Topic summary
Mrs. Harris

Mrs. Harris is a 2005 American-British made-for-televisiondrama film written and directed by Phyllis Nagy. The teleplay, based on the book Very Much a Lady by Shana Alexander, focuses on the tempestuous relationship between cardiologist and author Herman Tarnower and headmistress Jean Harris. Produced by Killer Films, Number 9 Films, and John Wells for HBO Films, it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 16, 2005, before its broadcast on HBO on February 25, 2006.
The film stars Annette Bening as Jean Harris, Ben Kingsley as Herman Tarnower, Cloris Leachman as Tarnower's sister, and Chloë Sevigny as his secretary and lover. The film also features a cameo performance by Ellen Burstyn as one of Tarnower's previous girlfriends; Burstyn played Jean Harris in the made-for-television movie, The People vs. Jean Harris (1981).