The Murder of Mary Phagan

This is one of the best mini-series I've seen in a long time. They get the story right and is acted out very well, esp. by Lemmon and Gallagher. It was also nice to see Kevin Spacey in one of his first roles. If you get a chance, watch this one. It will be worth it.

Not a review but my experience with the actors. I was playing piano in the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel in Richmond VA, where cast and crew were staying. For two weeks, my solo audience, 5 nights a week, was Jack Lemmon. Walking around from time to time: Richard Jordan, Robert Prosky, Paul Dooley. And there was one guy who brought his black Labrador Retriever on location. This guy kept hanging all over Jack Lemmon, when Lemmon wasn't sitting in front of me eating a small pizza, reading a magazine. That guy turned out to be Kevin Spacey. He wasn't quite a big star yet, but as Lemmon was my favorite actor, and currently Spacey is my favorite actor, I wish I'd spoken to him. I never did bother Lemmon. We just said hellos and goodbyes, but I figured he didn't need me bugging him after a long day of shooting. Plus, as I know he was an amateur jazz pianist, I was flattered that he wanted to sit there every night, listening to me. What a fun life I've had. Just thought I'd share.

Wonderfully engrossing drama that is well acted and completely interesting. Is a little gem that by the look of the votes here, was missed by lots. That's a shame. If you ever come across it in the future, is worth a look. I gave it a 9.

This mini-series captures Jack Lemmon in a strong role as a real historical figure. Governor Slaton of Georgia risked (and ultimately lost) a promising political career in his search for the truth as to what really happened to Mary Phagan. Lemmon is heroic in an understated way----very different than many of the manic-like comedy performances that conspicuously dotted his long career.

The story was filmed before in 1937 by Warner Brothers with Mervyn LeRoy directing as "They Won't Forget." This is the film that launched the career of Lana Turner as a major sex symbol. She played the very small Mary Phagan-like role when just a young teenager---and who could forget her famous stroll through town as she strutted her sexy stuff just before her murder? In "They Won't Forget," the story was changed significantly to eliminate any reference to the Leo Frank-like character as a Jew. Instead, he was depicted as a teacher (not a pencil factory manager) with apparently a Christian background.

"They Won't Forget" was a typical Warner Brothers social drama of the 1930s. It fudged on the facts but was quite gripping and engrossing. Claude Rains may have been somewhat over-the-top as the prosecuting attorney---but he commanded your attention.

On the other hand, "The Murder of Mary Phagan" stays much closer to the true story. It's interesting to compare the two films to see just how much easier it was in 1988 to tell the whole narrative of the Leo Frank case than it was in 1937.

For another source of information on this remarkable historical event, seek out Harry Golden's fine book of many years ago---"A Little Girl is Dead."

I saw this as a 4 hour movie on UK tv. As it was based on a true story I found it very interesting and most of the 4 hours seemed to go very quick - although some bits did seem to drag on. The acting is excellent in most places and it's fun to see big names back before they were famous (Macy, Gallagher and Spacey). William H Macy doesn't really do very much, Spacey hangs around and does well enough, Lemmon is great but Peter Gallagher does better than I've ever seen him be as the manager of the factory where the murder occurs.

All in all, a well acted story that manages to keep you interested but over one 4 hour sitting can be quite hard work at times.