True Crime (1996 film)

Last updated
True Crime
True Crime VideoCover.png
Directed byPat Verducci
Written byPat Verducci
Produced byJonathan Furie
Andrew Hersh
Starring Alicia Silverstone
Kevin Dillon
Bill Nunn
Marla Sokoloff
CinematographyChris Squires
Edited byGib Jaffe
Music by Blake Leyh
Distributed by Trimark Pictures
Release date
  • March 12, 1996 (1996-03-12)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

True Crime is a 1996 American psychological thriller film directed and written by Pat Verducci and starring Alicia Silverstone and Kevin Dillon. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

Mary Giordano is a beautiful and intelligent Catholic-school senior in Burlingame, California. She is addicted to mystery novels (graphic and otherwise), film noir and detective magazines (hence the movie's title). All of this has inspired her to become a police officer, like her father who was slain in the line of duty years ago. Mary's ambition to this end amuses her siblings John and Vicky, as well as their widowed mother Celia.

Mary gets wind of a case involving the serial killer of several teenage girls, including a handful of her classmates. She launches her own investigation, which gets her in trouble with her late dad's partner, Detective Jerry Guinn. Guinn wants Mary as far away from the field as possible...ostensibly because she just doesn't have what it takes to be a cop, but also out of concern for her well-being. Undaunted, Mary enlists the aid of police cadet Tony Campbell to sniff out the murderer; gradually, the two fall in love.

Ultimately, the name "Tony Campbell" is revealed to be an alias; his real name is Daniel Henry Moffat, and he proves to be the killer both Mary and Guinn are looking for. Moffat outwits and kills Guinn, only to be outwitted by Mary and left hanging for his life. Despite Moffat's pleads for help, a tearful Mary chooses not to save him, allowing Moffat to fall to his death. Just weeks after graduation from the 12th grade, she is seen in a police uniform - having succeeded in her aspiration of following in her father's footsteps and joining the police department.

Cast

Production

The film was produced on location at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, California.

Though not released until 1996, the film was actually shot a few years earlier when Alicia was under the age of 18.

Other titles for the film are Dangerous Kiss and True Detective. It was released directly to video instead of in theaters.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Glimmer Man</i> 1996 American film

The Glimmer Man is a 1996 American buddy-cop action comedy film directed by John Gray and produced by Steven Seagal. The film stars Seagal, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Bob Gunton, and Brian Cox. The film was released in the United States on October 4, 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonnie and Clyde</span> American bank robbers in the 1930s

Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow were American criminals who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The couple were known for their bank robberies, although they preferred to rob small stores or rural funeral homes. Their exploits captured the attention of the American press and its readership during what is occasionally referred to as the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934. They were ambushed by police and shot to death in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. They are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alicia Silverstone</span> American actress (born 1976)

Alicia Silverstone is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller The Crush (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further prominence as a teen idol when she appeared in the music videos for Aerosmith's songs "Cryin'" and "Crazy". She went on to star as Cher Horowitz in the teen comedy film Clueless (1995), which earned her a multi-million dollar deal with Columbia Pictures. In 1997, she starred in the superhero film Batman & Robin, playing Batgirl.

Halifax f.p. is an Australian television crime series produced by Nine Network from 1994 to 2002. The series stars Rebecca Gibney as Doctor Jane Halifax, a forensic psychiatrist investigating cases involving the mental state of suspects or victims. The series is set in Melbourne.

<i>Wild Things</i> (film) 1998 US neo-noir erotic crime thriller film by John McNaughton

Wild Things is a 1998 American neo-noir thriller film directed by John McNaughton and starring Matt Dillon, Kevin Bacon, Neve Campbell, Denise Richards, Theresa Russell, Robert Wagner, and Bill Murray. It follows a high school guidance counselor in south Florida who is accused of rape by two female students and a series of subsequent revelations after a police officer begins investigating the alleged crimes.

<i>Scream 2</i> 1997 American slasher film

Scream 2 is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Jerry O'Connell, Elise Neal, Timothy Olyphant, Jada Pinkett, and Liev Schreiber. A sequel to Scream (1996), the film was released on December 12, 1997, by Dimension Films, as the second installment in the Scream film series. Scream 2 takes place two years after the first film and again follows the character of Sidney Prescott (Campbell), and other survivors of the Woodsboro massacre, at the fictional Windsor College in Ohio, where they are targeted by a copycat killer using the guise of Ghostface. Like its predecessor, Scream 2 combines the violence of the slasher genre with elements of comedy, satire and "whodunit" mystery while satirizing the cliché of film sequels.

<i>The Big Combo</i> 1955 American film noir crime film by Joseph H. Lewis

The Big Combo is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Joseph H. Lewis, written by Philip Yordan and photographed by cinematographer John Alton, with music by David Raksin. The film stars Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte and Brian Donlevy, as well as Jean Wallace, who was Wilde's wife at the time. The supporting cast features Lee Van Cleef, Earl Holliman and the final screen appearance of actress Helen Walker.

<i>Wire in the Blood</i> British television series

Wire in the Blood is a British crime drama television series, created and produced by Coastal Productions with Tyne Tees Television and broadcast on ITV from 14 November 2002 to 31 October 2008. The series is based on characters created by Val McDermid, including a university clinical psychologist, Dr Anthony "Tony" Valentine Hill, who is able to tap into his own dark side to get inside the heads of serial killers. Working with detectives, Hill takes on tough and seemingly impenetrable cases in an attempt to track down the killers before they strike again.

<i>Excess Baggage</i> (1997 film) 1997 American film

Excess Baggage is a 1997 American crime comedy film written by Max D. Adams, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais, and directed by Marco Brambilla about a neglected young heiress who stages her own kidnapping to get her father's attention, only to be actually kidnapped by a car thief. The film stars Alicia Silverstone, Benicio del Toro, and Christopher Walken. Upon release, it was a critical and commercial failure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghostface (identity)</span> Identity in the Scream franchise

Ghostface is a fictional identity that is adopted by the primary antagonists of the Scream franchise. The figure was originally created by Kevin Williamson, and is primarily mute in person but voiced over the phone by Roger L. Jackson, regardless of who is behind the mask. The disguise has been adopted by various characters in the movies and in the third season of the television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidney Prescott</span> Fictional character in the Scream film series

Sidney Prescott is a fictional character and original protagonist of the Scream franchise. The character was created by Kevin Williamson and is portrayed by Canadian actress Neve Campbell. She first appeared in Scream (1996) followed by four sequels: Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000), Scream 4 (2011), and Scream (2022). Until 2023's Scream VI, her character had appeared in each successive film in the series, her role initially that of the victim but growing into heroine where she personally confronts each killer and defeats them.

<i>The January Man</i> 1989 film by Pat OConnor

The January Man is a 1989 American crime comedy directed by Pat O'Connor from a screenplay by John Patrick Shanley.

<i>Blue Sunshine</i> (film) 1978 film

Blue Sunshine is a 1978 American horror film written and directed by Jeff Lieberman, and starring Zalman King, Deborah Winters and Mark Goddard. The plot focuses on a series of random murders in Los Angeles, in which the only common link between the perpetrators is a mysterious batch of LSD that they had all taken years prior.

Many Black Dahlia suspects, or persons of interest, have been proposed as the unidentified killer of Elizabeth Short, nicknamed the "Black Dahlia", who was murdered in 1947. Many conspiracy theories have been advanced, but none have been found to be completely persuasive by experts, and some are not taken seriously at all.

<i>A Gentleman After Dark</i> 1942 film by Edwin L. Marin

A Gentleman After Dark is a 1942 crime/drama film starring Brian Donlevy and Miriam Hopkins.

<i>Mary Burns, Fugitive</i> 1935 film by William K. Howard

Mary Burns, Fugitive is a 1935 American drama film directed by William K. Howard.

<i>Bad Country</i> 2014 American film

Bad Country is a 2014 American crime drama film based on a true story starring Matt Dillon, Willem Dafoe, Amy Smart, and Tom Berenger. The film started shooting in Baton Rouge and Angola, Louisiana on August 7, 2012.

<i>Seven Deaths in the Cats Eye</i> 1973 film

Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye is a 1973 Gothic horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti.

<i>The Craigslist Killer</i> (film) American TV series or program

The Craigslist Killer, also stylized as the//craigslist.killer in some promotional images, is a 2011 American crime drama television film directed by Stephen Kay, written by Donald Martin and Stephen Tolkin, and starring Jake McDorman, Agnes Bruckner, Kevin Kilner, and William Baldwin. It follows the dark, mysterious life of murderer Philip Markoff.

References

  1. Hajari, Nisid (22 March 1996). "True Crime". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  2. Nelson, Sean (9 June 1995). "Funny, The Laughs In 'True Crime' Aren't Always Intentional". The Seattle Times . Retrieved 4 December 2020.