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Storyline
A southern town is rocked by scandal when teenager Mary Clay is murdered on Confederate Decoration Day. Andrew Griffin, a small-time lawyer with political ambitions, sees the crime as his ticket to the Senate if he can find the right victim to finger for the crime. He sets out to convict Robert Hale, a transplanted northerner who was Mary's teacher at the business school where she was killed. Despite the fact that all the evidence against Hale is circumstantial, Griffin works with a ruthless reporter to create a media frenzy of prejudice and hate against the teacher. Written by
Daniel Bubbeo <dbubbeo@cmp.com>
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Based on the murder trial of Leo Frank, the film does not mention that Frank was Jewish, a fact that generated more prejudice than his Northern background. The real life victim, Mary Phagan, was a youthful 13, a far cry from Lana Turner's post-pubescent sweater girl of 16.
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Quotes
Confederate Veteran:
[
to his fellow Confederate veterans]
On your feet now. Go on and look sharp. The whole town's wwatching. This is the one day out of the year that belongs to us.
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Connections
Version of
Thou Shalt Not Kill (1915)
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Soundtracks
"Battle Hymn of the Republic"
(ca 1856) (uncredited)
Music by
William Steffe
Played when Lincoln's statue is shown
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Flawless blending of cynicism, humor and tragedy, this re-enactment of a real-life murder in the south consciously downplays the real-life anti-semitism in the real murder of Mary Phagan case, but carry more of an emotional wallop than the Jack Lemmon made-for-TV docudrama -- although the latter is still good on its own terms. Lana Turner has an impressive screen debut as the murder victim. Gloria Dickson is very powerful as the defendant's wife, and Claude Rains is magnificent as the politically minded prosecutor, but Allyn Joslyn as the cynical, burnt out reporter steals the show. A truly excellent example of how historically based movies can be among the most memorable.