The Late Movie: “The Murder of Mary Phagan” Part One – Excellent 1988 Historical TV Mini-Series – Jack Lemmon

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Part 1 of 2. Dramatizing the true story of Leo Frank, (Peter Gallagher) a factory manager who was convicted of the murder a 13-year-old girl, a factory worker named Mary Phagan, in Atlanta in 1913. His trial was sensational and controversial for the era and at its end, Frank was convicted of murdering Mary Phagan and sentenced to death by hanging. After Frank’s legal appeals failed, the concerned governor of Georgia (Jack Lemmon) commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment on June 21, 1915 – destroying his own career in the process. The murder of this young girl prompts strong reactions from the community, and ultimately leads to the arrest of a man who may actually be innocent, but the mob from Mary’s hometown think they know best and take the law into their own hands.

I always thought this was a truly excellent 1980s 2-part TV mini-series and rare in its cinematic visuals, excellent and very strong cast and great use of locations and costumes to evoke the period. Doesn’t look like normal “TV movie” corners were cut. This is a hard-hitting true story, but a feast for the eyes.

Winner of 3 Prime-Time Emmy Awards, the mini-series was written by the legendary Larry McMurtry and produced by George Stevens Jr. The miniseries stars Jack Lemmon and features future well-known actors as Kevin Spacey, Rebecca Miller, Peter Gallagher, Charles Dutton, Richard Jordan, Cynthia Nixon, Dylan Baker and William H. Macy.