Stay the Night

STAY THE NIGHT was a 1992 TV movie, originally aired in two parts, that centered around a small town trollop named Jimmy Sue Finger (Barbara Hershey), trapped in a loveless marriage, who drifts into an affair with a local teenager (Morgan Weissner)and eventually talks the boy into murdering her abusive husband so that they can supposedly be together. After the boy does the deed and is promptly sent to prison, Jimmy Sue pretends to be devoted to him by visiting him regularly in jail, but never reveals her part in what happened so the boy's mother (Jane Alexander) embarks on a mission to get Jimmy Sue to confess that the murder was Jimmy Sue's idea by cozying up to her and pretending to be her best friend in an attempt to get Jimmy Sue to casually reveal the truth about what happened. This is a well-made drama that will wreak havoc with your emotions, thanks primarily to a strong screenplay and the riveting performances by the two lead actresses. Hershey, in particular, making the most out of a truly despicable character, is just spectacular in a performance that earned her an Emmy nomination. Alexander, splendid as always, matches Hershey scene for scene as the conflicted mother who finds herself feeling some guilt as she finds her personal feelings about Jimmy Sue getting tangled up with her mission. Morgan Weissner is sincere as the boy who is the object of the drama and Earl Hindman ("Wilson" of TV's HOME IMPROVEMENT) is also effective as Alexander's husband and Weissner's father. It's emotionally manipulative, like Jimmy Sue Finger herself, but it hits the bullseye.