Murder in Mississippi (film)

Last updated
Murder in Mississippi
Murder in Mississippi.jpg
GenreCrime
Drama
Written by Stanley Weiser
Directed by Roger Young
Starring Tom Hulce
Blair Underwood
Jennifer Grey
Music byMason K. Daring
Elmer Bernstein
(uncredited score
withdrawn)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers David L. Wolper
Bernard Sofronski
ProducerMark Wolper
CinematographyDonald M. Morgan
EditorBenjamin A. Weissman
Running time96 minutes
Production company Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseFebruary 5, 1990 (1990-02-05)

Murder in Mississippi is a 1990 American television film which dramatized the last weeks of civil rights activists Michael "Mickey" Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney, and the events leading up to their disappearance and subsequent murder during Freedom Summer in 1964. It starred Tom Hulce as Schwerner, Jennifer Grey as his wife Rita, Blair Underwood as Chaney, and Josh Charles as Goodman. Hulce received a nomination for Best Actor in a TV Miniseries at the 1990 Golden Globes. The film premiered on February 5, 1990, on NBC.

Contents

As a historical docudrama, Murder in Mississippi precedes the storylines of both 1975's Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan and 1988's Mississippi Burning .

Murder in Mississippi is the title of a 1965 Norman Rockwell painting depicting the same events. The painting is also known as Southern Justice.

Plot

In 1964, members of the Ku Klux Klan murdered three Civil Rights workers who had traveled to the South to encourage African-American voter registration. The film examines the last three weeks in the lives of the slain activists.

Cast

In addition, Murder in Mississippi features an early role of Greg Kinnear, who was a television personality at the time; Kinnear appears at the end as a reporter - also named Greg Kinnear - covering the discovery of the remains of Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman.

Critical reception

Empire wrote, "A TV movie true story with a good grasp on the history and politics of the time. Hulce shows off a fine beatnik beard, his closest black colleague CCH Pounder is properly suspicious of the naive do-gooder to start with and the people they're up against are convincingly vicious throughout. Misleadingly titled (in no way is this a thriller and the murder is right at the end), but otherwise, quite effectively done." [1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Thomas, William (January 2000). "Murder in Mississippi". Empire Online. Retrieved November 26, 2024.


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