Murder in Coweta County (1983) (TV)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Gary Nelson

Writers:

Margaret Anne Barnes (book)
Dennis Nemec (writer)

Release Date:

15 February 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Bribery. Bloodshed. Now ... Justice.

Plot:

A county sheriff goes after the richest man in the county, who has committed murder and considers himself...

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Murder | Small Town | Political | Georgia USA

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Johnny Cash	...	Lamar Potts
Andy Griffith	...	John Wallace
Earl Hindman	...	J.H. Potts
Ed Van Nuys	...	Huddleston
Robert Schenkkan	...	Wilson Turner
Jo Henderson	...	Josephine Wallace
Daniel Keyes	...	Elzie Hancock
Danny Nelson	...	Sheriff Hardy Collier
Norman Matlock	...	Albert Brooks
Brent Jennings	...	Robert Lee Gates
June Carter Cash	...	Mayhayley Lancaster
James Neale	...	A. L. Henson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Earl Poole Ball	...	Steve Smith
Dan Biggers	...	Judge Boykin
Marc Clement	...	J. C. Otwell
Bill Crabb	...	Strickland Cousin
Stuart Culpepper	...	Tom Strickland
Charles Darden	...	Gas Thief
Doug Dillingham	...	Deputy #2
Bobby Dunn	...	Liquor Runner
Clara Dunn	...	Sally Lancaster
J. Don Ferguson	...	Jim Hillin
Wilbur Fitzgerald	...	Prosecutor
Harry George	...	Mobley's Attorney
James Oliver Griffin	...	Strickland's Attorney
Ellen Heard	...	Mrs. Eula Baker
Harry Howell	...	Sivell's Attorney
Hugh Jarrett	...	Millard Rigsby
Rebecca Jernigan	...	Irene
Ray Johnson	...	Bailiff
Cindi Knight	...	Julia Turner
Victor Langdon	...	Deputy #1
Evan E. Lee	...	Tommy Windham
Wallace Merck	...	Sheriff Threadgill
Larry Quackenbush	...	Jury Foreman
Nolin Randolph	...	Luther
Jerry Rushing	...	Herring Sevill
Burt Slade	...	Warden
Bea Swanson	...	Vivian
Betty S. Talmage	...	Geneva Yeager
Walter Wilder	...	Woody
Wallace Wilkinson	...	Woodsman
Don Young	...	Minister

Also Known As:

Last Blood

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Norway:15

Company:

Telecom Entertainment Inc.

Trivia:

Daniel Keyes' final TV performance.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Courtroom scenes show Georgia flag incorporating Confederate battle flag. Movie takes place in 1947; this flag wasn't adopted until 1956.

Quotes:

J. C. Otwell: But Lamar, John Wallace . . . he just about owns Meriwether County.
Lamar Potts: This ain't Meriwether.

major historical change

Some of the other reviewers have remarked surprise at the solid, serious performances of Griffith and Cash. Few people these days are aware that both these fine performers actually first appeared in film in very serious roles, Griffith in "Face in the Crowd" and Cash in "A Gunfight" - both solid dramatic films. Both Griffith and Cash have oddly complex histories as artists and oddly complex personalities as artists - far more so than many of their fans understand.

At any rate, as a TV film, this relies very heavily on the performances of these actors, and they do very well. Cash especially is quietly forceful, as if he were always holding a loaded gun but knows better than ever to pull the trigger. His character knows that to respond to Griffith's John Wallace with a vigilante's fury would be to make much the same mistake as Wallace himself: assuming that human will, and not the law, rules our fates. Since Cash's sheriff sides with and defends the law - and ultimately depends upon it - he represents a truly American heroism, devoted to country as much as God, and to the law for which the country stands. His tearing down of the Wallace empire is thus a major historical change in the lives of the people in the two counties involved - from aristocracy to democratic republic, a change as radical as the Civil War that essentially laid the foundations for it in the South.

One note of caution: Even for a television movie, I found the first third of film a bit disturbing: Wallace's casual viciousness is truly upsetting. He's not a 'villain' because he takes delight in the suffering of others - it's just that others' lives are utterly meaningless to him, except insofar as they contribute to his happiness as tools, or can be readily removed if they become obstacles. Thus his final prayer is not hypocritical - he honestly believes that all God wants of creation is to keep John Wallace happy - a reminder that just believing in God and professing Christ does not one make one a Christian - a reminder crucially important in the current era.

NOTE: After submitting the above I discovered Johnny Cash's real film debut, as a psycho killer in "Five Minutes to Live" - release date 1965, but probably filmed 1959. Very weird performance by Cash. A very young Ron Howard also appears in a brief but important role.