Murder in the Heartland
Murder in the Heartland is a television miniseries that aired on ABC in 1993. It was based on the 1957–58 murder spree carried out by 19-year-old Charles Starkweather throughout Nebraska and Wyoming. The first half of the miniseries covers the murders. The second half covers the trials of Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, his 14-year-old girlfriend accomplice. Their increasingly disparate versions of events are contrasted as the trials unfold.
| Murder in the Heartland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Drama Thriller |
| Written by | Michael O'Hara |
| Directed by | Robert Markowitz |
| Starring | Tim Roth Fairuza Balk Brian Dennehy Randy Quaid Renée Zellweger Kate Reid Milo O'Shea Rondi Reed |
| Theme music composer | Patrick Williams |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Lawrence Horowitz Michael O'Hara |
| Producer(s) | S. Bryan Hickox Michael G. Larkin (associate producer) Joe Dishner (associate producer) |
| Production location(s) | McKinney, Texas Van Alstyne, Texas |
| Cinematography | Ronald Victor Garcia |
| Editor(s) | David Beatty Scott Vickrey |
| Running time | 157 minutes |
| Production company(s) | O'Hara-Horowitz Productions |
| Distributor | ABC |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | Color |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | May 3, 1993 |
The film received strong praise from critics and Emmy nominations.
Production
The entire film was shot on location in and around McKinney and Dallas, Texas.
Brian Dennehy was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special. Ronald Victor Garcia was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography.
An edited version of the production saw a limited release on VHS.
Other films based on the Starkweather story
Previously inspired by the Starkweather story were The Sadist, a 1963 film by James Landis, Terrence Malick's 1973 movie Badlands, and the title song from Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album Nebraska. The 1994 film Natural Born Killers was also partly inspired by these events. The 2004 film Starkweather directed by Bryon Werner, starring Brent Taylor as Charles Starkweather and Shannon Lucio as Caril Ann Fugate is also based on the real life events of Starkweather.