Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case

Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case (1975) is a TV drama film, starring George Peppard and directed by Robert Michael Lewis. It was produced by Harold Gast and Harve Bennett.

Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case
GenreDrama
Written byHarold Gast
Lou Randolph
Directed byRobert Michael Lewis
StarringGeorge Peppard
Barnard Hughes
William Windom
Claudette Nevins
Russell Thorson
George Murdock
Theme music composerLalo Schifrin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerHarve Bennett
ProducerHarold Gast
CinematographyStevan Larner
EditorRobert F. Shugrue
Running time144 min
Production companiesSilverton Productions
Universal Television
DistributorNBC
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseNovember 17, 1975 (1975-11-17)

Plot

It is a history of the real-life Sam Sheppard (George Peppard), an Ohio doctor wrongly accused of murdering his wife in 1954. Sheppard is a successful osteopath in Cleveland working at the family clinic. He has an attractive wife Marilyn and a nine-year-old son. His idyllic life comes to an end one July morning when the police are called to his home after he reports an intruder attacked him and murdered his wife. The case and the ensuing trial get nationwide publicity. Despite an able defense lawyer, Sam is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, never ceasing to proclaim his innocence. He is released after ten years through the efforts of his brilliant new young lawyer F. Lee Bailey and given a retrial. Bailey's aggressive defense overwhelms the prosecution and Sheppard is found not guilty at last; however, his life afterwards is not happy. He remarried soon after getting out of prison but it ends in divorce and he is sued for malpractice after regaining his medical license. Desperate to make a living he becomes a small time professional wrestler. The strain of his never-ending ordeal wears on him and he turns to alcohol. He dies a broken man at 46 of a liver disease. The murder of Marilyn Sheppard is unsolved to this day.

Cast

ActorRole
George PeppardDr. Samuel Sheppard
Barnard HughesAttorney Philip J. Madden
Claudette NevinsMarilyn Sheppard
William WindomWalt Adamson
William DozierDr. Richard Sheppard, Sr.
Jack KnightDetective Moore
Russell ThorsonJudge Edwards
Paul FixSupreme Court Justice
George MurdockProcesutor Simons
Nina Van PallandtIlse Brandt

References

  • Hollywood and American history: a filmography of over 250 motion pictures depicting U.S. history, by Michael R. Pitts


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