Somebody Killed Her Husband (1978) Novelization

Written by Clyde Phillips.  Based on the 1978 film written by Reginald Rose and directed by Lamont Johnson. It starred Jeff Bridges, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, John Wood and John Glover.

It wasn't until I looked into this film that found out that Fawcett was original cast in FOUL PLAY (1978) but due to contract issues with Aaron Spelling over Charlie's Angels she was not able to do it, so Goldie Hawn got the role instead. That is a shame because Fawcett would have been good in that film, which while not a great movie nevertheless was successful, which is more than can be said of Fawcett's first couple of big screen starring roles. Her first three films were SOMEBODY KILLED HER HUSBAND (1978), SUNBURN (1979) and SATURN THREE (1980), which all flopped. SUNBURN is a bad movie and Fawcett is not particularly good in it. She is much better in SATURN THREE, but it is SOMEBODY KILLED HER HUSBAND that really showed her promise. She is luminous in the film and one can't help but think that if she had better material it all would have turned out differently.

SOMEBODY is not a good movie. It has the type of plot that requires a straddling of the line between playfulness and seriousness in order to truly work. The movie is all over the place tone-wise, playing it much too broad when it needed to be more subtle. It also has an inappropriate music score that likewise throws the tone off. Bridges and Fawcett are quite good and show an easy chemistry that is ultimately squandered and the whole thing ends up being fairly ridiculous.

The novelization does a much better job of maintaining a tone which gives the material more of a chance to work, and for the most part it does. Whereas you grow irritated with the illogical actions of the characters in the film, I was able to go along with it in the book, which is full of additional detail and character insight.

Excerpt:

Although hundreds of kids and parents swarmed all over the floor like bugs conquering a picnic, Jerry caught the slightest glimpse of one particular woman through the crowd and, for the first time that morning, stopped talking to himself. It was her hair. The first thing he could see clearly as he raised up on his toes was her hair. She was on the other side of the department and a sea of bobbing heads separated them, but Jerry's eyes locked on her and could not be averted. The natural flow of the crowd was carrying her toward him.

The hair. Full, blonde, with a few delicate hints of a darker beige suggested throughout, swirling in healthy, vital waves to her shoulders. As she worked her way closer, Jerry was able to get a better look at the woman beneath the exquisite hair. The glimpse gave way to an out-and-out stare as he stood in reverent appreciation of a truly singular beauty.

Her face was classically drawn. High, proud cheekbones, flawless skin and a tiny, aristocratic nose. Soft lips and perfect teeth that seemed to be illuminated from within. A proper beauty; the girl of any man's dreams. Jerry felt divinely privileged just to be allowed to look for a while and remember this moment forever.

As she wandered through the shoppers, Jerry noticed that, for all her exquisite appearance and posture, she was dressed rather simply. Washed-out jeans, a pink T-shirt under a blue workshirt tied at the waist. White tennis shoes and no belt. Her only concession to fashion was a navy blue Anne Klein scarf tied loosely around her neck, almost as an afterthought.

When she finally emerged from the milling people, Jerry saw that she was not alone and he sighed. It figured. Not that he had the slightest chance of ever getting to know someone like her, but the ten-second fantasy that had just raced through his mind would have lasted him a couple of months.