The Burning Bed
| The Burning Bed | |
|---|---|
Original newspaper advertisement | |
| Genre |
|
| Based on | The Burning Bed by Faith McNulty |
| Written by | Rose Leiman Goldemberg |
| Directed by | Robert Greenwald |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Charles Gross |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Producer | Carol Schreder |
| Cinematography | Isidore Mankofsky |
| Editors |
|
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Production company | Tisch/Avnet Productions Inc. |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | October 8, 1984 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Burning Bed is a 1984 American television crime drama film directed by Robert Greenwald and starring Farrah Fawcett, Paul Le Mat, Richard Masur, Grace Zabriskie, and James Callahan. Adapted by Rose Leiman Goldemberg from the 1980 non-fiction novel of the same name by Faith McNulty, it follows battered housewife Francine Hughes and her trial for the murder of her abusive ex-husband, James Berlin "Mickey" Hughes. Hughes set fire to the bed her husband was sleeping in at their Dansville, Michigan home on March 9, 1977, after thirteen years of physical domestic abuse at his hands.
It aired on NBC on October 8, 1984. The film premiered with a household share of 36.2, ranking it the seventeenth highest rated movie to air on network television and NBC's highest rated television movie.
The Burning Bed was met with critical acclaim, receiving eight nominations at the 37th Primetime Emmy Awards. It was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, with Le Mat winning the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film.