‘In Broad Daylight’ features a chilling, timeless Brian Dennehy performance

A review of the 1991 made-for-TV film, available on YouTube

This morning, news broke that Brian Dennehy, 81-year old veteran actor of the stage and screen, had passed away from natural causes. Among others, he was known for his roles in First Blood and Cocoon, as well as the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman and the resulting TV movie adaptation the following year. This weekend many people will be revisiting Dennehy’s movies to honor and remember the actor; instead of only reaching for his more famous films, I highly recommend checking out a made-for-TV thriller he did in 1991 called In Broad Daylight. The film boasts a fantastic cast, all of whom give excellent performances, and several truly chilling sequences that hammer home a timely message, even today.

In Broad Daylight is based on the true story of Ken McElroy, who was known as the “town bully” of Skidmore, Mo. Dennehy plays the lead, here renamed Len Rowan; he’s a prideful man, headstrong and sadistic, the kind who does not take well to perceived slights. They live in the type of small town that has an area locals call “the boondocks,” where Rowan is a patriarch who holds court over a large brood of offspring by multiple wives. His current wife Adina is played by Marcia…