#How The 1999 Film Lake Placid Revitalized Betty White’s Film Career

“Lake Placid” — a delightful little horror oddity that combines big-city neurosis with a gore-filled creature feature — was David E. Kelley’s fourth feature film as a screenwriter, having previously written “From the Hip,” “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday,” and “Mystery, Alaska.” Kelley was better known for TV, having been involved with a huge number of hit programs, including “L.A. Law,” “Picket Fences,” “Chicago Hope,” “The Practice,” and “Ally McBeal.” 

The film follows a neurotic paleontologist played by Bridget Fonda as she investigates sightings of a crocodile in a freshwater lake in Maine. And this is no ordinary crocodile, but one about 30 feet in length. In true monster movie fashion, the crocodile begins attacking and eating supporting members of the cast, as well as live cows and the occasional helicopter. Partway through “Lake Placid,” we learn that a kindly old widow who lives on the lake — Delores Bickerman, played by Betty White — has actually been feeding the crocodile for years. She keeps the croc like a pet, and leads blindfolded cows down to the waterline where they become meals. Her sweet, lackadaisical attitude is infectious, and we instantly love Delores Bickerman, even if she is harboring a dangerous man-eating monster. 

Later still, we learn that Delores has even more secrets — she once committed a very violent act with a cast iron skillet — as well as access to a few words usually held in the mouths of drunken sailors. Hearing a 77-year-old Betty White cussing up a blue streak is a truly astonishing sound. “Lake Placid” wasn’t an enormous part of the film conversation in 1999, but the discussions that did take place were largely centered on White, her character’s innocent love of a giant water monster, and her hurling obscenities at Brendan Gleeson.