfit. Eventually, Carter, acting the role of Lynn Stuart, indeed does catch Down's attention and she becomes his girlfriend. As she becomes closer to Down, Carter learns many of the ins-and-outs of the drug smuggling operation in which Down is involved. She reports her information back to police and says that she believes she is getting closer to being able to identify the top men in the operation. However, her home life suffers and her husband insists that she quit, which she agrees to do after the next day. But during that next day, Down pulls her deeply into a plan to hijack a competing gang's drug shipment. In the meantime, Carter's son is hospitalized with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, and the authorities are unable to contact her to inform her. After robbing the drug shipment from its drivers, Down murders them and the informant he had used from the competing gang. Carter is extremely unnerved by the killings, but can find no way to extricate herself from Down. When they stop at a gas station, she leaves a note in the restroom instructing whomever finds it to contact the police for her and direct them to the motel being used by the gang. Back at the motel, Carter's nervous and frightened behavior continues, which concerns both Down and the gang's leader Doc (

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

). When she hears a radio report that authorities are searching for Phyllis Carter, whose son is very ill, she flies into near-hysterics. Although they still do not know the truth about her, Doc and Down decide that her behavior is too much of a risk to them and that Down will kill her. Before he can do so, though, police raid the motel, having been contacted by a gas station attendant who found Carter's note. They take all of the criminals into custody and inform Carter that her son is going to be alright. After giving testimony to a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

, Carter is reunited with her husband and son. The family is relocated to Denver, with the Doc and his gang never knowing her true identity.

Cast

– Phyllis Carter, also known as Lynn Stuart *

– Willie Down *

– Lt. Jim Hagan * Edmund G. Brown – Himself *

– Ralph Carter * Karl Lukas – Hal Bruck * Casey Walters – Eddie Dine *

Claudia Bryar Hortense "Claudia" Bryar (née Rizley; May 18, 1918 – June 16, 2011) was an American actress. She is best known for portraying Emma Spool in the film '' Psycho II'' (1983). Early years Bryar was one of seven children of Ruby Elaine (née Seal) ...

– Nora Efron *

– "Doc" * Rita Duncan – Sue * Lee Farr – Ben * Louis Towers – Jimmie Carter * James Maloney – Dr. Freeley * Carlos Romero – Fred * Artie Lewis – Gus *

Gavin MacLeod Gavin MacLeod () (born Allan George See; February 28, 1931 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's ''The Love B ...

– Turk * Linda Cherney – Car hop *

Don Devlin Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON * Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a ...

– The Kid * Edward Le Veque – Father Albert

Actual events

In the film, the exact amount of time that Lynn Stuart is involved with the drug gang is not specified, but it seems to be not more than a matter of weeks; the actual woman known as Lynn Stuart maintained her undercover identity for six years. In the film, she is supplied with an apartment separate from her actual home with her family, and the gang members know only the apartment as her residence; in reality, her actual family residence was known to gang members with whom she was involved. In the film, the death of her nephew serves as the catalyst for her offer to go undercover; in reality, she cited only the fear that the drug trade might negatively affect her own sons when they became teenagers. The film depicts Stuart as merely an observer of the gang's illegal activities prior to her being pulled into the hijacking on her last day; in reality she was more actively involved in the activities, including making drug purchases.

Production notes

The actual woman known as Lynn Stuart served as a technical adviser for the film, whose original title was ''The Other Life of Lynn Stuart''. Stuart made a point to mask herself when visiting the set.(1958, January 12).
Movie Barred From Jails As Protection To Informer
, ''

The Miami News ''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the ''Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...

''Marr, Shane (Director). (2006). ''Betsy Palmer: A Scream Queen Legend''. ocumentary Cinemarr Entertainment. Since Stuart had left her undercover identity without those she had helped convict knowing the truth about her, Columbia Pictures made the film with the stipulation that the company would not allow it to be screened in any California prisons, to help prevent inmates incarcerated because of Stuart's actions from deducing that she had betrayed them. ''The True Story of Lynn Stuart'' marked the first feature film appearance by later television star

, who had a small, uncredited role as a member of the drug gang.

References

External links