Murder in Coweta County (1983) (TV)

Director:

Gary Nelson

Writers:

Dennis Nemec (teleplay)
Margaret Anne Barnes (book)

Release Date:

15 February 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Bribery. Bloodshed. Now ... Justice.

Plot:

A county sheriff goes after the richest man in the county, who has committed murder and considers himself...

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Murder | Small Town | Political | Georgia USA

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Johnny Cash	...	Lamar Potts
Andy Griffith	...	John Wallace
Earl Hindman	...	J.H. Potts
Ed Van Nuys	...	Huddleston
Robert Schenkkan	...	Wilson Turner
Jo Henderson	...	Josephine Wallace
Daniel Keyes	...	Elzie Hancock
Danny Nelson	...	Sheriff Hardy Collier
Norman Matlock	...	Albert Brooks
Brent Jennings	...	Robert Lee Gates
June Carter Cash	...	Mayhayley Lancaster
James Neale	...	A. L. Henson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Earl Poole Ball	...	Steve Smith
Dan Biggers	...	Judge Boykin
Marc Clement	...	J. C. Otwell
Bill Crabb	...	Strickland Cousin
Stuart Culpepper	...	Tom Strickland
Charles Darden	...	Gas Thief
Doug Dillingham	...	Deputy #2
Bobby Dunn	...	Liquor Runner
Clara Dunn	...	Sally Lancaster
J. Don Ferguson	...	Jim Hillin
Wilbur Fitzgerald	...	Prosecutor
Harry George	...	Mobley's Attorney
James Oliver Griffin	...	Strickland's Attorney
Ellen Heard	...	Mrs. Eula Baker
Harry Howell	...	Sivell's Attorney
Hugh Jarrett	...	Millard Rigsby
Rebecca Jernigan	...	Irene
Ray Johnson	...	Bailiff
Cindi Knight	...	Julia Turner
Victor Langdon	...	Deputy #1
Evan E. Lee	...	Tommy Windham
Wallace Merck	...	Sheriff Threadgill
Larry Quackenbush	...	Jury Foreman
Nolin Randolph	...	Luther
Jerry Rushing	...	Herring Sevill
Burt Slade	...	Warden
Bea Swanson	...	Vivian
Betty S. Talmage	...	Geneva Yeager
Walter Wilder	...	Woody
Wallace Wilkinson	...	Woodsman
Don Young	...	Minister

Also Known As:

Last Blood

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Norway:15

Company:

Telecom Entertainment Inc.

Trivia:

Daniel Keyes' final TV performance.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Courtroom scenes show Georgia flag incorporating Confederate battle flag. Movie takes place in 1947; this flag wasn't adopted until 1956.

Quotes:

Lamar Potts: Hello John. I'm about ready to leave. Thought I'd drop by and see if there's anything you might need?
John Wallace: Ya mean, like a fancy last meal? No, I wouldn't want you to go hunting fried chicken and strawberry pie today, and then, tomorrow I wind up eating supper at my own house. It ain't gonna happen, they ain't gonna kill me. There'll be a phone call, always has been.
[pauses]
John Wallace: You know, Lamar ... we're a lot alike ... each running his own county, having power over other men ...best feeling in the world! Make ya do anything ... except give it up.
Lamar Potts: How powerful is the man who can't control himself?
John Wallace: You're still down on me for my murderin' ways? I've only killed ... four men in my whole life, and each one of 'em had it coming.
Lamar Potts: Those lives didn't mean anything to you?
John Wallace: [gives Potts a strange look] I'm the head of the Kingdom. I was raised for that. My momma always told me, "Do what you have to do! Never let your conscience get in your way."
Lamar Potts: I'm gonna pray for you, John.
[shakes John's hand]
[...]

Surprisingly good, well acted Southern Gothic police procedural

This little remembered made-for TV movie( based on a true story)is, in fact a taut, well acted thriller, with a rich sense of local color. Andy Griffith and Johnny Cash are, in fact very good actors, whose talents are rarely used Griffith gives what must rank as one of his greatest performances ..perhaps his most chilling since A Face in The Crowd, while Cash invests his Dogged, intelligent sheriff with quiet authority. Johnny's wife , June Carter Cash ( a fine actress, as she proved in The Apostle) is haunting as a backwoods "wise woman'( in fact, a Christian "witch")