In
January 1998 I attended a book signing in New York City emceed by author
Russell Banks and film director Atom Egoyan. They were on hand to autograph
copies of Mr. Banks’s 1991 novel, The Sweet Hereafter, which had been
made into a 1997 film of the same name by Mr. Egoyan. Despite varying greatly,
the novel and the film both concern the aftereffects of life in a small town in
the Adirondacks when fourteen children die following an accident involving
their school bus when it careens off a slippery, snow-covered road and sinks
into the frozen waters of a nearby body of water. Mr. Egoyan claimed that he
was inspired to make the film because, he felt, something terrible will happen
to everyone at some point in his or her life, and they will need to find a way
to move on.
A
terrible fate befell nineteen-year-old Jacquelyn M. “Lyn” Helton in 1969 when, just
after giving birth to her daughter, she suffered from terrible leg pain that
was misdiagnosed as bursitis; it turned out to be osteosarcoma (bone cancer). She
sought medical treatment and was dealt grim news: either have her leg amputated
and hope that the cancer did not spread or take a chance on chemotherapy and
radiation. The former was not an option for her, and so in earnest she began
recording her thoughts and feelings about her life with her
photographer/musician husband Tom so that her daughter would hear the tapes and
know her after she died. This tragic and heartbreaking story inspired the
made-for-television film Sunshine which premiered on CBS-TV on Friday,
November 9, 1973 (Mrs. Helton passed before the film was made). Reportedly the
most viewed TV-movie up to that point in time, Sunshine stars former
model turned actress Cristina Raines as Kate, a pregnant divorcee who meets Sam
(Cliff De Young), a photographer/musician who has no real means of supporting her
but manages to assuage her tantrums by singing John Denver songs to her. The
film begins with her death and her ashes scattered, so we know the outcome from
the start.
Sam
agrees to raise her child, Jill, as his own in the midst of their carefree
lifestyle, leftover from the Flower Children of the Sixties, driving around in
a small van painted in carefree love motifs. The film deals sensitively with
the issues that no adult wants to face in their lifetime: adultery, premature
death, and the fear of the unknown. Ms. Raines gives a heartfelt performance as
a woman who is both positive and life-affirming but one who also is angry at
the fate dealt her. Ms. Raines gave up acting nearly two decades after Sunshine
to become a registered nurse, a career path change also shared by former
actress Tisa Farrow. Cliff De Young is also a singer and musician and turns in
a likeable performance as Sam. Meg Foster is also excellent as Nora, the woman
next door who begins an affair with Sam and is ultimately enlisted to help
raise Jill. Brenda Vaccaro is also terrific as the doctor who wants desperately
to help Kate and tries to convince her to stay the course, to no avail.
Director
Joseph Sargent, who honed his craft in directing television series in the 1960’s
and helmed 1970’s Colossus: The Forbin Project, would follow up Sunshine
with the last project one would expect from him: 1974’s brilliant, hilarious
and completely politically incorrect New York City film The Taking of Pelham
123. Bill Butler, who turns 100 this year and photographed The People
vs. Paul Crump (1962) for William Friedkin, Something Evil (1972), Savage
(1973), and Jaws (1975) for Steven Spielberg, and replaced Haskell
Wexler on both The Conversation (1974) for Francis Coppola and One Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) for Milos Forman, does his best to make
Vancouver, BC a suitable stand-in for Spokane, WA. Credit should also be given
to twins Rachel Lindsay Greenbush and Sidney Greenbush who both played Jill. The
film was produced by George Eckstein, who also produced Steven Spielberg’s Duel
(1971).
If
the premise of the film seems a bit familiar, a similar story was written by
author Nancy Kincaid as Pretending the Bed is a Raft (1997) and was
filmed by director Sarah Polley as My Life Without Me (2003), in which
Ms. Polley also starred. Whether or not author Kincaid based this short story
on Mrs. Helton’s story, I do not know. Ms. Polley, incidentally, also starred
in the aforementioned The Sweet Hereafter.
Sunshine has been released on Blu-ray from the Twilight
Time sister label, Redwind Productions, however I cannot verify if they
released any other titles. There was talk of releasing Loving You
(1957), the Elvis Presley movie.
The
transfer was made from either the original camera negative, the interpositive
or internegative and was scanned in 4K. It looks like the movie was just made.
The
Blu-ray comes with a booklet discussing the film’s impact on the world and how
it was released theatrically world-wide.