Murder Ordained

Murder Ordained
Genre	Crime Drama
Written by	Mike Robe James Sadwith
Directed by	Mike Robe
Starring	Keith Carradine JoBeth Williams Kathy Bates John Goodman Terry Kinney
Music by	Mark Snow
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Zev Braun Ted Field
Producers	Philip L. Parslow Patricia Clifford (co-producer) Kathleen Cromley (associate producer)
Production locations	Emporia, Kansas
Cinematography	Terry K. Meade
Editors	Michael Eliot Benjamin A. Weissman
Running time	185 minutes
Production companies	CBS Entertainment Production Interscope Radar Pictures
Distributor	CBS
Release
Original network	CBS
Picture format	Color
Audio format	Mono
Original release	May 3, 1987 (1987-05-03)

Murder Ordained is a television film that originally aired for CBS in 1987, starring Keith Carradine, JoBeth Williams, and Kathy Bates. It was co-written and directed by Mike Robe. Based on actual events that occurred in Emporia, Kansas, in 1983, the film tells the story of State Trooper John Rule (Carradine), who investigates what appears to be a traffic accident resulting in the death of a local minister's wife. His investigation leads him to believe foul play was involved. Much of the principal photography and filming occurred on location in Kansas, and some of the dialogue comes directly from court transcripts.^[1]

The film was subsequently released on VHS and DVD. The cast also includes Terry Kinney, M. Emmet Walsh, John Goodman and Johnny Galecki.^[2] The series received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special (Single Camera Production).

Plot[]

The Rev. Tom Bird (Terry Kinney), seemingly the perfect family man and Lutheran minister, becomes romantically involved with Lorna Anderson (JoBeth Williams), a new woman in town who is openly unhappy with her hard-drinking husband Marty (Terence Knox). Before long, the two are talking about fleeing Emporia together to establish his dream of a family-counseling center in New Mexico. He even talks about the possibility of a lucrative television ministry. But there are two nagging problems: their respective spouses. In July 1983, the body of Sandra Bird (Annabella Price) is discovered floating beneath a bridge in what looks like a car accident. But state trooper John Rule (Keith Carradine) becomes suspicious about the lack of skid marks and blood stains on the bridge. Unfortunately, an official investigation stalls until Lorna's husband is also murdered.^[3]

References[]

External links[]

• Murder Ordained at IMDb
• Murder Ordained at AllMovie
• Murder Ordained at Rotten Tomatoes