Haywire (1980)

Brooke Hayward (Deborah Raffin) recalls her glamorous but troubled upbringing as the daughter of actress Margaret Sullavan (Lee Remick) and producer/agent Leland Hayward (Jason Robards). Based on the autobiographical book by Brooke Hayward and directed by Michael Tuchner (FEAR IS THE KEY). I've not read Hayward's memoir but surely it must have been more coherent than this three hour adaptation done for television. I'm normally quite fond of non linear films but this one jumps all over four decades (1940s through the 1970s) and is so fragmented that we get little sense of what motivates (and what destroys) these characters. I like Lee Remick, she's a good actress but she doesn't embody any of the unique qualities that made Margaret Sullavan such a distinct screen presence. We're not as familiar with Leland Hayward so Jason Robards comes off better. After it's over, we still don't get a sense of what made the family implode: Sullavan died of an overdose, sister Bridget (Dianne Hull) committed suicide and brother Bill (Hart Bochner), who produced this, eventually killed himself. With Dean Jagger, Richard Johnson, Linda Gray and Christopher Guest.