merklekranz Review of Murder in Coweta County

Murder in Coweta County (1983 TV Movie)

Andy Griffith as a Southern tyrant much like Dennis Hopper in "Paris Trout"

[8/10 · 15 December 2010]

Great casting against type, with Andy Griffith as a tyrant who makes his own rules and bends the law, much like Dennis Hopper in "Paris Trout". The 1948 rural Meriweather County Georgia setting is convincing, and the backwoods characters seem authentic. Johnny Cash plays the no nonsense Sheriff of nearby Coweta County, who is investigating a murder. "Wherever you dumped the body it better be hid good" is Cash's challenge, while Griffith expounds "You can't find the body if there ain't no body". The murder investigation is fast moving, logical, and relentless. In the end, intimidation, bribery, and bloodshed, fail to stem the tide towards a very satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended. One of the best TV movies of all time. - MERK