Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story

Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story
Directed by	Joyce Chopra
Written by	William Wood
Release date(s)	September 24, 1991 (1991-09-24)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story is a 1991 made-for-tv-film based on the true story of Pamela Smart seducing one of her 15 year old students into sex and to murdering her husband, Gregg Smart, in Derry, New Hampshire. It is directed by Joyce Chopra and stars Helen Hunt as Pamela Smart and Chad Allen as Billy Flynn, her 15 year old lover. It originally aired on CBS on September 24, 1991.

Plot

The film opens to the actual murder. Three teenage boys are holding a knife to the throat of a man. They are demanding his wedding ring, and he is begging for his life. The boy holding the knife says "he can't do it." Another boy draws a pistol, says "God Forgive me", and shoots him to death. The three boys run out of the house to a getaway car. The scene then cuts to a courtroom. The prosecuting attorney explains to the court that Ms. Smart coerced the boys into the murder of her husband. The scene then cuts to a flashback, where Gregg Smart calls the home of his then-fiancee Pam. She tells her that she got a job at a New Hampshire insurance company, and that she should pack her bags. When he arrives, she notices that he cut his hair, and expresses her disapproval. The next scene shows their wedding. As they are about to drive off, she tells her new parents-in-law that she is thankful that they have been so good to her. Pamela soon applies for a job at a news station, but is turned down. She then gets a job as a media director at a high school, where she begins an Anti-Drug campaign. For the drug campaign, she meets several students, including Bobby Flynn and Cecelia Pierce. After the meeting, she drives Cecelia and Bobby home, dropping off Cecelia first. When Bobby and Pam are alone in the car, they learn of their shared fandom of Van Halen, and Pam says she used to work on a radio station, & met the band then. Later on, Bobby, Pam, and Cecelia learn of a contest to make an advertisement for orange juice, which has a cash prize and a trip to Florida. They decide to make a music video for it, Bobby being the cameraman. Soon after, Cecelia expresses her interest of going into a similar field to Pam, who offers to let her be her intern. Cecelia accepts, and tells Pam that Bobby has a "major crush" on her. On one occasion, Pam and Bobby go to a nightclub together, despite Bobby's mother's disapproval. One day of filming the music video, Pam asks Bobby if she could shower at his house, he says that was okay. Afterward, Bobby and Pam talk in his bedroom, & they soon begin to kiss each other passionately. Pam soon pulls away and tells Bobby that she's married. However, soon Bobby is at his friends house. He tells his friend that his mom believes he is sleeping over there, so if she calls he should pretend he can't come to the phone, but in reality he is going to Pam's and that her husband is out of town. When asked if they plan to have sex, Bobby says "I hope so." At Pam's, they do end up going upstairs and having sex for the first time. When Pam is driving Bobby home one day, she tells him they have to break up. Bobby asks her why, and she says that Greg rarely goes out of town like that, and that she wants to be with Bobby always. She tells him that the only way they could be together is if he murders her husband. Bobby suggests that she divorces Gregg, but she says that all they own is made out to him, and he would get all of it. He also has had a history of beating her, and is afraid for her safety if she leaves him. She tells him that he will also pay his friends $1,000 to kill her husband. On two separate occasions, Bobby says he and his friends will kill Gregg, but both times he doesn't, and Pam reacts with anger, and threatens to tell Gregg of the whole situation. Billy tells his friends that he would commit suicide if he lost Pam. On the third occasion, they succeed in killing him. When questioned by the police and media, Pam adamantly claims that her husband was not a violent person, nor was he involved with illegal drugs. Meanwhile, an anonymous caller tells the Police that Cecelia knew about the plot. The police immediately question Cecelia, who eventually admits to the story being true. Billy & his friends are arrested, as is Pam. Billy is offered a reduced sentence if he testifies against Pam, and his friends talk him into it. The movie ends in the courtroom again. The jury finds Pamela to be guilty, and she is sentenced.

Cast

Helen Hunt as Pamela Smart
Chad Allen as William Flynn
Larry Drake as Mark Sisti
Riff Reagan as Cecelia Pierce
Hank Stratton as Greg Smart

External links

• Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story at the Internet Movie Database