Home / The Legend of Lizzie Borden

The Legend of Lizzie Borden

Year:

1975

Duration:

100 min

Genres:

Drama | History | Mystery

IMDB rate:

7.9

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 1975-02-10

Cast

Actor

Character

Bonnie Bartlett

J. Edward McKinley

Elizabeth Montgomery

Lizzie Borden

Fionnula Flanagan

Bridget Sullivan

Ed Flanders

Hosea Knowlton

Katherine Helmond

Emma Borden

Don Porter

George Robinson

Fritz Weaver

Mr. Andrew Borden

John Beal

Dr. Bowen

Helen Craig

Mrs. Abby Borden

Alan Hewitt

Mayor Coughlin

Gail Kobe

Alice Russell

Robert Symonds

Andrew Jennings

Hayden Rorke

Julien Ralph

Iggie Wolfington

Store proprietor

Amzie Strickland

Adelaide Churchill

John Zaremba

Judge Blaisdell

Norman Stuart

Dr. Wood

Jon Lormer

Bailiff

Lynn Wood

Mrs. Raymond

Olan Soule

Eli Bence

Judson Morgan

Justice Morgan

John Alvin

Dr. Draper

Patricia Wilson

Hannah Reagan

Tracie Savage

Young Lizzie

Gloria Stuart

Store customer

Joan Crosby

Companion

Jason Johnson

Jury foreman (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

In 1976, Elizabeth Montgomery told reporter Joan E. Vadeboncoeur about a letter she received after the film aired which left her perplexed. "One guy wrote a critique that went on for three pages. It was very articulate. I put it down and looked at the envelope and it was from a state institution. I'm wondering what he was in for. He didn't tell me."

Share this

The European theatrical version of the movie shows Elizabeth Montgomery's nudity during the scene when she kills her parents. In that version she is shown standing naked, covered in blood, holding an ax. In the ABC version, careful editing implies her nudity while never actually showing her naked.

Share this

Elizabeth Montgomery used prescribed eye drops to make her pupils look smaller, so they would look like Lizzie Borden's eyes after her morphine injections.

Share this

Goofs

When Lizzie goes to the kitchen sink after her father's killing to wash off the blood which is covering her body, she is supposed to be naked. However, you can see a white towel tied around her chest, just barely visible at the bottom of the frame, in the close-up shots as she is washing.

Share this

High voltage power cables on pylons can be seen on the hills behind the Borden house.

Share this

Quotes

Mr. Andrew Borden: You're a strange girl, Lizzie, one minute as hard and as cold as a grave so, next as loving as any father could wish. Wonder what goes on in that mind of yours, I guess I'll never know.

Share this

Mrs. Abby Borden: I'll not be cast out into the street to starve!

Share this

Emma Borden: Lizzie, did you kill father?

Share this

Faq

Was Lizzie Borden really a redhead?

Traditionally, she is portrayed in media as a redhead, but her passport, dated 1890 (two years before the murders), states that her hair was "light brown."

What became of the Borden sisters?

Soon after the trial, the sisters bought a larger home in a more fashionable section of town. After several disagreements over Lizzie's extravagant lifestyle, Emma moved away. Lizzie continued to live in her new home until her death, from natural causes, in 1927. Emma died, of unrelated natural causes, nine days after her sister. Until their deaths, the sisters were hounded by continued suspicion of the townfolks and the curiosity of outsiders.

Was the movie filmed in the real Borden house?

No. The Borden house (which still exists) is a very tight residence made of many small rooms, which would make filming at the time very difficult. However, the set of the film is very closely modeled on the layout of rooms in the real house (for example, it is possible to see the spot where Abby was murdered by standing near the top of the front stair, just as the movie shows).Visitors to the Borden house today can see an actual dress, worn by Elizabeth Montgomery, on display in the foyer, just inside the front door.

Share this