Widow on the Hill

Although the made-for-cable drama Widow on the Hill was based on a true story, the film bears a strong resemblance to the 1947 Joan Crawford theatrical feature Possessed. Natasha Henstridge stars as Linda Dupree, an ambitious hospice nurse who marries Hank Cavanaugh (James Brolin), the very wealthy widower of one of Linda's former patients. Hank enrages his grown daughters by quickly installing Linda in the family's luxurious Virginia mansion, and even more so when he gives his new wife the most precious possessions of his former spouse. Not long afterward, Hank himself falls seriously ill and dies, leaving Linda one of the richest women in Virginia -- and also arousing suspicions that she not only knocked off Hank, but his first wife as well! More questions than answers are offered in this heavy-breathing melodrama, which made its Lifetime network debut on January 24, 2005.