Why so much hype?

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

The names were changed but it's based on a true story of the events in Skidmore, Missouri and the real villain was Ken McElroy who was very much like John Gotti without the class, style, and grace of his demeanor. He had fathered children with two women who lived together. No, not because he's a polygamist. In this movie, the McElroy character is played chillingly by Brian Dennehy who is one of America's finest actors on stage, film or television. Oscar Winner Marcia Gay Harden plays one of his wives with a depth that is easily overlooked. Oscar Winner Cloris Leachman plays one of the man's many victims. No matter what this character did, the law and justice system failed to protect this small Missouri town so they took justice into their own hands. As Leachman's character states at the end "If you live by the sword, you die the sword." The book entitled In Broad Daylight is equally riveting but adds another level of understanding of how a man like this can exist in the first place.

Where do I get a copy of this movie? I have not seen this movie for 15 years and I would love to see it again. I grew up in Novinger Missouri about two and a half hours east of Skidmore. I have been telling my family and friends about this movie, because my brother married a girl who's family is from the Skidmore area. They took my brother for a drive down Main Street in Skidmore and he is dieing to see the movie. I have been looking one ebay, amazon, and any video web sight I can fined and nobody has this movie for sale. If anyone knows where I can fined it can you please email me at maeder1212@yahoo.com If anyone can help me it would be appreciated. Thank you. maeder1212@yahoo.com

The thing that disturbs me most about this man's reign of terror is that it could happen almost anywhere - any place where laws are rendered useless by a combination of slick lawyers, intimidated witnesses and 'jobs-worth' officials. Despite our hopes and belief that we are advancing in all areas of society, this film serves to remind us that over-complicating the system has the ability to set us back to square one.Prior to the set-up of recognised Police Forces in the UK (apart from the efforts of feeble wardens) criminal activity was sometimes countered by the raising of a 'Hue & Cry' - the local community rallying around with anything they had to hand to give chase and apprehend the culprit(s) - for everything from sheep stealing to murder. That is exactly what these people did in order to protect themselves AND RIGHTLY SO - there is no better precedent than something that has existed since the dawn of civilisation. If we have a system that is rendered next to useless by having the law-enforcers handcuffed, what else can we expect? This PC world we live in has gone berserk - for every pro-victim advocate that exists there seem to be ten on the side of the culprit.The film was excellent and deserves to be on DVD - whether it was low budget or not. The slow-burn, laid back yet chilling portrayal by Brian Dennehey (whose work I have always admired) was simply the cherry on top - everyone should see this film at least once and I totally agree with the comments made by both blondie and gunrunner.The latter contributor's comments loosely reminded me of a rowdy local family who were eventually 'run out of town' by the strict application of laws, however trivial. Three police officers (often assisted by more) were assigned to shadow them around the clock and, after a while, the sheer cost of their misdemeanours in fines and other inconveniences forced this one-family crime wave to move. I am not saying this would have worked in the case of ROWAN in IBD but it might have spared the community from taking the role of Judge, Jury & Executioner upon themselves, the trauma and burden of which they have had to carry ever since.

Brian Dennehey stars in this cheap tv drama effort which is one of the poorest I have seen. The plot is so shallow and there is no twists in the tale to make this story in any way enjoyable to watch. You wonder what the point was in making such a routine drama. Dennehey's acting talents could and should have been exploited further. Being miscast doesn't help either. For a better Dennehey experience watch First Blood.