![]() Boyd's photography captures the layered details of industrial grime, and the bleak, moody chill of a turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh winter is almost tangible. Shot largely in Canada and Pittsburgh under some grueling wintry weather conditions, the look is atmospheric, dark and beautiful. Soffel was one of the most praised aspects of the film when it was released. The stunning cinematography by Russell Boyd in Mrs. Matthew Modine, who was generating a lot of buzz for his work on Birdy (1984) at the time, was cast as the younger Biddle brother, Jack. However, it was Armstrong's fellow Aussie Mel Gibson who was finally chosen. Tom Cruise and Kevin Costner were among the many up and coming young actors who tested opposite Diane Keaton for the crucial role of her condemned love interest, Ed Biddle. Keaton had been eager to work with Gillian Armstrong ever since they had met a few years earlier in Los Angeles. Diane Keaton, too, was drawn to the same types of roles, shining in films such as Annie Hall (1977), Shoot the Moon (1982) and The Little Drummer Girl (1984). One of the few prominent female directors, Armstrong was often attracted to stories that featured extraordinary strong women characters. Soffel was to be Armstrong's first American feature and first experience working with a big Hollywood budget. Armstrong, who was part of what was called the "Australian New Wave" at the time, had made a splash with her first feature-length Australian film My Brilliant Career (1979). Once the script was completed, OscarĀ®-winning actress Diane Keaton was set to star in the title role and Gillian Armstrong was named director. Soffel and the Biddle Boys (as Ed and Jack were known) and felt it would translate vividly onto the big screen. Nyswaner, a Pennsylvania native, had grown up hearing the local folklore of Mrs. This fascinating real-life story had almost been forgotten when screenwriter Ron Nyswaner brought the story idea to producers Edgar J. Soffel's shocking actions to help the Biddles would shake up the town for years to come. ![]() Soffel took a special liking to the older Biddle, Ed. Soffel made it part of her duties to regularly visit all the inmates and offer words of Christian comfort to them from the Bible. Ed and Jack Biddle were brothers who received as much attention for their handsome good looks while incarcerated as they did for their violent crimes. She was accused of helping two convicted murderers, Ed and Jack Biddle, escape from her husband's prison and then attempting to flee with them to Canada. The "weak woman" was Kate Soffel, wife of the Allegheny County Jail's warden, Peter Soffel, and mother to his four children. "A Weak Woman's Insane Infatuation" read the headline of a 1902 Pittsburgh newspaper in the midst of a bleak northern winter riddled with scandal. ![]()
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