The casting was WAY OFF. It's incredibly hard to believe the 43 year age gap when the original characters are supposed to be 27 and 70. The waitress was played by someone who is 50 years old and the man is played by someone who 63. They don't look 43 years apart, they look like a perfect couple. Casting was way off.
13 Reviews
Predictable.
leseditlakula19 June 2021
Shoot him in the stomach so you don't mess up the walls.
nogodnomasters29 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
It starts out saying this was based on a true story and at the end walks it back. Waitress Celeste marries a millionaire, one who is nice to her girls too. She is given everything but wants more. She convinces a mentally ill lesbian lover to kill her rich husband.
It got more interesting at the final courtroom drama. The plot and dialogue was plain and not exciting. Better than most made-for-TV features.
It got more interesting at the final courtroom drama. The plot and dialogue was plain and not exciting. Better than most made-for-TV features.
Bad Bad Bad Movie
dmackiepi-8005418 June 2021
Please Lifetime learn how law enforcement agencies conduct murders. Evidence is not placed in plastic bags.
Murder scenes don't have everyone sitting in the crime scene contaming evidence. Investigations 101. Please have the writers goggle on how to Investigate a crime.
Suspects or persons of interest interest are not all interviewed at once.
Please I could go on and on. Please get it right.
Murder scenes don't have everyone sitting in the crime scene contaming evidence. Investigations 101. Please have the writers goggle on how to Investigate a crime.
Suspects or persons of interest interest are not all interviewed at once.
Please I could go on and on. Please get it right.
Quite good, really!
Chartreuse117 June 2021
Julie Benz shines as Celeste, a single mom who's a waitress with 2 kids who wants a better life for herself and them. Enter Steve Beard, a millionaire regular at the bar who falls hard for Celeste, ties the knot with her and ends up being shot in his own mansion. Did Celeste kill him? This one is not as predictable as some movies and a supporting Canadian cast makes this one worth a watch. Definitely recommend!!!
A cheap movie
Mah_Jam19 June 2021
Betrayal!!!
lavatch2 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
While "Secrets of a Gold Digger Killer" was based on a true story, the film had an artificial quality to it. From the outset, it was clear that the protagonist Celeste was a gold digger. Yet, it was never very credible that so many people would come into her orbit and fall under her spell.
One especially weak link was Celeste's relationship to Steve Beard, a lonely widower. Steve was a kind man and a savvy businessman. It was never believable that this intelligent man would marry Celeste and be such a wimp when she began to squander his fortune. He should have seen everything coming from the opening scene in the restaurant.
Another weakness was in the relationship of Celeste and the mentally unbalanced Tracey Tarleton. It was equally implausible that Tracey would fall under the spell of Celeste. In both the relationships of Celeste and Steve and her connection to Tracey, there was no passion. How could these people be so gullible?
The focus on the film was how Celeste's two daughters, Jennifer and Kristina, finally determined to stand up to their mother and bring evidence that would eventually land her in jail for the murder of Steve. It was sad that these young women, who had spent time in foster homes, would be compelled to sell out their birth mother. For better or worse, Jennifer and Kristina must live their lives with a sense of betrayal.
Unfortunately, "Gold Digger Killer" was an extremely unpleasant viewing experience. It is difficult to imagine that one greedy woman could bring so much pain into the lives of others who genuinely cared about her.
One especially weak link was Celeste's relationship to Steve Beard, a lonely widower. Steve was a kind man and a savvy businessman. It was never believable that this intelligent man would marry Celeste and be such a wimp when she began to squander his fortune. He should have seen everything coming from the opening scene in the restaurant.
Another weakness was in the relationship of Celeste and the mentally unbalanced Tracey Tarleton. It was equally implausible that Tracey would fall under the spell of Celeste. In both the relationships of Celeste and Steve and her connection to Tracey, there was no passion. How could these people be so gullible?
The focus on the film was how Celeste's two daughters, Jennifer and Kristina, finally determined to stand up to their mother and bring evidence that would eventually land her in jail for the murder of Steve. It was sad that these young women, who had spent time in foster homes, would be compelled to sell out their birth mother. For better or worse, Jennifer and Kristina must live their lives with a sense of betrayal.
Unfortunately, "Gold Digger Killer" was an extremely unpleasant viewing experience. It is difficult to imagine that one greedy woman could bring so much pain into the lives of others who genuinely cared about her.
I registered just to leave this review to make sure no one else suffers
jacobrushworth8 January 2024
I tried a number of times to make it through to the end of the film. I just couldn't do it. It is horrendous, the acting, the storyline... everything!
It is flawed in countless ways and its such a shame that the writer and director did not tidy all the details up.
I believe watching this film is the equivalent of self-harm and any person who makes it to the end of the film then should consider contacting their location doctor's surgery for medication.
I have wrote down the names of the main actors and stuck them to the wall above my TV. This is just to make sure that I never fall foul to watching something that they have appeared in again.
It is flawed in countless ways and its such a shame that the writer and director did not tidy all the details up.
I believe watching this film is the equivalent of self-harm and any person who makes it to the end of the film then should consider contacting their location doctor's surgery for medication.
I have wrote down the names of the main actors and stuck them to the wall above my TV. This is just to make sure that I never fall foul to watching something that they have appeared in again.
Life is sometimes stranger than fiction ... and this is one of those true yet tragic stories
Ed-Shullivan8 October 2021
Julie Benz is perfectly cast as the black widow Celeste Beard who marries (for money) a millionaire named Steven Beard a man 39 years older than herself. Celeste brings to the new marriage her twin teenage daughters and quickly goes through Steven Beards fortune spending foolishly and extravagantly.
They remained married for four (4) years until Steven was shot in the stomach in his own bed only to survive for another four (4) months before succumbing to a blood clot and dying. As the investigation into Steven Beard's death is unraveled it becomes quite clear his death was an attempted murder to which one of Celeste's roommates Tracey Tarlton, while both were residing in a mental health facility (Celeste was suffering from depression and suicidal tendencies) admits to shooting Steven Beard as she was madly in love with Celeste.
This made for TV film passes the smell test on the back of the believable acting of Julie Benz who can best be remembered as Rita Morgan the love interest of revenge serial killer Dexter (2006-2010).
Well worth watching. I give it a highly deserving 8 out of 10 IMDB rating.
They remained married for four (4) years until Steven was shot in the stomach in his own bed only to survive for another four (4) months before succumbing to a blood clot and dying. As the investigation into Steven Beard's death is unraveled it becomes quite clear his death was an attempted murder to which one of Celeste's roommates Tracey Tarlton, while both were residing in a mental health facility (Celeste was suffering from depression and suicidal tendencies) admits to shooting Steven Beard as she was madly in love with Celeste.
This made for TV film passes the smell test on the back of the believable acting of Julie Benz who can best be remembered as Rita Morgan the love interest of revenge serial killer Dexter (2006-2010).
Well worth watching. I give it a highly deserving 8 out of 10 IMDB rating.
It's entertaining
pumping_iron-14 July 2023
This is a docudrama. Julie Benz plays Christine Beard, the gold digger who marries multimillionaire Steven Beard, played by Eli Gabay.
I saw this case profiled on another network. I saw the real people in this case. I wish LMN had stuck to some of the details. Celeste's two girls are 17 year old twins. Roan Curtis (Kristina) is about twenty five years old at the time of this movie. Georgia Bradner (Jennifer) is about twenty seven years old. Neither of them look even close to seventeen years old. Surely they could have found actors who look close to the ages of the characters they play. Julie Benz at almost 50 years old, is almost believable in the role of a 32 year old. But her real age shows quite often. However, you can kind of understand that she would look older than her biological age. She's a woman who has gone through many men, many marriages and plenty of hard times.
If I erase these details from my mind, the movie is entertaining.
I saw this case profiled on another network. I saw the real people in this case. I wish LMN had stuck to some of the details. Celeste's two girls are 17 year old twins. Roan Curtis (Kristina) is about twenty five years old at the time of this movie. Georgia Bradner (Jennifer) is about twenty seven years old. Neither of them look even close to seventeen years old. Surely they could have found actors who look close to the ages of the characters they play. Julie Benz at almost 50 years old, is almost believable in the role of a 32 year old. But her real age shows quite often. However, you can kind of understand that she would look older than her biological age. She's a woman who has gone through many men, many marriages and plenty of hard times.
If I erase these details from my mind, the movie is entertaining.
VERY ENTERTAINING TRUE CRIME
bl-754-8969665 August 2021
Another well done true crime dramatization by Lifetime
deedrala28 December 2021
I'm very picky about movies and am usually very critical of most LMN flicks - especially the endless dime-a-dozen "Wrong" and "Psycho" ones - but as I've written here before: Lifetime does true crime very well.
I had seen this case covered on Dateline a few years ago, so the names Celeste Beard and Tracey Tarleton rang a bell, and this movie stuck pretty close to the actual facts of the case. It was very well-acted by the entire cast, especially the front-and-center lead character played by Julie Benz. I remember her in the 'Dexter' series years ago playing a (fictional) character the exact opposite of Celeste.
Yet another riveting twisted true tale of greed, lust, and cold-blooded murder at which LMN seems to excel, for some reason...
Grade B - 8 out of 10.
I had seen this case covered on Dateline a few years ago, so the names Celeste Beard and Tracey Tarleton rang a bell, and this movie stuck pretty close to the actual facts of the case. It was very well-acted by the entire cast, especially the front-and-center lead character played by Julie Benz. I remember her in the 'Dexter' series years ago playing a (fictional) character the exact opposite of Celeste.
Yet another riveting twisted true tale of greed, lust, and cold-blooded murder at which LMN seems to excel, for some reason...
Grade B - 8 out of 10.
Excellent true crime
wvfempwolford23 June 2022
I don't know why viewers would give this a low rating. Acting is excellent. Julie Benz does a fantastic job, as do all the other characters. Perhaps I found this film so compelling because i know a woman who has behaved much like Celeste Beard. It happens, probably more than people realize.
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