Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)

A Mississippi district attorney and the widow of Medgar Evers struggle to finally bring a white racist to justice for the 1963 murder of the civil rights leader.

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writer:

Lewis Colick

Stars:

Alec Baldwin, James Woods, Whoopi Goldberg

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alec Baldwin	...	Bobby DeLaughter
James Woods	...	Byron De La Beckwith
Virginia Madsen	...	Dixie DeLaughter
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Myrlie Evers
Susanna Thompson	...	Peggy Lloyd
Craig T. Nelson	...	Ed Peters
Lucas Black	...	Burt DeLaughter
Joe Tello	...	Drew DeLaughter (as Joseph Tello)
Alexa PenaVega	...	Claire DeLaughter (as Alexa Vega)
William H. Macy	...	Charlie Crisco
Ben Bennett	...	Benny Bennett (as Lloyd 'Benny' Bennett)
Darrell Evers	...	Self
Yolanda King	...	Reena Evers
Jerry Levine	...	Jerry Mitchell
James Van Evers	...	Van Evers

Storyline

Ghosts of Mississippi is a real-life drama covering the final trial of Byron De La Beckwith, the assassin of heroic civil rights leader Medgar Evers. The movie begins with the murder on June 12, 1963 and the events surrounding the two initial trials which both ended in hung juries. The movie then covers district attorney Bobby De Laughter's transformation and alliance with Myrlie Evers, Medgar Evers' widow, as he becomes more involved with bringing Beckwith to trial for the third time 30 years later. Byron De La Beckwith was convicted on February 5, 1994, after having remained a free man for much of the 30 years after the murder, giving justice for Medgar Evers' family.

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Plot Keywords:

racial discrimination | racial tension | columbia tristar | columbia tristar home video | trial | 

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Taglines:

In 1963, civil rights leader Medgar Evers was murdered in his own driveway. For 30 years, his assassin has remained free. Is it ever too late to do the right thing?

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for a strong scene of violence and for racial dialogue

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert DeLaughter served a federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to an obstruction of justice charge on July 30, 2009. He was released on April 13, 2011.

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Goofs

When calling from the movie theater, Alec Baldwin goes to a pay phone in the lobby and dials the number without inserting any coins and is able to connect without it being a collect call.

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Quotes

[about Medgar Evers' widow pursuing the murder case for decades]
Bobby DeLaughter: I think about her keeping this thing alive all this time. Imagine a woman loving a man so much.
Charlie Crisco: Hell, I can't even get a woman to love me while I'm still alive. You know what I did after my last divorce? I took up golf. A man needs a hobby to occupy his mind, or he'll start doing crazy things like drinking too much, or chasing 26-year-old murder cases across the Mississippi Delta.

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Connections

Follows American Playhouse: For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story (1983)

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Soundtracks

I Will Live My Life for You
Written by Henri Salvador and Marcel Stellman
Performed by Tony Bennett
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

The Last Mile Of The Way

Medgar Evers' tragic murder in Jackson, Mississippi, was overshadowed by the cold-blooded killing of three civil rights workers near Philadelphia, Mississippi, a year later. So too this film has been overshadowed by an earlier movie, "Mississippi Burning," about the Philadelphia homicides. I was even confused by the similar titles and accidentally rented "Ghosts of Mississippi," thinking it to be the earlier film. This is too bad because "Ghosts of Mississippi" is a winner all the way and Medgar Evers' assassination was as significant, if not more so, than the later dastardly acts of hate and malevolence.

Most of my generation remember one of Dylan's early recordings he wrote called "Pawn in the Game" about the Medgar Evers murder in which Dylan asserts that the coward who pulled the trigger and shot the civil rights leader in the back in front of his wife and three children was carrying out what the racist elements in Mississippi and in the nation as a whole had brainwashed the simple mind into executing. That the endemic racism in American was the real perpetrator of the heinous deed which deprived our society of one of its gifted leaders. "Ghosts of Mississippi" concentrates more on the scumbag who squeezed the trigger, played with élan by James Woods, almost a carbon copy of the killer in both speech, mannerisms, and looks.

James Woods is a member of a strong cast led by Whoopi Goldberg as the widow, Myrlie Evers, spending her life seeking a degree of justice for her husband and children. William H. Macy adds much needed humor in the role of Charlie Crisco, a member of the prosecution team. Unfortunately, his part is mainly limited to the middle section of the movie. Why director Rob Reiner and writer Lewis Colick decided to turn Macy's character into a cameo during the latter part of the film is unclear.

A subplot in the film is the growing involvement of prosecutor Bobby DeLaughter (Alec Baldwin) in the case, opening his eyes not only to the past evils of the society in which he lives but also hostile residue left by the civil rights movement in the state. Married to the daughter of one of Mississippi's most racist judges causes him to be blind to much of the injustice prevalent around him. Significantly, his wife is named Dixie (Virginia Madsen). The change that takes place in his character (which also involves a change in wives) as he is drawn deeper into the thirty-year-old case is pinpointed by his inability to continue to sing "Dixie" to his daughter to chase away the ghosts she sees at night. In explaining to her that the song might actually be encouraging the ghosts to reappear in her bedroom, the two opt for "Old McDonald" as a more suitable goodnight song.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 January 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ghosts of Mississippi

Filming Locations:

Greenwood, Mississippi, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$36,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$168,012, 22 December 1996

Gross USA:

$13,323,144

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,323,144

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1