Murder Ordained
| Murder Ordained | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Mike Robe |
| Produced by | Zev Braun Kathleen Cromley |
| Written by | Mike Robe James Sadwith |
| Starring | Keith Carradine JoBeth Williams Kathy Bates John Goodman Terry Kinney |
| Music by | Frank Snow |
| Cinematography | Terry K. Meade |
| Editing by | Michael Eliot Benjamin A Weissman |
| Distributed by | CBS Entertainment Productions Interscope |
| Release date(s) | May 6, 1987 |
| Running time | 185 min |
| Language | English |
Murder Ordained is 1987 Emmy-nominated CBS miniseries starring JoBeth Williams, Kathy Bates, and Keith Carradine. The telefilm, directed and co-written by Mike Robe, was inspired by real events that occurred in Emporia, Kansas. Much of the principal photography and filming occurred on location in Kansas and some of the dialogue comes directly from court transcripts.[1] The film was subsequently released on VHS and DVD. The cast also included Terry Kinney, M. Emmet Walsh, John Goodman and Johnny Galecki.[2]
[edit] Plot
Rev. Tom Bird (Terry Kinney), seemingly the perfect family man and Lutheran minister, becomes romantically involved with Lorna Anderson (JoBeth Williams), a new woman in town, openly unhappy with her hard-drinking husband, Marty (Terence Knox). Before long, the two are talking about fleeing Emporia, Kansas together to establish his dream of a family counseling center in New Mexico. He even talks about the possibility of a lucrative television ministry. But there are two nagging problems: their respective spouses. In July 1983, the body of Sandra Bird (Annabella Price) is discovered floating beneath a bridge in what looks like a car accident. But a traffic policeman named John Rule (Keith Carradine) becomes suspicious about the lack of skid marks and blood stains on the bridge. Unfortunateley, an official investigation stalls until Lorna's husband is also murdered.[3]
