Television Reviews : Committed Performances in ‘Fatal Judgment’

This is good-nurses-on-trial season on CBS. Tonight’s entry is “Fatal Judgment” (Channels 2 and 8 at 9 p.m.). It’s much better than “Jesse,” a similar movie that was on CBS two weeks ago. But that’s faint praise.

At least the stakes are higher in “Fatal Judgment.” Anne Capute (Patty Duke) is on trial for murder. The charge: that she injected too much pain-killing morphine into a dying woman without a doctor’s written authorization.

Anne had been told that the patient was terminal and recalled overhearing the doctor saying to give her whatever she wanted. Furthermore, it soon becomes clear that Anne was simply following standard procedures and that the hospital wants her to take the rap.

When her attorney (Tom Conti) reveals that it was another nurse who actually dispensed the largest and final dose of morphine, there isn’t much doubt about the ending. Still, Duke makes us believe the doubts that Anne herself expresses.

Despite the pro forma quality of Gerald Green’s script (based on “Fatal Dosage,” by Gary Provost), Duke’s performance is ferociously committed. Anne has been married three times, and Duke suggests that her personality may have something to do with this. At the same time, when she compares the lack of support from her husband (Joe Regalbuto) with the detachment toward terminal patients that she often observes on the job, Anne hits a nerve.

The movie also benefits from a precise and telling performance by the late Jo Henderson as Anne’s nursing supervisor, who becomes her chief antagonist. It still isn’t clear why Anne was even brought to trial, but Henderson’s demeanor fills in a few of the blanks. Gilbert Cates directed for producers Jack Farren and Paul Pompian.