The True Story of Lynn Stuart

Based on a remarkable true story (the film is introduced in semi-documentary style by the California attorney general), Barry Seiler’s rarely seen The True Story of Lynn Stuart is an entertaining film starring the extremely appealing Betsy Palmer as Lynn Stuart (an alias), a homemaker who volunteers to go undercover and help the police investigate a narcotics ring after the death of her drug addicted nephew. Once Stuart persuades Lt. Jim Hagan (Barry Atwater) and her resistant husband Ralph (Kim Spaulding), she’s moved into a new home and a new job as a diner waitress. Instructed to make friends with suspected drug smuggler Willie Down (Jack Lord), Stuart begins dating him and reporting back to the police, but when Willie forces her to join him on a deal that turns deadly, she begins to fall to pieces. The acting by Palmer and Lord is strong, and the violent showdown toward the end is genuinely shocking. To be sure, Lynn Stuart is a driven and courageous woman, especially for the 1950’s; nevertheless, her husband demands she quit when she’s unavailable to comfort their young son after he has a nightmare. Oh well.