Alamo Drafthouse hosting early screenings of Candy Montgomery show, ‘Love & Death’

Brayden Garcia
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

A Texas movie theater chain is offering viewers an early sneak peek of “Love & Death,” the show based on Candace “Candy” Montgomery, the Dallas-area woman who was accused of killing her friend Betty Gore with an ax in 1980.

Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse is hosting screenings of the first episode of “Love & Death” on April 17. The early screenings gives attendees about 10 days of bragging rights before the show debuts on HBO Max on April 27.

Elizabeth Olson stars in the show as Candy Montgomery, alongside Dallas-born actor Jesse Plemons who plays Allan Gore. Lily Rabe and Patrick Fugit fill in the rest of the core cast as Betty Gore and Pat Montgomery, respectively.

The “Love & Death” sneak peek is classified as a ”Victory Screening” for Alamo Drafthouse, meaning that tickets are free if you buy the $5 voucher for snacks and a drink. Here are the participating theaters for the 7 p.m. April 17 early screening:

The limited series is based on the book “Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs” by Jim Atkinson and Joe Bob Briggs, and a series of Texas Monthly articles. “Love & Death” was created by David E. Kelly and directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.

This is the second television adaption of the Montgomery case in as many years. Hulu’s “Candy” starring Jessica Biel in the titular role, first made its way to the small screen in May 2022.

Elizabeth Olsen stars as Candy Montgomery in the HBO Max series “Love & Death”, alongside Jesse Plemons, Lily Rabe and Patrick Fugit.
Elizabeth Olsen stars as Candy Montgomery in the HBO Max series “Love & Death”, alongside Jesse Plemons, Lily Rabe and Patrick Fugit.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CANDY MONTGOMERY CASE?

Gore, 30, was a school teacher and friends with Montgomery. The two had met through church and they both sang in the same choir. Gore had two children, the youngest a year old, at the time of her death. Montgomery had an affair with Gore’s husband, Allan, a year before the killing.

On June 13, 1980, a Friday, Montgomery stopped by Betty Gore’s Wylie home to pick up a swimsuit for Gore’s daughter, who was set to spend the day with Montgomery. While at the house, Gore confronted Montgomery about the affair with her husband. Later that day, Gore was found dead with 41 axe wounds in a blood-spattered utility room.

After she was accused of the murder, Montgomery turned herself in to Collin County Sheriff’s deputies and was held on a $100,000 bond. Four months after the killing, an eight-day trial was held in McKinney to determine Montgomery’s guilt in Gore’s murder.

Montgomery pleaded self-defense and her lawyer argued that Gore had grabbed a 3-foot ax from the garage and approached Montgomery with it. Montgomery’s lawyer also brought in a Houston psychiatrist who said Montgomery had suffered from a “dissociative reaction” and was unaware of how many times she struck Gore.

A jury acquitted Montgomery of murder charges on Oct. 29, 1980. One juror said the number of times Gore was struck had no bearing on their verdict, which accepted the self-defense claim.