Playwright and screenwriter Del Shores’ original play, titled Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got the Will?), opened 7 Feb 1987 at Theatre/Theater in Los Angeles, CA, and ran for twenty-one months, according to the printed script and the 3 May 1990 DV. The play was the middle of what Shores called his "Daddy’s Dyin’ trilogy," between Cheatin’ and Daughters of the Lone Star State. Exactly three years after the play opened, Shores signed a film deal with Propaganda Films. Since the play was confined to the "Turnover" family’s living room, Shores moved a few scenes into other rooms, outside the house, and into the nearby "Bluebells" bar and a hospital. He also elaborated upon the illicit romance between "Marlene Turnover" and "Harmony Rhodes," whom he renamed "Harmony Grabowski" in the film. Patrika Darbo and Molly McClure were the only actors from the stage play cast in the movie.
Principal photography began 25 Sep 1989 in Denton, TX, according to the 3 Oct 1989 and 24 Oct 1989 issues of HR. The 21 Jul 1989 LAT estimated the budget between 4ドル--5 million.
Kathleen Torn, who portrays the childhood version of "Lurlene," is the daughter of Amy Wright, who plays Lurlene as an adult.
Daddy’s Dyin’...Who’s Got the Will? premiered at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, TX, on 24 Apr 1990, the 17 Apr 1990 and 27 Apr 1990 DV reported. The film’s release was set for 4 May 1990 in Los Angeles and several Southwest cities. It opened in New York City on 17 Aug 1990, according to that day’s ...

Playwright and screenwriter Del Shores’ original play, titled Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got the Will?), opened 7 Feb 1987 at Theatre/Theater in Los Angeles, CA, and ran for twenty-one months, according to the printed script and the 3 May 1990 DV. The play was the middle of what Shores called his "Daddy’s Dyin’ trilogy," between Cheatin’ and Daughters of the Lone Star State. Exactly three years after the play opened, Shores signed a film deal with Propaganda Films. Since the play was confined to the "Turnover" family’s living room, Shores moved a few scenes into other rooms, outside the house, and into the nearby "Bluebells" bar and a hospital. He also elaborated upon the illicit romance between "Marlene Turnover" and "Harmony Rhodes," whom he renamed "Harmony Grabowski" in the film. Patrika Darbo and Molly McClure were the only actors from the stage play cast in the movie.
Principal photography began 25 Sep 1989 in Denton, TX, according to the 3 Oct 1989 and 24 Oct 1989 issues of HR. The 21 Jul 1989 LAT estimated the budget between 4ドル--5 million.
Kathleen Torn, who portrays the childhood version of "Lurlene," is the daughter of Amy Wright, who plays Lurlene as an adult.
Daddy’s Dyin’...Who’s Got the Will? premiered at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, TX, on 24 Apr 1990, the 17 Apr 1990 and 27 Apr 1990 DV reported. The film’s release was set for 4 May 1990 in Los Angeles and several Southwest cities. It opened in New York City on 17 Aug 1990, according to that day’s NYT.
End credits contain the following information: "Special thanks to: Michele B. Rosen--JEM Associates, Inc.; Motion Picture Marketing; Upp Entertainment Marketing; Wrangler Jeans; Malcolm Richie; the interns from the Film Department of North Texas University; Irving Film Commission; North Texas Film Commission; Texas Film Commission; Denton Chamber of Commerce; City of Denton; Denton Regional Medical Center; the Webster Family; M. T. Cole Trust--in memory of Mammy Cole."

In the yard of a Lowake, Texas, farmhouse, the Turnover children play on a merry-go-round. Many years later, one of the children, Sara Lee Turnover, and her grandmother, Mama Lois Wheelis, prepare for the return of her siblings. Having the family together again, Sara Lee and Mama Wheelis agree, will be a "livin’ hell." Seeing big sister Lurlene Turnover Rogers, a preacher’s wife, drive into the front yard, Sara Lee places an open Bible on a table and turns the radio to a gospel music station. Lurlene arrives with their father, Buford Turnover, whom she picked up at the local hospital. Lurlene is shocked by how far Buford has slipped into dementia since his recent stroke. The three women put him to bed. Orville Turnover, Buford’s only son, arrives with his wife, Marlene, after stopping at the nearby Bluebells roadhouse for a case of beer. Orville constantly demeans and bosses his overweight wife. Evalita, the youngest Turnover daughter, pulls up in a van with her newest "fiancé," a hippie musician named Harmony Grabowski. She explains that Harmony picked her up after her last boyfriend threw her out of his house, and now they are recording country music together. Sara Lee, the family "spinster" who stayed home, tells her sisters she is engaged to a local man, Clarence Hopkins, and displays the ring he gave her, but Evalita says she just saw Clarence at the Bluebells and he said nothing about it. Struggling to lose weight, Marlene exclaims she has lost a pound or so since yesterday, but she is unhappy because Orville committed their son, "Jimbo" Turnover, to a reform school against her wishes, after the boy set his ...

In the yard of a Lowake, Texas, farmhouse, the Turnover children play on a merry-go-round. Many years later, one of the children, Sara Lee Turnover, and her grandmother, Mama Lois Wheelis, prepare for the return of her siblings. Having the family together again, Sara Lee and Mama Wheelis agree, will be a "livin’ hell." Seeing big sister Lurlene Turnover Rogers, a preacher’s wife, drive into the front yard, Sara Lee places an open Bible on a table and turns the radio to a gospel music station. Lurlene arrives with their father, Buford Turnover, whom she picked up at the local hospital. Lurlene is shocked by how far Buford has slipped into dementia since his recent stroke. The three women put him to bed. Orville Turnover, Buford’s only son, arrives with his wife, Marlene, after stopping at the nearby Bluebells roadhouse for a case of beer. Orville constantly demeans and bosses his overweight wife. Evalita, the youngest Turnover daughter, pulls up in a van with her newest "fiancé," a hippie musician named Harmony Grabowski. She explains that Harmony picked her up after her last boyfriend threw her out of his house, and now they are recording country music together. Sara Lee, the family "spinster" who stayed home, tells her sisters she is engaged to a local man, Clarence Hopkins, and displays the ring he gave her, but Evalita says she just saw Clarence at the Bluebells and he said nothing about it. Struggling to lose weight, Marlene exclaims she has lost a pound or so since yesterday, but she is unhappy because Orville committed their son, "Jimbo" Turnover, to a reform school against her wishes, after the boy set his room on fire. Since Buford is not expected to live much longer, Orville asks what happened to his will. After he drives into town to speak with Buford’s lawyer, Mama Wheelis confides to the sisters that the lawyer returned the will for revisions, but Buford forgot where he put it. Stepping outside, Mama Wheelis finds Marlene crying on the merry-go-round swing because she misses Jimbo and can no longer stand Orville’s insults. While Evalita walks to the Bluebells for a drink, Harmony stays at the house and plays "I’ll Fly Away" on the piano. Mama Wheelis, Sara Lee, and Lurlene sing along, and their harmonies bring Buford out of bed and into the living room. He sees his little children, including Linnie Sue, who died in childhood, singing around the piano. Later, Orville returns home and searches Buford’s bedroom for the will. Hearing Evalita singing with the Bluebells’ country music band down the road, Harmony gets his electric guitar from his van and walks to the bar to join her. Afterward, Harmony asks Evalita to return home, but she wants to drink with Clarence, and yells at Harmony to leave her alone. The next morning, Harmony enters the house after sleeping alone in his van, but Evalita has not returned. Orville, a city trash collector, accuses Harmony of a being a "commie" who looks down his nose at him. When Clarence Hopkins brings Evalita home in his pickup truck, she staggers into the house. Lurlene takes Buford his breakfast, finds him unresponsive, and calls an ambulance. At the hospital, Buford tries to talk to his children, and Orville attempts, unsuccessfully, to find out where he put the will. Orville and Evalita rush home and ransack the house. As the others arrive and see everything in disarray, Orville claims he wants to get his father’s "affairs in order" in case he dies. The family laughs together over a memory of Evalita going under the outhouse to get a ball for Orville, and Mama Wheelis accuses Orville of being the spoiled one of the family. Angry that Clarence brought Evalita home that morning, Sara Lee demands to know if they spent the night together, because Clarence is supposed to be her fiancé. When Evalita later returns to the bar, Sara Lee follows and sees Clarence watching her sister sing. She drags him outside and confesses she told her family they were engaged. Clarence insists nothing happened between him and Evalita, but Sara Lee refuses to believe him and calls off their engagement. Meanwhile, Harmony and Marlene slip away, smoke marijuana, return to the house, and raid the refrigerator. Nearby, Mama Wheelis and Orville find Buford’s strongbox in an outside building and tote it into the house. Seeing Marlene giggling and eating with Harmony, Orville demeans her. Evalita returns home and follows Marlene into the back yard. As the two spin on the swing, Marlene cries about her husband and Evalita tells her to defy him. They return to the house and drink Orville’s beer. When Orville threatens Marlene with the crowbar he uses to try to open the strongbox, she grabs it and nearly hits him. Harmony volunteers to open the box with one of Evalita’s hairpins, and as he unlocks it, he confesses he was a robber until he reformed in prison. He walks out when Evalita complains that she always picks "losers." Inside the box are mementoes of the Turnover brood’s childhood, which makes them nostalgic, but when Orville finds the will, its contents end the levity. Buford has willed the house to Sara Lee and Mama Wheelis and decreed that 600,000ドル be shared among Sara Lee, Evalita, and Jimbo, Orville’s son. Lurlene and Orville inherit only 1ドル each. Harmony returns to the house and tells Evalita he dumped her belongings on the lawn, because he is returning to California. Marlene announces she is going with him. Orville threatens her, but Harmony backs him off and drives away with Marlene. Days later, preparing for Buford’s funeral, Sara Lee agrees to share her inheritance with Lurlene and Orville. Evalita dresses in a cowgirl stage outfit, her only "formal" clothes, she says, but Mama Wheelis gives her a dark shawl to wear over her shoulders. Agreeing to sing at the funeral, the Turnovers, even Orville, practice "Precious Memories" around the piano. Buford appears in the window, smiling, watching all his little children sing. His image fades.