Atlanta Child Murders (1985)
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56% want to see it
(10 ratings)
The Atlanta Child Murders is a five-hour, two-part dramatization of one of the most tragic and controversial homicide cases of the past twenty years. From 1979 through 1982, some 28 African-American children and young adults disappeared from Atlanta--some without a trace, but others to later turn up… More The Atlanta Child Murders is a five-hour, two-part dramatization of one of the most tragic and controversial homicide cases of the past twenty years. From 1979 through 1982, some 28 African-American children and young adults disappeared from Atlanta--some without a trace, but others to later turn up as murder victims. Part One (which debuted February 10, 1985) details the beginning of the manhunt conducted by the Atlanta Chief of Police (James Earl Jones). Screenwriter Abby Mann uses the actual events as a springboard for his thesis that the case and its outcome revealed many uncomfortable truths about the still-fragile state of race relations in the New South. Both parts of The Atlanta Child Murders were later combined into one 245-minute "feature film."The second part of the five-hour TV docudrama The Atlanta Child Murders originally aired February 12, 1985. After 28 African-American children and young adults have either disappeared or been murdered, the Atlanta police finally have a suspect in custody: Small-time show business entrepreneur Wayne Williams (Calvin Levels). Scriptwriter Abby Mann utilizes actual court transcripts of Williams' trial, which results in a conviction on one count of murder. This decision in essence leaves the cases of the other 27 victims unresolved--and in so doing, Mann opens the door to speculations that Williams, a black man, was a "convenient" suspect, who might possibly have been railroaded in the authorities' haste to find a solution to the sordid case. Whatever Mr. Mann may have felt concerning Williams' guilt or innocence, the fact remains that the murders and disappearances stopped cold once Williams was in custody (as of this writing, Williams persists in his efforts to reopen the case, claiming that he was framed by the white power structure). Morgan Freeman served as narrator for both installments of The Atlanta Child Murders. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Genres
- Drama, Special Interest
Unrated,
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Cast
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Christopher Allport
as Larry Peterson
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Gary Graham
as Ken Lawson
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William Allen Young
as Withers
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Tina Andrews
as Gwendolyn
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Michael Alldredge
as Bobby Tolin
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Jim Antonio
as Gilliland
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Stephen Godwin
as Jerry Heckler
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Ernest Harden Jr.
as Cool Breeze
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Don Hood
as McLean
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Ken Kimmins
as Broderick
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Christopher Maher
as Dr. Saleh Zaki
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Veronica Redd
as Sharon Blakely
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Henry Sanders
as Judge Clarence Cooper
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Lisa Blake Richards
as Helen Dettlinger
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Barbara Sammeth
as Connie Levine
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Essex Smith
as Robert Henry
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Harold Sylvester
as Hindsman
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Royce Wallace
as Margaret Carter
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Charles Weldon
as John Bell
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Mark Arnold
as David Dingle
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Beau Billingslea
as Commissioner Lee Brown
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Ed Cambridge
as Mr. Cobb
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Marilyn Coleman
as Lois Evans
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Noel Conlon
as Psychiatrist
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John Devlin
as Cassidy
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Clarence Floyd III
as J.J. Coleman
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Zero Hubbard
as Patrick
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Barbara Iley
as Mary Welcome
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Steve James
as 1st Policeman
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John La Fayette
as Young Lawyer
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Lawrence Lott
as Dr. Sack
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John Petlock
as Pathologist
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Jack Rader
as Rackleff
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J.W. Smith
as Nathaniel Carter
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Maurice Sneed
as Roommate
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Christopher St. John
as Baltazar
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Kristoff St. John
as Sheldon Kemp
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Olga Talyn
as Mrs. Sack
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Robert S. Telford
as Polygraph Operator
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Anthony Thompkins
as Darryl
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Ellen Tobie
as Gloria Patterson
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Myrna White
as Robin Shelter
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Erica Yohn
as Ruth
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Paul Benjamin
as Homer Williams
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Guy Boyd
as Mike Edwards
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Ruby Dee
as Faye Williams
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Gloria Foster
as Camille Bell
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Jason Robards
as Alvin Binder
- Anne-Marie Johnson
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James Earl Jones
as Major Walker
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Calvin Levels
as Wayne Williams
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Alley Mills
as Amy Kinnear
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Lynne Moody
as Selena Cobb
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Bill Paxton
as Campbell
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Felton Perry
as Reverend Avery
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CCH Pounder
as Venus Taylor
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Andrew Robinson
as Jack Mallard
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Percy Rodrigues
as Mayor Jackson
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Noble Willingham
as Jerry Armstrong
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Morgan Freeman
as Ben Shelter
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Martin Sheen
as Chet Dettlinger
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Rip Torn
as Lewis Slaton
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John Wesley
as Tombe Chorro
