on the floor. He rubs Francine’s face in the mess and orders her to quit school again. A defeated Francine agrees. Afterward, Mickey rapes her and falls asleep in a drunken stupor. Francine goes to the garage and obtains a can of gasoline, which she pours over Mickey’s body. She takes her children to the car and drives away as the house becomes engulfed in flames. As the jury returns from deliberation, Francine is found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity, and Francine is embraced by her children. Film adaptation Having adapted the book into a made-for-television movie, Goldemberg's screenplay, The Burning Bed, premiered on NBC on October 8, 1984. Directed by Robert Greenwald, the film starred Farrah Fawcett as Francine Hughes and Paul Le Mat as Mickey Hughes. The house was in Rosharon, Texas. The movie was filmed in El Monte, California. Cast Farrah Fawcett as Francine Hughes Paul Le Mat as James Berlin "Mickey" Hughes Richard Masur as Aryon (Arjen) Greydanus Grace Zabriskie as Flossie Hughes Penelope Milford as Gaby Christa Denton as Christy Hughes, age 12 James T. Callahan as Berlin Hughes Gary Grubbs as District Attorney David Friedman as Jimmy Hughes, age 10 David Andrews as Wimpy Hughes James Hampton as Police Witness Virgil Frye as Virg Dixie K. Wade as Hazel Moran Heather Rich as Christy age 6 Justin Gocke as Jimmy age 4 Elizabeth Lyn Fraser as Nicole Hughes Jeremy Ross as Judge Hotchkiss Ratings The movie premiered with a household share of 36.2 ranking it the 17th highest rated movie to air on network television and NBC's highest rated television movie. Critical response Television critic Matt Zoller Seitz in his 2016 book co-written with Alan Sepinwall titled TV (The Book) named The Burning Bed as the 7th greatest American TV-movie of all time, writing that "The film was a landmark in terms of content, depicting domestic violence as an unambiguous horror and a human rights violation". Seitz also praised the performance of Fawcett as "one of the finest in the history of TV-movies". References External links 1984 crime drama films 1984 television films 1984 films American crime drama films American courtroom films American docudrama films 1980s feminist films Films about alcoholism Films about arson Films about domestic violence Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Robert Greenwald Films set in Michigan Films set in the 1960s Films set in the 1970s