Film Review: Mother Knows Best
Mother Knows Best is a Lifetime movie based on a true story. The movie came to television in 1997. All the names and the locations were changed in the movie. The true story is based on the Lee Goldsmith murder- for- hire case. Goldsmith, a Florida socialite, hated her son in law so much that she hired someone to kill him.
The true story
Goldsmith, was so anxious to find a suitable husband for her daughter, Arleen, that she took out an ad in the local paper: "Nice Jewish Girl Wants to Meet Nice Jewish Boy." David Brownstein is the man who answered the ad. However, Goldsmith could not bear the thought of her daughter marrying Brownstein because he was not professional. An auto repairman would not have been impressive enough for Goldsmith's socialite friends, so she concocted a plan to ruin his life. According to testimony, Goldsmith, did everything she could to break up the marriage. When that didn't work, she decided to have her son in law murdered.
The murder-for-hire plot
In 1990, Goldsmith hired a contract murderer. She paid Thomas Brennen $1,000 up front, and then once the death was confirmed she would pay the remaining $9,000. She had no idea that Brennen was really and an undercover cop. Police videotaped Goldsmith paying Brennen to kill David while meeting in her car. Police arrested Goldsmith and charged her with solicitation of first degree murder. She was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
The aftermath
After Goldsmith was released in 1995, she focused on living a quite life. In 2009, Lee Goldsmith told Movies Based on True Stories Database writer Traciy Curry-Reyes that her husband had passed away, that she is estranged from her daughter and that she had no idea there was a movie based on her case. The murder-for-hire plot was never discussed, and she refers to it only as 'the incident.' She said she would like to watch the movie though. She would like to be informed when the movie is on
The true story
Goldsmith, was so anxious to find a suitable husband for her daughter, Arleen, that she took out an ad in the local paper: "Nice Jewish Girl Wants to Meet Nice Jewish Boy." David Brownstein is the man who answered the ad. However, Goldsmith could not bear the thought of her daughter marrying Brownstein because he was not professional. An auto repairman would not have been impressive enough for Goldsmith's socialite friends, so she concocted a plan to ruin his life. According to testimony, Goldsmith, did everything she could to break up the marriage. When that didn't work, she decided to have her son in law murdered.
The murder-for-hire plot
In 1990, Goldsmith hired a contract murderer. She paid Thomas Brennen $1,000 up front, and then once the death was confirmed she would pay the remaining $9,000. She had no idea that Brennen was really and an undercover cop. Police videotaped Goldsmith paying Brennen to kill David while meeting in her car. Police arrested Goldsmith and charged her with solicitation of first degree murder. She was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
The aftermath
After Goldsmith was released in 1995, she focused on living a quite life. In 2009, Lee Goldsmith told Movies Based on True Stories Database writer Traciy Curry-Reyes that her husband had passed away, that she is estranged from her daughter and that she had no idea there was a movie based on her case. The murder-for-hire plot was never discussed, and she refers to it only as 'the incident.' She said she would like to watch the movie though. She would like to be informed when the movie is on