Murder in the First

Murder in the First
Murder in the First theatrical poster
Directed by	Marc Rocco
Produced by	Marc Frydman Mark Wolper
Written by	Dan Gordon
Starring	Christian Slater Kevin Bacon Gary Oldman Embeth Davidtz Brad Dourif William H. Macy R. Lee Ermey
Music by	Christopher Young
Cinematography	Fred Murphy
Editing by	Russell Livingstone
Studio	Le Studio Canal+
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	January 20, 1995
Running time	122 min
Country	USA
Language	English

Murder in the First is a largely fictitious 1995 film, directed by Marc Rocco, about a petty criminal named Henri Young (portrayed 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 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. Because the store Young robs houses a U.S. Post Office, his crime becomes a federal offense. Young never sees his sister again and is sentenced to Leavenworth Penitentiary, Kansas. After later being transferred to Alcatraz, he participates in an escape attempt with two other prisoners.

The escape plan fails due to the betrayal of a fellow inmate, Rufus McCain. Young is sent to solitary confinement in "the hole", where, except for 30 minutes on Christmas Day, 1940, he is left for three years. During this extraordinarily long period of time spent in solitary confinement, Young slowly begins to lose his sanity. Upon being released from solitary confinement, he experiences a psychotic episode in the prison cafeteria and attacks McCain, stabbing him to death with a spoon in full view of the prison staff and the convict population.

Young is put on trial for first degree murder in what prosecutors and the public-defender's office believe is an open-and-shut case. Public defense attorney James Stamphill, a recent graduate of Harvard law school, is given the case. After discovering the facts behind Young's case, Stamphill attempts to put Alcatraz on trial, alleging that the conditions in Alcatraz caused his client to commit murder. In a highly politicized and contentious trial, Young is convicted only of the lesser offense of involuntary manslaughter, but later dies after returning to Alcatraz to serve his sentence. At the end of the film, associate warden Milton Glenn is convicted of mistreatment and is banned from working in the penal system.

Production notes

Because the producers wanted authenticity, co-stars Bacon, Slater and Oldman spent some of their free time locked in jail cells while the movie was being filmed. Bacon lost twenty pounds for his role as Henri Young.^{[citation needed]}

Filming during one of the courtroom scenes was interrupted by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.^{[citation needed]}

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 in the early 1940s with the fictional Henri Young being returned to solitary confinement in "the hole" where he allegedly 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. He remained there until 1954. While on Alcatraz, Young remained in the main cell block and was not kept in solitary confinement as that portion of the prison had been closed nearly a decade earlier. In 1954 Young was transferred to the Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla to begin a life sentence for his 1933 murder conviction.^{[citation needed]}

Young violated his parole in 1972 and disappeared after being released from the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. According to Washington State authorities, his whereabouts remain unknown.^{[citation needed]} Born in 1918, if Young were still alive he would be at least 93 years old.

Cast

• Kevin Bacon - Henri Young
• Christian Slater - James Stamphill
• Gary Oldman - Warden Milton Glenn
• Embeth Davidtz - Mary McCasslin
• William H. Macy - D.A. William McNeil
• Stephen Tobolowsky - Mr. Henkin
• Brad Dourif - Byron Stamphill
• R. Lee Ermey - Judge Clawson
• Mia Kirshner - Rosetta Young Dial
• Ben Slack - Jerry Hoolihan
• Stefan Gierasch - Warden James Humson
• Kyra Sedgwick - Blanche, Hooker
• Alex Bookston - Alcatraz Doctor
• David Michael Sterling - Rufus McCain
• Michael Melvin - Arthur "Doc" Barker

Crew

• Leslie Harlow - Viola Solos PCMusicFestival.com

External links

• Murder in the First at the Internet Movie Database
• Alcatrazhistory.com
• Murder in the First at AllRovi