The Executioner's Song (TV 1982)

The story of Gary Gilmore, a convicted murderer who lobbied for his own execution.

Director:

Lawrence Schiller

Writers:

Norman Mailer (screenplay), Norman Mailer (book)

Stars:

Tommy Lee Jones, Christine Lahti, Rosanna Arquette

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Gary Mark Gilmore
Christine Lahti	...	Brenda Nicol
Rosanna Arquette	...	Nicole Baker
Eli Wallach	...	Uncle Vern Damico
Steven Keats	...	Larry Samuels
Jordan Clarke	...	Johnny Nicol
Richard Venture	...	Earl Dorius
Jenny Wright	...	April Baker
Walter Olkewicz	...	Pete Galovan
Michael LeClair	...	Rikki Wood
Pat Corley	...	Val Conlan
Mary Ethel Gregory	...	Ida Damico
John Dennis Johnston	...	Jimmy Poker-Game
Norris Mailer	...	Lu-Ann (as Norris Church)
Kenneth O'Brien	...	Spencer McGrath

Storyline

Based on the true story of murderer Gary Mark Gilmore, spanning the last nine months of his life (May 1976-January 1977) in which at age 35, after being released for serving a long prison term in Utah for armed robbery, the unstable Gilmore murdered two men in two seperate and senseless robberies in which after a brief public trial in October, he was sentenced to death by firing squad which drew a lot of media attention when Gilmore insisted that his execution be carried out and he became the first man to be executed in the USA since the government reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

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Plot Keywords:

execution | murder | capital punishment | suicide | pulitzer prize source | 

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 November 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Canção do Carrasco

Filming Locations:

Orem, Utah, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Communications Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

157 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Larry Samuels, played by Steven Keats, was based on the film's producer / director, Lawrence Schiller.

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Goofs

When they are releasing the straps from Gilmore after he is dead you can see his hand move. In addition the arm is closer to the leg than depicted in the previous shot.

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Quotes

Gary Mark Gilmore: Go down on me, partner... I need it
Nicole Baker: Don't call me partner.
Gary Mark Gilmore: No, darlin'... I love it... I love it
Nicole Baker: Yeah, you and seven other motherfuckers.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.148 (2012)

User Reviews

Jones, Arquette Play Interesting-But-Sick 'Characters'

For a long "television film," I thought this story moved along well, even with the main characters being so sleazy the story gets a little unappealing at times. Of course, when has Rosanna Arquette ever played anything else in her younger days? Also, when did she not show off her big breasts? However, I usually find her playing interesting characters and she looked young and pretty in this early career (for her) TV-movie.

As for Tommy Lee Jones, who plays the main character "Gary Gilmore," I've always found him interesting, too. In this, Jones plays the famous real-life killer while Arquette is "Nicole Baker," his teenage girlfriend. Jones does a nice job showing how mentally messed up Gilmore was back then.

I surprised at the language in here for a television movie, but then again, I saw the "European version" of this movie. The longer American version, I assume, cut out some that language and perhaps some of Arquette's "skin."

I rarely comment about anybody else's review but I recommend reading the comments by "noelani" here since this woman lived in Gilmore's backyard, so to speak, during this period and has some interesting things to say.