Murder in the Heartland

1993 American TV series or program

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	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Lawrence Horowitz Michael O'Hara
Producer	S. Bryan Hickox
Production locations	McKinney, Texas Van Alstyne, Texas
Cinematography	Ronald Victor Garcia
Editors	David Beatty Scott Vickrey
Running time	157 minutes
Production company	O'Hara-Horowitz Productions
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	May 3, 1993 (1993-05-03)

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. Starkweather is played by Tim Roth. 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.

The film received strong praise from critics and Emmy nominations.

Cast

Tim Roth as Charles Starkweather
Fairuza Balk as Caril Ann Fugate
Randy Quaid as Elmer Scheele
Brian Dennehy as John McArthur
Roberts Blossom as August "Gus" Meyer
Tom Bower as Marion Bartlett
Jennifer Griffin as Velda Bartlett
Rondi Reed as Jonette Fox
Bob Gunton as Governor Anderson
Ryan Cutrona as C. Lauer Ward
Angie Bolling as Clara Ward
Jake Carpenter as Robert Jensen
Heather Kafka as Carol King
Don Bloomfield as Bobby Colvert
John Hussey as Mr. Jensen
James Hansen Prince as Deputy Sheriff Bill Romer
John S. Davies as Merle Karnopp
Mark Walters as Chief Robert Ainslie
Milo O'Shea as Clem Gaughan
Gerry Bamman as Judge Brooks
Jeff Perry as Earl Heflin
Connie Cooper as Hazel Heflin
Kate Reid as Pansy Street
Marco Perella as Bob Von Busch (uncredited)
Renée Zellweger as Barbara Von Busch (uncredited)
Gary Mitchell Carter as Rodney Starkweather (uncredited)

Production

The entire film was shot on location in and around McKinney and Dallas, Texas.

An edited version of the production saw a limited release on VHS.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
1993	Artios Awards	Best Casting for TV Mini-Series	Molly Lopata	Won	^[1]
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special	Brian Dennehy	Nominated	^[2]
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Special	Ronald Victor Garcia	Nominated	^[2]
1994	American Society of Cinematographers Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a Miniseries	Ronald Victor Garcia	Nominated	^[3]

References

^ "1993 Artios Awards". Casting Society of America. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
^ "Murder in the Heartland". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
^ "The ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography". American Society of Cinematographers. Archived from the original on August 2, 2011.