Murder in Space

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Murder in Space is also the title of a 1955 science fiction novel by David V. Reed and a 2007 mystery novel by Sydney J. Bounds.
Murder in Space
Written by Wesley Ferguson
Directed by Steven Hilliard Stern
Starring Michael Ironside
Wilford Brimley
Martin Balsam
Damir Andrei
Tom Butler
Wendy Crewson
Scot Denton
Peter Dvorsky
Leo Ilial
Alan Jordan
Jan Rubeš
Cathie Shirriff
Kate Trotter
Nerene Virgin
Alberta Watson
Arthur Hill
Theme music composer Arthur B. Rubinstein
Country of originCanada
United States
Production
Producers Robert Cooper
Otto Penzler
Cinematography Laszlo George
Editor Rit Wallis
Running time95 Minutes
Production companies CTV Television Network
Zenith Entertainment
Original release
NetworkShowtime Networks
ReleaseJuly 28, 1985 (1985-07-28)

Murder in Space is a 1985 science fiction murder mystery television movie set in the near future. The crew of an international space mission are on the return leg from Mars to Earth when an explosion occurs on the craft Conestoga, shortly after a series of murders starts. The crew of the returning craft are forbidden to return until the murderer is caught.

Contents

On its initial worldwide premiere, the film was shown without the ending and a competition was set for the viewers to solve the mystery of who the murderer or murderers were. The conclusion of the film was shown several days later, with the contestants eliminated one by one until the winner correctly identified the killer or killers. The final 15 minutes of the film was shown at a later date when the mystery was solved with only two countries provided winners with the correct answer.

Conestoga crew

ActorCharacterRankCountryMurderedHowMurderer's Possible Motive
Michael Ironside Neil BraddockCaptainU.S.A.No
Cathie Shirriff Olga DenarenkoU.S.S.R.YesStrangled/SuffocatedPregnant with other crew member's child.
Damir AndreiAndrei KalsinovColonelU.S.S.R.YesBlown upPlanned to defect
Timothy Webber Guy SterlingCanadaYesCyanide poisoningNeeded to be silenced
Tom Butler Kurt SteinerMajorEast GermanyYesStrangledJudgment
Leo IlialPhillipe BerdouxDoctorFranceNo
Scot DentonDavid TremayneNavigatorU.S.A.No
Kate Trotter Pamela CooperUKNo
Alberta Watson Dominica MastrelliItalyNo

Other cast members

Other cast members were reporters, wives and husbands, mission control staff and additional Russian characters.

NameRank or partPlayed by
Vice President Arthur Hill
Dr. Andrew McCallisterSpace program director Wilford Brimley
Dinah GreenbergSecretary to McCallisterGloria Carlin
Jeffrey KilbrideReporterAlan Jordan
Mitch Carlino Peter Dvorsky
Alexander RostovRussian Politician Martin Balsam
Dr. Margaret LeighDoctor Nerene Virgin
Grigori Denarenkohusband of cosmonaut Olga Denarenko Jan Rubeš
Irene TremayneWife of astronaut David Tremayne Wendy Crewson

Prize money

PRIMETIME magazine, the FIRST CHOICE*SUPERCHANNEL program guide, featured a pull-out entry form which allowed viewers to identify the four murdered characters, their nationalities and, bizarrely, “how murdered?”. It then asked the ultimate question – “Who Committed the Murders?”

Readers who correctly guessed the answer had the opportunity to win a trip on the Orient Express however no entries received were actually correct so instead the closest answer to who the murderer was given a year's free subscription to the magazine. [1]

Accompanying book

A novel also called "Murder In Space", published by Penguin, was produced around the same time; the last page of the book was an entry form for the competition to solve the mystery. It was written by "FX Woolf", a penname for Howard Engels and Janet Hamilton. [2]

Murder in Space: The Solution

A television show, hosted in the UK by Anneka Rice and Roger Cook(making his ITV Debut) and broadcast in September 1985 on UK TV Channel ITV, featured members of the UK public who were close or knew who the murderer actually was, thus winning the £10,000 prize money. The solution was then shown in the final 15 minutes of the movie to reveal the answer. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Retronarios Cable TV Throwback" . Retrieved 2020-03-19. Retronarios Cable TV Throwback
  2. "The UK Sci-Fi TV Book Guide: Murder in Space". Archived from the original on 2010-06-04. Retrieved 2010-08-01. The UK Sci-Fi TV Book Guide