The Murder of Mary Phagan (1988) (TV)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

William Hale

Writers:

Jeffrey Lane (writer)
Larry McMurtry (story)

Release Date:

24 January 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | History

Plot:

From a true story. In Atlanta in 1913, a 13-year-old girl is murdered in the factory where she works...

Plot Keywords:

Factory | Governor | False Accusation | Jewish | Murder

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	Gov. John Slaton
Richard Jordan	...	Hugh Dorsey
Robert Prosky	...	Tom Watson
Peter Gallagher	...	Leo Frank
Kathryn Walker	...	Sally Slaton
Rebecca Miller	...	Lucille Frank
Paul Dooley	...	William Burns
Charles S. Dutton	...	Jim Conley (as Charles Dutton)
Kevin Spacey	...	Wes Brent
Cynthia Nixon	...	Doreen
Kenneth Welsh	...	Luther Rosser
Perry Allen
Thomas Anderson
Dylan Baker
Daniel Benzali	...	Coroner

Runtime:

251 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Petersburg, Virginia, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Movie Connections:

Version of Thou Shalt Not Kill (1915)

Well acted, interesting but over long

I saw this as a 4 hour movie on UK tv. As it was based on a true story I found it very interesting and most of the 4 hours seemed to go very quick - although some bits did seem to drag on. The acting is excellent in most places and it's fun to see big names back before they were famous (Macy, Gallagher and Spacey). William H Macy doesn't really do very much, Spacey hangs around and does well enough, Lemmon is great but Peter Gallagher does better than I've ever seen him be as the manager of the factory where the murder occurs.

All in all, a well acted story that manages to keep you interested but over one 4 hour sitting can be quite hard work at times.