The True Story of Lynn Stuart
| The True Story of Lynn Stuart | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lewis Seiler |
| Produced by | Bryan Foy |
| Written by | John H. Kneubuhl |
| Starring |
Betsy Palmer Jack Lord Barry Atwater |
| Cinematography | Burnett Guffey |
| Edited by | Saul A. Goodkind |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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78 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Lynn Stuart redirects here. For those of a similar name, see
The True Story of Lynn Stuart (originally titled The Other Life of Lynn Stuart) is a 1958 American biographical crime-drama film starring Betsy Palmer, Jack Lord, Barry Atwater and released by Columbia Pictures.
Marking the final directorial effort of Lewis Seiler, it dramatizes the true story of a young Santa Ana, California, housewife who became a volunteer undercover narcotics agent in the 1950s. The woman, known publicly only by the pseudonym Lynn Stuart to protect her from possible reprisals, served in that capacity for six years and provided information which ultimately led to approximately 30 drug-related convictions.
In a prologue, Edmund "Pat" Brown, who was the California Attorney General at the time of the film's production, makes a statement directly to the viewer, attesting to the veracity of the film's story and to the societal scourge presented by drug trafficking.
The film then opens with a police car chase through Orange County, California, which ends with the fleeing vehicle crashing, killing both of its occupants. It turns out that both were drug addicts and under the influence at the time of the chase. At a hearing, one of the boys' aunt, an attractive young mother and housewife named Phyllis Carter (Betsy Palmer), angrily denounces police efforts to control the flow of illegal narcotics.
Phyllis comes to the police offering to volunteer her services as an undercover narcotics agent. The police originally reject her offer, but after discovering that their primary source of information on a particular gang of drug smugglers has been murdered, they reconsider. Ralph Carter (Kim Spalding), Phyllis' husband, initially laughs off the idea, but when he finds out that the police actually want make use of Phyllis, he becomes worried. He consents on the condition that should he ever ask her to quit, she and the police will comply.
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