James Ivory and Ismail Merchant were the executive producers on this better-than-average TV movie set in Texas in the late Thirties. It centres on the Thompson family, headed by Fred Ward (who gained fame in the previous year as astronaut Gus Grissom in The Right Stuff), and their struggle for survival on the land. The catalyst for a huge change in the Thompsons' lives is a Swedish immigrant, Olaf (Stellan Skarsgard), an enthusiastic and personable young man who is taken on as a farmhand. But you've guessed: Olaf is not all that he seems. Based on the novel by Katharine Anne Porter and directed by Michael Fields, this is a haunting, well-told tale that will hold your attention as it reveals some nasty secrets.


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