The Betsy

Director: Daniel Petrie
Actors: Laurence Olivier, Robert Duvall, Katharine Ross
PlotIn the heart of Detroit’s automotive industry, a wealthy, aging patriarch presides over a powerful family business struggling to remain relevant as times change. He envisions a new kind of car to save the company: an economical, fuel-efficient vehicle that will revolutionize the market. Determined to make this vision a reality, he recruits Tom, a talented but troubled designer, whose own ambitions and inner demons complicate his involvement. The family is torn by secret rivalries and long-standing resentments, especially as the patriarch’s ruthless, business-minded grandson seeks to take control of the company's future. Powerful interests at play threaten to undermine not only the revolutionary car project but also the fragile ties binding the family together.
As Tom becomes more deeply enmeshed in both the family power struggles and a romantic entanglement with the family’s younger generation, hidden truths and buried grievances begin to surface. The battle for control of the company intensifies, with each member of the family pursuing their own agenda, driven by ambition, loyalty, and personal vendettas. The pressure mounts as sabotage, betrayal, and emotional upheaval test both their resolve and the viability of the groundbreaking automobile. The stages are set for dramatic confrontations that will determine not just the fate of an empire but the legacies of everyone involved.
Writers: Harold Robbins, William Bast, Walter Bernstein
Release Date: 09 Feb 1978
Runtime: 125 min
Rating: R
Country: United States
Language: English
Physical Media Reviews
The Betsy’s flawed yet fascinating story gets an imperfect but clean 2K 1080p transfer with good color and serviceable LPCM 2.0 mono audio.