# The Burning Bed

The Burning Bed is a 1984 television drama film starring Farrah Fawcett, Paul Le Mat, and Richard Masur. Based on 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 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.
The film was written by Rose Leiman Goldemberg and directed by Robert Greenwald. It aired on NBC on October 8, 1984. The movie 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.

## Plot

On March 9, 1977, Francine Hughes and her three children arrive at the Dansville, MI, police station, where she turns herself in, after setting her husband, James Berlin “Mickey” Hughes, on fire in their home. Public defender Aryon Greydanus is appointed as Francine’s attorney and tries to gain insight into her motive. Initially reluctant, Francine recounts her life and the events leading up to the murder.
In 1964, sixteen-year-old Francine meets Mickey Hughes, and the two marry shortly after. Mickey begins displaying signs of jealousy and anger and physically abuses Francine, often in the presence of his parents. The abuse escalates over the years, and circumstances worsen with Mickey’s alcoholism. Francine divorces Mickey and takes their three young children. Mickey tries to convince Francine to get back together with him, promising he has changed his ways, but Francine refuses. After learning Mickey has been involved in a serious car crash, Francine agrees to care for him temporarily in his parents’ home; however, the situation eventually traps Francine into a domestic partnership with him. As the children get older, Francine takes business courses at a community college, much to Mickey’s disapproval. Mickey’s abuse becomes relentless, and Francine tries to leave numerous times, only for Mickey to follow her and threaten her into returning. She also seeks help from the police, family courts, and Mickey’s family, but to no avail.
As the case goes to trial, Francine testifies about the horrifying instances of abuse she suffered from Mickey over the years and what happened the day of the murder:
Francine returns home late from school, after giving a classmate a ride home, enraging a drunken Mickey. He refuses to allow her to cook TV dinners for the family and beats her. He then orders her to quit school, and when Francine refuses, he destroys her school books and forces her to burn them. Later that night, at dinner, Mickey beats her again and knocks the food on the floor. He rubs Francine’s face in the mess and orders her to quit school again. A defeated Francine agrees. Afterwards, Mickey rapes her and falls asleep in a drunken stupor. Francine goes to the garage and obtains a can of gasoline, which she pours over Mickey’s body. She takes her children to the car and drives away as the house becomes engulfed in flames. As the jury returns from deliberation, Francine is found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity, and she is embraced by her children.

## Cast

* Farrah Fawcett as Francine Hughes
* Paul Le Mat as James Berlin "Mickey" Hughes
* Richard Masur as Aryon (Arjen) Greydanus
* Grace Zabriskie as Flossie Hughes
* Penelope Milford as Gaby
* Christa Denton as Christy Hughes, age 12
* James T. Callahan as Berlin Hughes
* Gary Grubbs as District Attorney
* David Friedman as Jimmy Hughes, age 10
* David Andrews as Wimpy Hughes
* James Hampton as Police Witness
* Virgil Frye as Virg
* Dixie K. Wade as Hazel Moran
* Heather Rich as Christy age 6
* Justin Gocke as Jimmy age 4
* Elizabeth Lyn Fraser as Nicole Hughes
* Jeremy Ross as Judge Hotchkiss

## Critical response

In his 2016 book co-written with Alan Sepinwall titled TV (The Book), television critic Matt Zoller Seitz named The Burning Bed as the 7th greatest American TV movie of all time, writing, "The film was a landmark in terms of content, depicting domestic violence as an unambiguous horror and a human rights violation". Seitz also praised the performance of Fawcett as "one of the finest in the history of TV-movies".
As of February 2025, the film is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

## Accolades

The film was nominated for several Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special for Farrah Fawcett, Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special, and Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special. Paul Le Mat won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Television Film. The film won a Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Specials and a Writers Guild of America Award for Adapted Drama Anthology for Rose Leiman Goldemberg.