Crime of the Century (1996 film)

Crime of the Century is a 1996 HBO television film directed by Mark Rydell. It presents a dramatization of the Lindbergh kidnapping of 1932. The film stars Stephen Rea as Bruno Hauptmann and Isabella Rossellini as his wife Anna.

Crime of the Century
Genre	Crime Drama
Based on	The Airman and the Carpenter by Ludovic Kennedy
Screenplay by	William Nicholson
Directed by	Mark Rydell
Starring	Stephen Rea Isabella Rossellini J. T. Walsh Michael Moriarty Bert Remsen Scott N. Stevens
Theme music composer	John Frizzell
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Barbara Broccoli Amanda Schiff
Producer	Mike Moder
Cinematography	Toyomichi Kurita
Editor	Antony Gibbs
Running time	114 minutes
Production companies	Astoria Productions, Ltd. HBO Pictures
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	September 14, 1996 (1996-09-14)

Plot

The film, like Ludovic Kennedy's 1985 book The Airman and the Carpenter upon which it is based, presents Bruno Richard Hauptmann as not guilty of the Lindbergh abduction and murder for which he was tried and executed. It suggests at least one of the perpetrators was Isidor Fisch, an associate of Hauptmann's who had conned several of the local German community out of money and who returned to Germany after the Lindbergh baby was found.

Cast

• Stephen Rea as Bruno Hauptman
• Isabella Rossellini as Anna Hauptman
• J.T. Walsh as Colonel Norman Schwarzkopf Sr.
• Michael Moriarty as New Jersey Governor Harold Hoffman
• Allen Garfield as Lieutenant James Finn
• John Harkins as Edward Reilly
• Barry Primus as Ellis Parker
• David Paymer as David Wilentz
• Bert Remsen as Dr. John Condon
• Scott N. Stevens as Colonel Charles Lindbergh

Awards

The film earned five Golden Globe nominations in the "Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for TV" categories. The film was nominated for the Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries or a Special, Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or a Special, Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special - Single Camera Production and Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Special at the 49th Primetime Emmy Awards.

See also

• Presumption of guilt

References

• Crime of the Century (1996) at IMDb