George Peppard gives a great performance as the real life "Fugitive". The film follows Doctor Sheppards story from the 1954 circus trial to his death in 1970, a broken man destroyed by one of the most obscene miscarriages of justice in the history of the American legal system. This man was convicted by a vindictive press. I do not think I have ever heard of a case where the press played executioner the way it did with Sheppard. Sheppard admitted that he had affairs, but that did not mean he killed his wife. People looked down on adultery in the 1950s the way they condone it today. I cannot understand why this man was convicted at all. They had x-rays and medical proof that he had been seriously injured by the intruder who killed Marilyn. There were many character witnesses who testified to his good nature and the fact that he was a loving, devoted family man. The murder scene was awash in blood, but except for one small stain on his pants, Sheppard had none on him. Two of Marilyn's teeth were pulled from her mouth in a manner that says she bit her attacker, and yet Sheppard had no open wounds on his person. There were eyewitnesses who said they saw a man near the house that morning that matched the description Sheppard gave of the intruder. There was a cigarette butt found in their toilet, yet the Sheppards didn't smoke. There were scraps of cloth found at the scene that showed the prescene of a third party. This movie really brings the injustice to life. I highly recommend it and wish they would show it more often.
Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case
(1975 TV Movie)
compelling and chilling
15 October 2002