''When the Bough Breaks'' is a 1986

television film 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 ...

directed by

Waris Hussein Waris Hussein ('' né'' Habibullah; born 9 December 1938) is a British-Indian television and film director. At the beginning of his career he was employed by the BBC as its youngest drama director. He directed early episodes of '' Doctor Who'', i ...

and starring

Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He ...

. The screenplay by Phil Penningroth was adapted from

Jonathan Kellerman Jonathan Seth Kellerman (born August 9, 1949) is an American novelist, psychologist, and Edgar- and Anthony Award–winning author best known for his popular mystery novels featuring the character Alex Delaware, a child psychologist who consult ...

's 1985 novel of the same name. Danson, who also co-produced, plays the crime-solving

forensic psychologist Forensic psychology is the development and application of scientific knowledge and methods to help answer legal questions arising in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic psychology includes both research on various ...

Alex Delaware Alex Delaware is a literary character created by American writer Jonathan Kellerman. The Alex Delaware detective series begins with ''When the Bough Breaks'', published in 1985. Delaware appears in 32 of Kellerman's popular murder mysteries. Kel ...

, a character who appears in a series of novels by Kellerman.

Plot

The movie is based on the novel When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman, the first of his Alex Delaware mysteries. In the opening scenes, which provide background, Alex Delaware, a prominent Los Angeles child psychologist, had testified for the prosecution in the arraignment of an accused child molester, whose victims he had been treating. To the distress of families of the victims, the defendant was released on bail. Soon after, arriving at his office, Alex had found the defendant dead, apparently by suicide. Shaken, and burned out in his profession, the doctor had moved to the mountains outside of L.A., taking an early retirement. Months later, as our story begins, a police detective friend, Milo Sturgis, comes to Alex for help in a criminal investigation. A man and a woman have been murdered in an apartment complex. A little girl named Melody Quinn, who lives in an apartment nearby with her mother, may have witnessed the killings, but is so disturbed by the event that she can't remember much. Milo asks Alex to question her, hoping he can get information without further traumatizing the child. He agrees. The story proceeds with Alex Delaware becoming increasingly drawn into investigating, and gradually uncovering, unsuspected major criminal activity, involving many perpetrators and victims.

Cast

Richard Masur Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on ''Rhoda'' (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in th ...

as Milo Sturgis *

Rachel Ticotin Rachel Ticotin Strauss is an American film and television actress. She has appeared in films such as '' Fort Apache, The Bronx''; '' Total Recall'', '' Falling Down'', and ''Con Air''. She has appeared in the NBC legal drama '' Law & Order: LA'' ...

as Raquel Santos * James Noble as Dr. Warren Towle *

Kim Miyori Kim Miyori (born Cheryl Utsunomiya; January 4, 1951) is an American actress, best known for the role of Dr. Wendy Armstrong, a beleaguered resident, on the first two seasons (1982–1984) of the medical drama '' St. Elsewhere''. Miyori was born ...

as Kim Hickle *

Merritt Butrick Merritt R. Butrick (September 3, 1959 – March 17, 1989) was an American actor, known for his roles on the teen sitcom ''Square Pegs'' (1982), in two ''Star Trek'' feature films, and a variety of other acting roles in the 1980s. Early life ...

as Tim Kruger *

David Huddleston David William Huddleston (September 17, 1930 – August 2, 2016) was an American actor. An Emmy Award nominee, Huddleston had a prolific television career, and appeared in many films including:'' Rio Lobo'', '' Blazing Saddles'', ''Crime Buster ...

as Vicar McCaffey * Charles Lane as Van der Graaf *

Scott Paulin Robert Scott Paulin (born February 13, 1950) is an American actor and director. He is perhaps best known for playing Deke Slayton in the film '' The Right Stuff'' (1983). He has also acted in films including '' Cat People'' (1982), ''Teen Wolf'' ...

as Rick *

Deborah Harmon Deborah Harmon (born May 8, 1951) is an American film and television actress. Harmon was born in Chicago, Illinois. She attended The Second City troupe in Chicago until moving to Los Angeles to pursue an active acting career. She is probably bes ...

as Lisa

Reception

A 1986 ''

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 d ...

'' review said that, after a "properly taut start", "the solution to the mystery becomes apparent early on and that leaves the movie...tumbling rapidly into ever more unbelievable situations". Jeff Jarvis 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 ...

'' magazine called ''When the Bough Breaks'' "a nice, tight, tense little murder mystery" with "some neatly shocking scenes".

References

External links

* 1986 films American mystery films 1986 thriller films Films based on American novels American thriller television films American drama television films NBC network original films Films directed by Waris Hussein Films scored by Paul Chihara 1986 drama films 1980s American films {{US-tv-thriller-film-stub