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Murder in the First (film)

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Murder in the First
Murder in the First theatrical poster
Directed byMarc Rocco
Written byDan Gordon
Produced byMarc Frydman
Mark Wolper
StarringChristian Slater
Kevin Bacon
Gary Oldman
Embeth Davidtz
Brad Dourif
William H. Macy
R. Lee Ermey
CinematographyFred Murphy
Edited byRussell Livingstone
Music byChristopher Young
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
January 20, 1995
Running time
122 min
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish

Murder in the First is a largely fictitious 1995 film, directed by Marc Rocco, about a petty criminal named Henri Young (played by Kevin Bacon) who is put on trial for murder in the first degree.

Plot

As a 17-year-old orphan, Henri Young steals $5.00 from a grocery store/U.S. Post Office to feed himself and his little sister, both of whom are destitute. He is apprehended by the store clerk, and his sister is sent to an orphanage. Although Henri's goal was only to steal $5.00 from the store, it doubles as a U.S. Post Office and he is convicted of robbing a post office, which is a federal offense. Henri never sees his sister again and is sentenced to Leavenworth Penitentiary, Kansas. Young is later transferred to Alcatraz where he participates in a scheme to escape.

The plot fails due to the betrayal of a fellow inmate, Rufus McCain, and Young is sent to solitary confinement, where he is left for three years (except 30 minutes at Christmas). During this extraordinary period in solitary confinement (typical confinement lasts no more than 19 days), Young slowly begins to lose his mind. Upon being released from solitary confinement, Henri experiences a psychotic episode in the cafeteria and attacks McCain, who is still in general population, stabbing him to death with a spoon in full view of the prison staff and convict population.

Henri is put on trial for the murder in the first degree, in what is assumed to be an open-and-shut case by both the prosecution and the public defender's office. James Stamphill, a recent law school graduate, is given the case. After discovering the facts behind Henri's case, the young lawyer attempts to put Alcatraz on trial, alleging that the conditions in Alcatraz caused Henry to commit the murder. In a highly politicized and contentious trial, Henri is convicted only of the lesser offense of involuntary manslaughter, but later dies after returning to Alcatraz to serve his sentence. After the events of the film, Milton Glenn, the associate warden in charge of day to day activities of Alcatraz, is convicted of mistreatment and is banned from working in the penal system.

Production notes

The producers wanted authenticity so Bacon, Slater and Oldman spent some of their free time locked in jail cells while the movie was being filmed. Kevin Bacon even lost twenty pounds for his role as the Alcatraz inmate.

Filming during one of the courtroom scenes was interrupted by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Historical reality

The film makes numerous changes to the actual story. The real Henri Young was not convicted of stealing $5 to save his sister from destitution. He had been a hardened bank robber who had taken a hostage on at least one occasion and had committed a murder in 1933. Young was also no stranger to the penal system. Before being incarcerated at Alcatraz in 1936, he had already served time in two State prisons in Montana and Washington. In 1935 he spent his first year in federal correctional facilities at McNeil Island, Washington before being transferred to Alcatraz.

The film ends with the fictional Henri Young being returned to the dungeons of Alcatraz in the early 1940s where he supposedly dies. In reality the real Young remained on Alcatraz until 1948 before he was moved to the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners at Springfield, Missouri where he stayed until 1954. While on Alcatraz he remained in the main cell block. Young was not kept in any dungeon as they had been closed almost a decade earlier. In 1954 Young was transferred to the Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla to begin a life sentence for the murder conviction in 1933.

In 1972 after Young was released from Washington State Penitentiary, he jumped parole. According to Washington State authorities his whereabouts remain unknown. If Young was still alive, he would be at least 93 years old as he was born in 1918.

Cast

Crew

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