Too much of everything

Great Film overall

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I cannot better the review of this TV film given earlier by 'Michael Elliott' but I want to add my thoughts on how this film left me feeling. It is sad that there are so many persons in the 'Deep South' who seem to be so full of hate that their sense of decency is so completely destroyed. The man was found guilty for many reasons but evidence was certainly not one of them. Racial prejudice, Social prejudice ( he was rich and from the north ), Desire for Political advancement, Desire for fame ( name in the paper etc ) or just plain hatred for no other reason than you are thick as two planks were among the reasons this man was murdered and the real murderer allowed to get away. OK he was found guilty by a jury but they were not shown all the evidence and they had listened to a convincing ambitious prosecutor who seems to have coached many of his so called witnesses and even made up evidence and ignored any that proved 'Franks' innocence. But what is more disturbing is the lynching of this man after it had started to become clear that someone else had done this. In a court today ( we hope ) this would never have happened. The guy who wrote the note and changed his story many times would be a prime suspect but in this case it appeared not to be so? I cannot understand why the hatred for 'Frank' was more than the south's usual hatred for blacks? Or was it just that having made a massive mistake their pride wouldn't allow them to back down? One thing that this film does omit is the fact that many of those baying for Franks blood were Ku Klux Klan members or sympathisers. This film left me feeling angry and bewildered at the ignorance and lack of intelligence, morals and decency of so many people and not that many years ago.

Murder of Mary Phagen, The (1988) **** (out of 4)Extremely powerful drama about the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagen in the factory she worked out in Atlanta, 1913. A determined prosecutor (Richard Jordan) pins the crime on a Jewish manager (Peter Gallagher) who claims his innocence. He's eventually found guilty due in large part to the testimony of a black janitor (Charles S. Dutton) who would normally seem like an unlikely person to get to testify. All of this eventually ends up in the lap of Gov. John Slaton (Jack Lemmon) who will be leaving office soon but must decide whether or not to overturn the conviction, which looks to have been made because the man was Jewish. This story was altered and told in 1937 masterful THEY WON'T FORGET with Claude Rains but this version here is just as good and just as powerful. The movie clocks in at four hours if you include the commercial breaks so it's a long movie but it never felt that way as I was so caught up with what was going on that the movie seemed to run just a few short minutes. The masterful performances make this a must see but so does the story, which is as powerful as an courtroom drama that I've seen. I wasn't overly familiar with the case so I was really hanging on the edge of my seat all through the original case, the Governors investigation as well as the aftermath that followed. I was really shocked to see what type of racism was being used and how much of the bitterness of Atlanta went back to the Civil War days. From what I've read, this film was pretty faithful to the actual events, which makes one scratch their head and question everything that was done. I won't ruin the ending but how everything plays out is just incredibly sad and pathetic.This made-for-TV drama certainly has the drama down as the thing will leave you in suspense from the opening moments to the very final scenes. The performances are great from the veterans but we also get some fresh faces who would become quite famous over time. Kevin Spacey plays an alcoholic reporter who brings the case the media attention. William H. Mac has a small bit as a relative to the dead girl. Gallagher is extremely laid back in his role and delivers a marvelous performance as you can't help but feel sorry for him. The actor certainly digs deep and manages to bring out a lot of emotions without screaming or going over the top. Jordan is equally as great as the seedy prosecutor who might be hiding a few secrets of his own and Dutton nearly steals the film as the man with too many questions of his own to be a so-called witness. Robert Prosky and Kathryn Walker also turn in fine work. Then there's the legend Lemmon who turns in one of the best and most powerful performances of his career. I know that's saying a lot considering how many great roles he has had but he really delivers some strong emotion here and his final speech is extremely touching even if he doesn't say too much. The pain and anger in Lemmon's eyes is all we have to see to know what he feels. The way Lemmon invests himself into the role and the character's motives for trying to bring justice to this case was very believable and heartfelt.

Leo Frank was born in Cuero, Texas on April 17, 1884, but his family soon moved to Brooklyn, NY, where he attended Pratt Institute; he was graduated from Cornell University in 1906 with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering.In 1908, he became the head of a pencil factory in Atlanta started by his uncle Moses Frank. He married Lucille Selig, a local girl, in November of 1910.Mary Phagan had been employed at the National Pencil Co for a little over a year. She returned for her $1.20 pay that Saturday (because of the holiday) and was never seen again alive. At almost 14 years of age, she earned $4.05 for a 55-hr. week.One of the many puzzles is why Newt Lee, the watchman at the factory, was sent away when he first reported for duty on April 26, 1913. His schedule had been set the day before by Mr. Frank.Some new documents have begun to surface on this case, and they can be viewed at: www.leofrankcase.com. To this day, no one knows what eventually happened to Jim Conley, who was last sighted in 1941. Leo's lawyers found his testimony incredible and challenged his character and truthfulness, but he was able to stay employed for over two years.This mini-series is available on VHS tape, and hopefully will be re- released on DVD. It is definitely worth a viewing.

Just finished reading "And the Dead Shall Rise", the book about the murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank. I thought the film did a great job at attempting to bring the story to the film medium, even accepting the dramatic license that the film-makers took (had to take, really) to fit the story into 4 hours.Being a transplanted Yankee, and now a resident of Atlanta, I thought the filmakers did a terrific job at trying to get the nuances (sp) of the South across. Atlanta is a wonderful place to live, but the echos of past prejudices can be seen and heard in her history.This film, attempts (and succeeds more often than not) to show the mentality of the almost-next-generation-after-the-civil-war populace. Many of whom disparaged all people of color, races other than white, and (perhaps even more so) Yankees. Then there is poor Leo Frank, a Yank and a Jew. The singing of hymns and the song about Mary Phagan, mentioned in one other review, was believable to me. I've lived in Mississippi, Texas and now Georgia, and I find it historically accurate from what I've experienced of the South. I think it would have added a deal to illustrating this if the producers had included some of the hideously vile comments from Watson's newspapers during the events of the time. There was some incredible stuff printed and bought up - ate up - by the majority of the people of Georgia. Watson had SO much to answer for.I recomend the film, but would add that a reading of the book (mentioned above) before viewing it would add to the viewer's appreciation as well as provide in-depth background to the telling of the tragedy. As well, the book adds more about the identities of the famous and infamous involved in the trial and lynching. Moreover, there are a few 'heroes' who did quite a bit in the interest of justice that seem to have been rolled into single characters for the sake of movie-making. You learn more about all of these people, too. And the rise of the New KKK and Jewish Anti-Defamation League from the results of what happened in Georgia. The worst of the short-cuts that the movie took, IMO, was the way they had the lynch party seem to give Leo Frank dignified treatment after they hanged him. Truthfully, they left him there, and more than 3000 people rushed to the site the next day - many having their pictures taken with his body still hanginh there. Finally, after his shirt sleeves were cut off as souvenirs, (and more attempted) the killers moved him, succeeding only after one rather rabid man had smashed the dead mans's face with his boot heel several times.But all-in-all, a faithful as Hollywood ever gets it, telling of the story.