False Arrest (film)

Last updated
False Arrest
GenreDrama
Based onFalse Arrest: The Joyce Lukezic Story
Written by Joyce Lukezic
Ted Schwarz
Andrew Laskos
Directed by Bill L. Norton
Starring
Music by Sylvester Levay
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersJoel Fields
Ronald H. Gilbert
Leonard Hill
ProducersArdythe Goergens (co-producer)
Susan Daria Landino (associate producer)
Andrew Laskos (co-producer)
CinematographyRobert Draper
EditorMark W. Rosenbaum
Running time192 minutes
Production companiesJoel Fields Productions
Leonard Hill Films
Ron Gilbert Associates
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseNovember 3 (1991-11-03) 
November 6, 1991 (1991-11-06)

False Arrest is a 1991 American television film based on the real-life murders of William Redmond and Helen Phelps and the true story of Joyce Lukezic, who was wrongfully convicted of being one of the masterminds behind the murders. Directed by Bill L. Norton and starring Donna Mills and Steven Bauer, the film was broadcast in two parts on November 3 and 6, 1991. [1]

Contents

Synopsis

On New Year's Eve 1980, in Phoenix, Arizona, William "Pat" Redmond, his wife, Marilyn, and her mother; Helen Phelps, are hustled into a bedroom in their house by three men with guns and are each shot in the back of the head. Both Pat and Phelps die while Marilyn survives. Joyce Lukezic, the wife of Pat Redmond's business partner, Ron Lukezic, is charged with masterminding the murders.

After going to jail, Joyce suffers a heart attack, is abandoned by her lawyer and husband, and is attacked in prison. She also attempts suicide. When Joyce gets a new lawyer, she tells him she suspects her husband is the true mastermind behind the murders. She eventually gets a retrial and is found innocent.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Bauer</span> American actress

Michelle Bauer is an American actress, model, and B-movie scream queen.

<i>The Seven Dials Mystery</i> 1929 novel by Agatha Christie

The Seven Dials Mystery is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on 24 January 1929 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernesto Miranda</span> American criminal and subject of a United States Supreme Court case

Ernesto Arturo Miranda was an American laborer whose criminal conviction on kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery charges based on his confession under police interrogation was set aside in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona, which ruled that criminal suspects must be informed of their right against self-incrimination and their right to consult with an attorney before being questioned by police. This warning is known as a Miranda warning.

<i>Another World</i> (TV series) American television soap opera

Another World was an American television soap opera that aired on NBC from May 4, 1964, to June 25, 1999. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J. Bell, and was produced by Procter & Gamble Productions at NBC Studios, 1268 East 14th Street in Brooklyn.

<i>Generations</i> (American TV series) American soap opera

Generations is an American soap opera that aired on NBC from March 27, 1989, to January 25, 1991. The show was groundbreaking in that it was the first soap opera to feature an African-American family from its inception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny Fuller</span> American actress (b. 1940)

Penelope Ann Fuller is an American actress. She received two Tony Award nominations for her performances on Broadway stage: for Applause (1970), and The Dinner Party (2001). For her television performances, Fuller received six Emmy Award nominations, winning once, in 1982 for playing Madge Kendal in The Elephant Man.

The Helen Hayes Awards are given for acting in resident theatre productions in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The awards are generally divided between male and female performers, between lead and supporting performers, and since the early 1990s between dramatic plays and musicals.

Phoenix New Times is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. PhoenixNew Times publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, arts, cannabis, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circulates every Thursday. The company has been owned by Voice Media Group since January 2013, when a group of senior executives bought out the founding owners. Matt Hennie was named editor-in-chief of Phoenix New Times in 2022.

The Guiding Light (TGL) is the longest-running American television soap opera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Derek Brown</span> American fugitive

Jason Derek Brown is an American fugitive wanted for first degree murder and armed robbery in Phoenix, Arizona. On November 29, 2004, Brown allegedly shot and killed Robert Keith Palomares, a 24-year-old armored car guard outside a movie theater and then fled with the money. On December 8, 2007, he was named by the FBI as the 489th fugitive to be placed on its Ten Most Wanted list. He is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous. On September 7, 2022, he was removed from the Ten Most Wanted list without being captured, but he is still wanted. He was replaced on the list by Michael James Pratt. In 2022, a theatrical film about Brown's life was made, titled American Murderer, starring Tom Pelphrey as Brown, Ryan Phillippe, Idina Menzel, and Jacki Weaver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kari Lake</span> American news anchor and political candidate (born 1969)

Kari Lake Halperin is an American former television news anchor. A member of the Republican Party, she is a candidate in the 2024 United States Senate election in Arizona. She was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election.

Debra Jean Milke is a German-American woman who spent over 25 years in prison in the state of Arizona. She was one of three people sentenced to death for the December 2, 1989 shooting death of her four-year-old son, Christopher Conan Milke. Her alleged conspirators were her roommate James Lynn Styers and his friend Roger Mark Scott. Neither testified against her and both agreed that she was not present at the shooting. Scott implicated Milke as the mastermind while Styers said she had no involvement whatsoever. They implicated each other as the actual shooter. Who that was remains a subject of speculation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeline Reeves</span> Soap opera character

Madeline Reeves is a fictional character on the long-running ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital, portrayed by Donna Mills, who made her appearance on March 14, 2014. The casting was announced in January 2014. Madeline was introduced as the estranged mother-in-law of Dr. Silas Clay and mother of Silas' comatose wife Nina Reeves and, biological aunt of Nathan West — whom she raised as her own. Madeline is also revealed to be the estranged sister of established character Dr. Liesl Obrecht having remade herself. Mills wrapped her initial stint in May 2014. Though the character was supposed to be short-term, Mills reprised the role of Madeline from October 2014 to January 2015. The character once again resurfaced in May 2015. Her returns have centered on Madeline's attempts to get back in her son's good graces and get her hands on the family fortune.

The Joan Rivers Show is an American talk show hosted by comedian Joan Rivers that premiered on September 5, 1989, in broadcast syndication.

<i>Run, Simon, Run</i> 1970 film directed by George McCowan

Run, Simon, Run is a 1970 American made-for-television thriller film from Aaron Spelling starring Burt Reynolds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Mee</span> Hiccup girl and convicted murderer

Jennifer Ann Mee is a convicted American murderer known as the "Hiccup Girl" for her long-lasting case of the hiccups. Mee appeared on national American television shows such as NBC's Today Show many times. Mee was arrested for first-degree murder in 2010. After a trial she was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2013. M. William Phelps wrote a book about her that was published in 2016. Her transmutation from "media darling" to convicted murderer attracted renewed national attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murders of William Redmond and Helen Phelps</span> 1980 double murder in Phoenix, Arizona

On December 31, 1980, William Patrick "Pat" Redmond and his mother-in-law Helen Genevieve Phelps were murdered at Redmond's home in Phoenix, Arizona. Three men knocked on the door of Redmond's home holding a gun and ordered Redmond, Phelps, and Redmond's wife, Marilyn, to a bedroom, where they were forced to lie down as their hands were bound. William was then fatally shot in the back of the head along with Phelps. Marilyn was also shot in the back of the head but survived.

References

    • Fitzpatrick, Tom (November 6, 1991). "As seen on TV, a famous Phoenix murder". Phoenix New Times . Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
    • "Arizona wants to execute last surviving defendant of Valley murder plot". KPNX . July 19, 2022. Archived from the original on January 1, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
    • Shales, Tom (November 2, 1991). "'Arrest': Shut And Open Case". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
    • Willman, Chris (November 6, 1991). "TV Reviews : ABC's 'False Arrest' Manages to Remain Arresting". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2024.