The Marriage Bed

The Marriage Bed
GenreDrama
Based onThe Marriage Bed by Constance Beresford-Howe
Written byAnna Sandor
Directed byMartin Lavut
StarringLinda Griffiths
Layne Coleman
Jan Rubeš
Vivian Reis
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerBill Gough
Original release
NetworkCBC Television
ReleaseDecember 21, 1986 (1986-12-21)
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The Marriage Bed is a Canadian television film, directed by Martin Lavut and broadcast by CBC Television in 1986.[1] Adapted from the novel by Constance Beresford-Howe, the film stars Linda Griffiths as Annie Graham, a woman who is pregnant with her third child but whose marriage to her husband Ross (Layne Coleman) is breaking down, who is confronted by her friends and family about her choice to concentrate on being a housewife and mother rather than pursuing her career as a botanist.[2]

The film's cast also includes Jan Rubeš and Vivian Reis as Annie's parents Max and Billie, Lyn Jackson as Ross's mother Edwina and R. H. Thomson as Dr. Jeff Reilly, as well as Clare Coulter, Martha Gibson, Eric Keenleyside, Carole Lazare and Sheila McCarthy in supporting roles.

For the purposes of the film, writer Anna Sandor set the story around the Christmas season; although not specifically a Christmas-themed film, she felt that the Christmas season's connotations of family togetherness helped to illuminate the film's themes.[2]

The film aired on December 21, 1986.[3]

  1. ^ Jim Bawden, "Settling down in Marriage Bed". Toronto Star, December 21, 1986.
  2. ^ a b John Haslett Cuff, "A moving look at marriage gone wrong". The Globe and Mail, December 20, 1986.
  3. ^ Noel Taylor, "Superficial look at a floundering marriage". Ottawa Citizen, December 20, 1986.