The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (TV Mini Series 1987) Poster

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8/10
good, trashy story, and old-time Hollywood to boot
blanche-223 July 2005
This is a highly entertaining movie from the '80s when they still made them with opulence! "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles" was originally a novel written by Dominick Dunne. The plot is based on the real-life story of the shooting of William Woodward, a New York socialite. The question asked for years afterwards was, did his wife shoot him by accident thinking he was a burglar as she claimed? Or did she deliberately kill him? The film explores this and the lives of the wealthy along the way.

In the movie, Ann-Margret portrays the chorus girl wife who marries way, way above her station. The other Mrs. Grenville is her mother-in-law, played to perfection by the still glamorous Claudette Colbert. People who knew Woodward's real-life mother, Elsie, state that Colbert was dead-on in the role. In the book, film, and real life, the elder Mrs. Grenville supports her daughter-in-law throughout but not because she believes her or can even tolerate her. She does it to protect the family from scandal.

The movie spans fifty years and will hold your interest throughout.
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9/10
Two Great Actresses Ann-Margret and Claudette Colbert
adventure-2190326 July 2020
Dominick Dunne who authored the story of the two Mrs. Grenvilles was pleased tha after 26. Years the great Claudette Colbert returned to film making. Colbert's last film had been Troy Donahue's big hit Parrish. Per Dunne all the legendary ladies: Bette Davis, Jane Wyman, Joan Fontaine, Ginger Roger, and Loretta Young all wanted this plum part. Colbert got it and won a Golden Globe for her insightful; performance.

Ms. Colbert unlike Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Tallu Bankhead never had to do the popular "horror movies". Crawford and Davis were both "greater stars" than Colbert but they demeaned their status by making movies such as Straightjacket, Beserk, The Nanny etc.

Claudette Colbert was rich, glamorous with Apartments in New York and Paris and a fabulous mansion in Barbados, with an occasional trip to Los Angeles to see friends Roz Russell, Billy Wilder etc. Colbert had a "feel" for Cafe Society.. Frank Sinatra and Pres Reagan were close to Ms. Colbert

I saw Colbert pn the Broadway stage in her mid 80's in "Aren't We All" a great play and Colbert looked no more than 50 and had verve and a great connection to the audience.

Ann Margret who has given some brilliant performances excels here as the lustful wife in a re creation of an actual NY socialite murder Stephen Collins is perfect in this role. Dunne changed the names. I feel Ann-Margret is as great an actress as Meryl Streep.

Claudette Colbert was in her mid 80's when she starred in this film but is fabulous and has a great confrontation scene with Ann-Margaret whose very young Son commits suicide. "Now You know what it is like to lose a son"

Both actresses deserve praise but Claudette Colbert was a true legend. RIP.
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9/10
The Two Mrs. Grenvilles by Dominic Dunn
Roder5126 January 2008
When Navy ensign Billy Grenville, heir to a vast New York fortune, sees showgirl Ann Arden on the dance floor, it is love at first sight. And much to the horror of Alice Grenville--the indomitable family matriarch--he marries her. Ann wants desperately to be accepted by high society and become the well-bred woman of her fantasies. But a gunshot one rainy night propels Ann into a notorious spotlight--as the two Mrs. Grenvilles enter into a conspiracy of silence that will bind them together for as long as they live. . . .This is by far one of the best made for TV dramas I have ever seen.I still have it on videotape.Ann Margaret is well Anne Margaret no great actress as you will see but totally drop dead gorgeous which was why she was cast in the first place.Claudette Colbert also ideally cast as the Family Matriarch.At the funeral of the grandson Billy Grenville Colbert without missing a beat says to Anne Grenville "Well maybe now you know what it feels like to lose a son."A must see and must read book and film. -R Brentnall
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10/10
Ann-Margret and Colbert make this a triumph!
vivaAM27 May 1999
Ann-Margret definitely deserved the Emmy nomination she received for her role in "the Two Mrs.Grenvilles" she is no less than brilliant. Colbert is just as good and the two on screen together is just the greatest thing ever! The movie itself is just as great!
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10/10
The Woodward/Grenville tragedy
bkoganbing29 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This is simply one of the best made for television movies ever done. God only knows why it did not get a big screen release. In the title roles Ann-Margret and Claudette Colbert were simply flawless in their performances. This was one great capstone performance for Claudette Colbert who had not been on the big screen or small since 1961 in Parrish.

Dominick Dunne based his novel and this film on the famous William Woodward, Jr. and anyone who saw this under the age of 20 in 1987 would have known about that murder. Wife Ann Woodward(Grenville) murdered her husband ostensibly mistaking him for a prowler. She sold that story to the Grand Jury which returned no true bill and backed up her story.

In the court of public opinion however the widow Grenville was convicted and her public was the high society that her husband had introduced her too. The individual stories of the various Grenvilles as the Woodwards in real life end tragically all around.

Ann-Margret is an actress with a white trash background who meets and marries Stephen Collins the golden son of high society. The marriage is objected to by his mother Claudette Colbert and his three sisters who come off like the witches from MacBeth. And it's a rocky marriage with both partners cheating. But they in the end seem to care for each other.

That night in 1955 when life as all the Woodwards(Grenvilles)knew it is accurately depicted from what I learned. Curiously enough the role of the governor of New York with his name changed from Harriman to Milbank is also depicted. Averell Harriman was a member of the same upper crust crowd that the Woodwards were and I have no doubt that Claudette Colbert had his number on speed dial. What the governor did was remove the younger Mrs. Grenville from the investigation by the Nassau County Police and had her put in a psychiatric hospital. That may have saved her life and possibly cheated justice.

Ann-Margret and Claudette Colbert were just wonderful in their roles. The film was nominated for many awards with Claudette taking home a Golden Globe for her performance.

Dunne who was an observer of the high society scene meticulously dropped a lot of names and places that were quite accurate. Some were changed as the name of the unseen governor of New York. Others were quite real and none more so than the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. By the way Sian Phillips is also wonderful as the former Wallis Warfield Simpson who also had quite the scandalous story herself.

If you are a fan of any of the players here make sure to see this if broadcast or buy the DVD. You will be entertained and informed.
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Two Great Stars: Claudette Colbert and Ann Margret
williwaw13 August 2011
Ann Margret to me is the most under appreciated actress of our times. A brilliant actress in Drama, Comedy and Music. I can go on for paragraphs but to sum it up Ann Margret is the bestest of the best.This film also gave us the opportunity to see a real Star at work, Claudette Colbert who return to film work after a 25 year absence (Parrish, 1961, a great WB film). Ms Colbert dominates her scenes and won a Golden Globe for her fine work.

This film is based on a true murder mystery the Ann Woodward case that was the basis of the Dominick Dunne novel. A fine film ably directed but the real reason to see it is to witness the work of two great actresses Ann Margret and the one and only Claudette Colbert who won a Golden Globe for her brilliant performance. Dominick Dunne in his book The Way We Lived Then said that Bette Davis, Jane Wyman, Ginger Rogers, Loretta Young, Olivia De Havilland, Joan Fontaine all coveted the role that Claudette Colbert got, and good Colbert did! Colbert was a member of New York Cafe Society and for that reason may have had a better insight into her role than her peers.

This is a fine film and catch it for the performances of two very fine actresses Claudette Colbert and the remarkable Ann Margret
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10/10
Colbert... far and away... the BEST
jpierrard4 December 2006
Claudette Colbert is far and away one of the BEST actresses that ever appeared on screen, small or big. She did drama and comedy with equal incredible talent. Her roles in wartime were some of her best... "Since You Went Away", "So Proudly We Hail", just to name two. Her Oscar winner, "It Happened One Night", while a very good performance in a good movie, is not her best. She should have gotten more Oscars. Her turn in "The Egg and I" is hilarious, and yet, totally believable. I miss going to the movies because there aren't performers like Claudette Colbert. There is only one in this day and age that even approaches the talent of Claudette Colbert and that is Sally Field. Consider the similarities!
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10/10
excellent movie AM and Claudette are flawless
littlmnstr21 February 2005
how where can i buy this movie either on VHS or DVD? both performances are incredible and the settings, the directions the whole spirit of the era are more than believable....they are....in this movie. i just want to find out where i can buy this movie to have anytime i want, and i have to write 10 lines of text to ask the questions. seems silly but i will state once again that this is a phenomenal performance buy (sic) both Ann-Margeret and Ms. Colbert. excellent supporting cast as well. and what excellent direction. the drama is as dramatic as this site even more so. how awesome it could be if CBS NBC ABC or FOX could rerun the entire movie during sweeps week
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9/10
Two outstanding performances
ksdilauri7 December 2023
The plot is oft-mentioned in the reviews, so I'll go straight to my take re: the performances-frankly, Ann-Margret and Ms. Colbert rock.

They give life to their characters, making them believable in spite of the soapy elements around them. Ann Grenville is rather a pop-tart in soufflé's clothing, but Ann-Margret is an actress with ability. She brings real emotion to the character, that rises above the script and deservedly got her an Emmy nom.

Likewise, Miss Colbert, as the society icon-slash-mother-you-really-shouldn't-mess-with, deserved the award she ultimately took home.

This is a well made tv-movie with performances that make it worth wading through the sudsy but true-life subject matter.
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5/10
Claudette Colbert, a star to end all stars!
Pat-547 April 1999
Claudette Colbert is the only reason to watch this made for television movie. She looks fabulous and steals every scene she is in. Ann-Margaret, on the other hand, is miscast and chews the scenery up with her hysterics!
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8/10
The best pre-code movie made in the 1980's.
mark.waltz18 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Good acting and campy soap opera is a plus for this lengthy trash with class expose of the filthy rich. It's the stuff that movies of the early 1930's were made of: shopgirl or chorus girl meets wealthy man, marries him and has to deal with his formidable mother. Ann-Margret adds another memorable portrayal to her lengthy list in 1980's TV movies as a chorus girl ("Pal Joey" is mentioned as one of her jobs) who falls for "stage door Johnnie" Stephen Elliott and finds herself in constant conflict with his imperious powerful mother, Claudette Colbert.

The marriage is a happy one at first as they do their best to avoid the interference of her family (which includes three snooty sisters), But with contentment comes boredom, and with boredom comes infidelity and eventually leads to tragedy. Actually, the tragedy may or may not be an accident based on a real life situation, with the younger Mrs. Grenville killing Elliott, claiming that she believed him to be an intruder.

Opulent and overstuffed with vintage fashions, cars, antiques and jewelry, fun supporting performances by Elizabeth Ashley and Sian Phillips, and two ravishing leading ladies who look like they're having a ball. Colbert is delightfully passive aggressive, alternately cold and warm, trying to get past her instant dislike, but unable to hide her contempt, and brilliantly managing the scandalous events to her benefit and daughter-in-law's tragic fate. A great way to wrap up her lengthy film career even though she continued to work on stage. The ending is heart wrenching yet brilliantly maneuvered, and thus the intentions are achieved in creating the perfect soap opera with a vintage atmosphere.
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