BY TODD GARBARINI
By
all accounts, Jennie Logan (Lindsay Wagner) has it all – beauty, intelligence,
a loving husband (Alan Feinstein) named Michael, and a good friend in whom she
confides (Constance McCashin). While they do not have children, Jennie and Michael
seem to be unperturbed by the lack of tiny bare feet on the hardwood floors –
there is plenty of time for all of that. Or is there? Looks can be deceiving
and it is not long before we discover that this seemingly “perfect couple†have
their own demons to wrestle with.
Guided
on a tour of the sprawling Victorian manse prior to their eventual purchase by
a matter-of-fact realtor (Pat Corley) who off-handedly remarks that the
unfinished attic is unworthy of even the most cursory glance, Jennie feels
drawn to it, though she cannot fathom why. Following their purchase and move-in,
Jennie ventures into the attic and encounters a dress that is nearly 100
years-old (shades of John Hancock’s 1971 film Let’s Scare Jessica to Death).
Trying it on, it fits her perfectly, as though fashioned just for her.
All
is not well in the household, however. Michael tries to get close to Jennie but
she quickly withdraws, plagued by Michael’s betrayal and infidelity with one of
his students. Jennie’s willingness but inability to get past it puts a crimp in
their marriage. She feels that sex for Michael is like taking a shower or going
out for a jog, but despite his protests to the contrary he practically ignores
her while watching a sports game on television, despite her wearing the old
dress that makes her appear more fetching. The dress is the catalyst, a trigger
for Jennie to see and experience a complete and alternate reality that occurred
80 years prior that consists of an artist named David (Marc Singer) who grieves
the loss of his love, Pamela. After mistaking Jennie for Pamela, David spends
time getting to know Jennie while brushing off the affections of another woman,
Elizabeth Warrington (a nearly unrecognizable Linda Gray). David’s affections
turn towards Jennie, and she becomes fulfilled by him. The question then
becomes does Jennie really see and participate in this reality or is it
all just in her head, a projection for a life and a love that she once had, or thought
she had with Michael and lost, but still longs for? Much of the film reminds
me of the Harlequin romances my grandmother and aunt had stacked in their
basements.
The
Two Worlds of Jennie Logan
is the title of this 1979 made-for-television movie that is based on the 1978
novel Second Chance by David L. Williams. I am probably in the minority
here, but Jennie Logan is an above-average outing with an intriguing
story about love, longing and the perpetual life question of the road not taken,
though contemporary audiences will no doubt find it trite and saccharine. As
someone who grew up in the 1970s, I enjoy even the most basic of television
movies as they were a lot more innocent back then in a time before the
1000-plus cable stations offered us game shows, talk shows with despicable
guests, crime dramas, politics, and the rest of it. The world was slower and
not so crazy. Some of these television films worked (Steven Spielberg’s 1971
film Duel) and many of them did not (Corey Allen’s 1985 outing Beverly
Hills Cowgirl Blues). The innocence of these films is one of the reasons
why television movies were not regarded very highly when they were made, and
certainly not today. For me, less was more and although most audiences
and reviewers look upon the average television movie with disdain, I have
always had an affection for them that holds forth now.
Lindsay
Wagner and Alan Feinstein (who reminds me of Daniel Hugh Kelly as the cuckolded
husband in Lewis Teague’s 1983 film Cujo) give decent television movie-of-the-week
performances as the couple besieged by turmoil. Jennie visits a psychiatrist
(Joan Darling) to get a handle on her issues, leading the doctor to believe
that this is all mental, a diagnosis Michael concurs with, though Jennie
believes otherwise. A trip to a local library and discussions with librarian Mrs.
Bates (Irene Tedrow, who bears a resemblance to Fay Compton, the actress who
played Mrs. Sannerson in Robert Wise’s 1963 thriller The Haunting) puts
Jennie into contact with information that she hopes will alter the course of
David’s life so that she can be with him. Her discussion with an elderly
bedridden invalid is shocking in how frightening the woman’s face is – think of
Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath (1963).
The
late writer and director Frank De Felitta is no stranger to supernatural
material. He directed The Stately Ghosts of England for NBC (1965) and the
beloved Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981). He also wrote the novels and
screenplays for Audrey Rose (1977) and The Entity (1982). Here,
he adapts material from another author. While portions of the film take place
in 1899, Marc Singer’s beefcake stature looks out-of-place as though he is
anticipating the arrival of Fabio, but it should please women and fans
of The Beastmaster (1982), the film he is best known for.
Composer
Glenn Paxton provides a lush and romantic score to complement the onscreen
action.
Jennie
Logan premiered on the
CBS network on Halloween night in 1979 and has been released on Blu-ray from
Australia-based Via Vision Entertainment through their Imprint label, the fine company
responsible for the recent Scarface (1932) and Breakdown (1997)
Blu-rays. Here, they offer up a region-free, pristine transfer with a wonderfully
entertaining commentary by critic Kevin Lyons who speaks eloquently and
knowledgeably about the film. He gives us some interesting on-set anecdotes
about the making of the film, such as modifications made to the set as Ms.
Wagner was unable to reach the handle to the attic; a history of the house in
which the film was shot; director De Felitta making The Stately Ghosts of
England, only to discover that the reels were blank after being developed
and having to plead with the ghosts in the location where they were filming not
to mess with the production!
There
is a nice twist at the end of the film, and if you have ever lost a love in the
fashion that Michael loses Jennie, it will have an impact on you.
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