Susan Lucci and David Charvet in Seduced and Betrayed

Susan Lucci’s no stranger to adulterous affairs in TV movies, but there’s a twist in Seduced and Betrayed (1995)—Lucci goes full psycho. In The Woman Who Sinned and Between Love and Hate, it’s the scorned other man who seeks his revenge. In Blood on Her Hands, she’s a schemer content to let others do her dirty work. But in Seduced and Betrayed, there’s no outsourcing. She’s as determined to claim David Charvet for herself as she was to ruin Christmas in Ebbie.

Lucci’s Victoria Landers is a wealthy widow drawn to married men. Her pastimes include shopping, stalking, and committing the occasional vehicular homicide. It is through a minor collision that she conspires to meet Dan Hiller (Baywatch’s Charvet), a struggling contractor who recently moved to Arizona with wife Cheryl (Gabrielle Carteris, who is likable in a thankless role) and their son. Later, she summons the hapless hunk to her mansion for help with some custom carpentry work.

David Charvet with Susan Lucci and Gabrielle Carteris in Seduced and Betrayed.

“I thought you had whiplash or something,” Dan says in relief. He estimates the cost of materials for her project at upwards of $5,000, unaware his predatory new client would pay quite a bit more than that for his wood. “This is the opportunity,” he excitedly tells Cheryl afterward, certain that Victoria will recommend his services to her wealthy friends if she’s pleased with his work.

Charvet, stubbly, sweaty and frequently slack-jawed, looks rather young for such an established family man. Cameron Kent’s screenplay seems confused by the professional distinctions between architects and contractors, and the speed at which Dan works is startlingly unrealistic, but let’s not get too picky—this is a movie in which the line “You’re under arrest for contracting without a license” is spoken seriously (and not by a stripper dressed as a cop).

Gabrielle Carteris and David Charvet in Seduced and Betrayed.

Victoria’s relentless seduction attempts begin almost immediately. Her shameless come-ons include ice cube antics while sunbathing, a poorly feigned drowning (caused, naturally, by a charley horse she asks him to massage), and barging into a guesthouse bathroom to hand him a towel mid-shower. None of it is as alluring to Dan as being offered the chance to prove himself professionally.

“Oh, we’re such a great team. This is just the beginning. Can you feel it?” Victoria asks after one of her social connections improbably hires him to build an entire mansion. You’ll recall that his only completed project so far was a little shelving, but she continues, like an unintentionally funny Blanche Devereaux, “Summer storm’s coming. The heat just builds and builds and builds… It has to be released.” Huh, what could it mean?

Susan Lucci has a fatal attraction to David Charvet in Seduced and Betrayed.

What ensues, after Dan’s obligatory marital spat, is less an affair than a waterlogged one-night stand that spirals out of control. It’s only then that director Félix Enríquez Alcalá gives Lucci free reign to unleash Victoria’s considerable craziness. Her dialogue flows as if constructed by an Alex Forrest bot: “I’m not so easily dismissed,” “No one leaves me, Dan. No one.” (Even his name is recycled from Fatal Attraction.) Her unhinged behavior escalates from false accusations against the Hillers to murder and kidnapping.

When Dan asks how far she’s going to take her campaign of terror against his family, she answers “As far as I have to. When are you going to understand that? I get everything I go after, I don’t lose.” As short and brisk as its leading lady, Seduced and Betrayed is enjoyably laughable throughout and builds to a fittingly bizarre, and again rather watery, denouement. The indefatigably cheerful Lucci’s about as genuinely menacing as a Chucky doll, but you also suspect Charvet’s sweet, simple Dan would have trouble subduing one of those.

Streaming and DVD availability

Seduced and Betrayed is out-of-print on DVD but can be purchased secondhand. It isn’t currently available for streaming. If you’re looking for something else starring Lucci, several of her films are available for streaming, several at no cost, through Amazon.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

… But wait, there’s more!

This is often where I give a shout-out to a memorable bit actor (like Pixie Bigelow in Lady Killer). In Seduced and Betrayed, that would be Charvet’s soapy abs.