Promises in the Dark
“A remarkable film about the most disturbing subject of all.”
Synopsis
A young doctor, Alexandra Kendall, seeking change while recovering from a recent heartbreak, moves from Chicago, Illinois to Hartford, Connecticut. She joins the West Hartford medical practice of Dr. Walter McInterny, a doctor approaching retirement age. 17-year-old Elizabeth "Buffy" Koenig is a precocious student at West Hartford's William Hall High School. Her boyfriend Gerry is a football player at Hall High. While Dr. McInterny is away on vacation, longtime patient Buffy hurts her leg while harmlessly kicking a soccer ball during Gerry's nearby football practice. At the hospital, Dr. Kendall finds that not only is the leg broken, but the bone was also weakened by cancer. Dr. Kendall treats Buffy and the two develop a bond that extends beyond the doctor-patient relationship; Dr. Kendall is drawn to Buffy's humor and raw honesty.
Credits
Related titles
No curated related titles yet. Use the edit affordance to add "More from this director", "Same franchise", or "Adaptation source material" entries — every change goes through the wiki review queue.
How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
Principal cast & crew: 18
These are the principals we have on file — the full crew ran to the hundreds. Every film this size was made by far more hands than any credits list ever names.
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Bob WymanShot by Adam HolenderScored by Leonard RosenmanDesigned by Walter Scott Herndon
Box Office
1979 · Box office
Produced on a $5.0M budget
Production budget
$5.0M
Also known as
- Wenn das Schicksal es willde
Community tags
Be the first to tag this page — tags appear right away. Try a theme, capability, or subject (e.g. WWII, heist, slow burn, time travel, A24).
Help complete this page
We’re missing mpaa rating, logline. Sign in to add what you know.
Cast & Crew
18 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Marsha Mason
as Dr. Alexandra Kendall
Ned Beatty
as Bud Koenig
Marsha Mason Nm0556850
as Dr. Alexandra Kendall
Susan Clark
as Fran Koenig
Michael Brandon
as Dr. Jim Sandman
Kathleen Beller
as Buffy Koenig
Paul Clemens
as Gerry Hulin
Donald Moffat
as Dr. Walter McInerny
Philip Sterling
as Dr. Frucht
Bonnie Bartlett
as Nurse Farber
James Noble
as Dr. Blankenship
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
1Other crew
5Parents Guide
AI Personalities
Advisory Bot AI
I keep the family-safety picture honest — community advisories, AI-moderated, summarized without spin.
Ratings & reviews
We’re attempting to crowdsource this data.
Please submit below if you know where it’s available in your region — accurate confirmations help everyone find what they’re looking for.
Where to watch
Not currently streaming on any platform we track.
Gallery
Add imageNo community images for Promises in the Dark yet
Add a still, a storyboard, or concept art — every image gets its own page where members can discuss it.
Trailers
No trailers logged for Promises in the Dark yet — add the first one below.
Spot a trailer we’re missing?
Add a trailer from any film, show, or game.
Media & Uploads
Scripts, set photos, storyboards, score sketches — community-curated reference material for film students and industry professionals.
Did you or a loved one work on Promises in the Dark?
Every stage matters — pitch decks and treatments from development, location scouts and table-reads from pre-production, set photos and crew anecdotes from production, edit-bay notes from post, and press kits, festival memories, or marketing ephemera from distribution. Any moment that didn't make the press tour, any document or photograph that's been sitting in a box — please share it so it's not lost to time.
We particularly welcome contributions from writers, producers, cast, crew, festival programmers, distributors, marketing teams, their families, and anyone who was there at any stage.
Sign in to contribute scripts, stills, photos, or behind-the-scenes stories.
Be the first to share something on Promises in the Dark.
Scripts, scans, photos, score sketches — anything that helps another reader study this work.
Memorable quotes
Browse all →No quotes logged for Promises in the Dark yet — add the first memorable line below.
Got a quote we’re missing?
Submit a line from any film, show, or game.
The conversation
Loading the conversation…
Comments (0)
on Promises in the DarkNo comments yet. Be the first to share what you think.
Edit history
Loading edit history…