Death Sentence (TV 1974)

A juror on a murder case begins to believe that the man on trial is innocent of the crime - and then discovers that the real killer is her own husband.

Director:

E.W. Swackhamer

Writers:

John Neufeld, Eric Roman (novel)

Stars:

Cloris Leachman, Laurence Luckinbill, Nick Nolte

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cloris Leachman	...	Susan Davies
Laurence Luckinbill	...	Don Davies
Nick Nolte	...	John Healy
Alan Oppenheimer	...	Lubell
William Schallert	...	Tanner
Yvonne Wilder	...	Elaine Croft
Herb Voland	...	Lowell Hayes
Hope Summers	...	Emily Boylan
Peter Hobbs	...	Judge
Doreen Lang	...	Mrs. Cottard
Murray MacLeod	...	Martin Gorman
Bing Russell	...	Trooper
Meg Wyllie	...	Mae Sinclair
Lew Brown	...	Mr. Bowman
C.J. Hincks	...	Marilyn Healy

Storyline

A juror on a murder case begins to believe that the man on trial is innocent of the crime - and then discovers that the real killer is her own husband.

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Plot Keywords:

trial | murder | jury | abc movie of the week | based on novel

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Taglines:

She's a juror in a murder trial- but she suspects they've got the wrong man- and that could be her own... DEATH SENTENCE

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Murder One

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spelling-Goldberg Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the courtroom scene during Mrs. Boylan's examination, masking tape can be seen on the floor of the set to mark where the actors should stand. The tape is not there in any other scenes.

User Reviews

Taunt and Skillfully Made Movie of the Week type Thriller

This is a well-acted, well-written, well-directed little murder-suspense piece that is still quite watchable and entertaining.

Unfortunately, this is being promoted as a Nick Nolte movie on DVD. He is only in about four scenes for about ten minutes. The stars here are Cloris Leachman, Laurence Luckinbill, and William Schallert. Cloris Leachman is best known for her role on the "Mary Tyler Moore" television Show, but she was in 80 television shows before that and has been in about 80 television shows and movies since then. In films, she is best known for her role in Mel Brooks "Young Frankenstein" movie. Fewer people remember that she won an Oscar for her role in the "Last Picture Show."Her movie career started with a great small role of a young woman running nude on a Highway at the start of "Kiss Me Deadly" (Aldridge, 1956). Here she is terrific as the housewife who slowly comes to realize that her husband may be a killer. Laurence Luckinbill is excellent as the husband. He gives a very natural and smart performance, going against the stereotypes of the genre. William Schallert, with over 350 television appearances is legendary. He gives his usual lovable and sympathetic performance as a clever defense attorney.

The movie is mainly a courtroom drama with the gimmick that one of the jurists is actually involved with the real murderer. The suspense comes from the jurist slowly putting together the clues to figure this out. Some things ring a bit hollow here and there like the prosecutor making basic mistakes while presenting his case, but we can just chuckle over the goofs and enjoy the rest. Overall, it is a pleasant and suspenseful 74 minutes.