''Cruel Doubt'' is a 1992

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

starring

Blythe Danner Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzy Huffstodt on ''Huff'' (2004–2006), and a ...

and

Matt McGrath Matthew John "Matt" McGrath (December 28, 1875 – January 29, 1941) was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, the New York Athletic Club, and the New York City Police Department. At the time of his death at age 64, he attained the ra ...

, as well as Danner's daughter,

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...

. The film was broadcast in two parts on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

in the United States and on

CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...

in Canada on May 17 and May 19, 1992.

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both '' The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' ...

Adam Baldwin Adam Baldwin (born February 27, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in '' Full Metal Jacket'' (1987) as Animal Mother, as well as in the television series ''Firefly'' and its continuation film ''Serenity'' as Jayne Cobb. His roles include Sti ...

and

Dennis Farina Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor. Often typecast as a mobster or police officer, he is known for roles such as FBI Agent Jack Crawford in '' Manhunter'', mobster Jimmy Serrano in th ...

also star. The miniseries is based on the 1991

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

book ''Cruel Doubt'' by

Joe McGinniss Joseph Ralph McGinniss Sr. (December 9, 1942 – March 10, 2014) was an American non-fiction writer and novelist. The author of twelve books, he first came to prominence with the best-selling ''The Selling of the President 1968'' which describe ...

, which documents the 1988 murder of

Lieth Von Stein Lieth Peter Von Stein (March 16, 1946 – July 25, 1988) was an American businessman whose murder launched a high-profile trial in North Carolina. The case became the subject of two books and two television films. An executive at National Spinni ...

by his stepson, Chris Pritchard, and two friends, James Upchurch and Gerald Neal Henderson.

Plot

In their bedroom asleep one night, Bonnie and Lieth Von Stein are violently attacked and stabbed by home intruders. Bonnie barely survives, but her husband does not. The investigation into who could do such a thing, and for what purpose, takes an unexpected twist when Bonnie's son Chris Pritchard becomes a prime suspect in the case. Police theorize that it is possible Chris provided two friends from school, Henderson and Upchurch, with a detailed map to the Von Stein family's home, resulting in his mother and stepfather being assaulted while Chris was away at college and his sister Angela asleep in her own bedroom at home. The savagery of the crime and the absurdity of the charge leads Bonnie to hire attorney Bill Osteen to represent Chris, in as much as she finds it impossible that he could have played a role in her husband's murder. The more police investigate, however, the more Osteen tries to prepare Bonnie that her son may indeed be involved, and that even Angela may know more than she has been telling.

Cast

as Bonnie Von Stein *

as Chris Pritchard *

as Bill Osteen *

as Angela Pritchard *

Denis Arndt Denis Arndt (born November 23, 1939) is an American actor, best known for his starring role as Alex Priest in the play '' Heisenberg'' for which he earned a 2017 Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play. Life and career Denis Arndt serv ...

as Lieth Von Stein *

Neal McDonough Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'' (2001), Deputy District Attorney David McNorris on ''Boomtown'' (2002–200 ...

as Henderson *

Travis Fine Travis Lane Fine (born June 26, 1968) is an American actor, writer, director and producer, perhaps best known for his film '' Any Day Now'', and for his roles in '' Girl, Interrupted'' and '' The Young Riders''. Personal life Fine was born in At ...

as Upchurch *

as Detective Taylor *

as Tom Brereton * William Forsythe as Chief Crone *

Miguel Ferrer Miguel José Ferrer (February 7, 1955 – January 19, 2017) was an American actor. His breakthrough role was as Bob Morton in the 1987 film ''RoboCop''. Other film roles include Quigley in '' Blank Check'' (1994), Harbinger in ''Hot Shots! Part D ...

as Louis Young *

Louise Latham Louise Latham (September 23, 1922 – February 12, 2018) was an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film '' Marnie''. Early years Latham came from Hamilton, Texas. She was from a fa ...

as Polly Bates *

G.D. Spradlin Gervase Duan Spradlin (August 31, 1920 – July 24, 2011) was an American actor, attorney, and businessman. Known for his distinctive accent and voice, he often played devious authority figures. He is credited in over 70 television and film pro ...

as George Bates *

John C. McGinley John Christopher McGinley (born August 3, 1959) is an American actor. His best known roles include Perry Cox in ''Scrubs'', Bob Slydell in ''Office Space'', Captain Hendrix in '' The Rock'', Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's ''Platoon,'' ...

as Jim Vosburgh

Production

Although the film brought much attention to the murder of Von Stein, players of the

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (T ...

'' have criticized it for unfairly placing blame for the murders upon the game.The Attacks on Role-Playing Games
, by Paul Cardwell, Jr., originally published in ''Skeptical Inquirer'', 18:2, 1994 (157-165). The film featured the actual Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first-edition rulebook (which by then was a multi-million dollar best-seller) but with a piece of artwork visibly pasted into the pages of the book (depicting an orc with a dagger and backpack similar to the ones in the murder depicted), implying that it had caused the murders.
on The Escapist's FAQ

References

External links

* * {{Yves Simoneau 1992 American television series debuts 1992 American television series endings 1990s American television miniseries NBC original programming NBC network original films NBC Productions films Television series based on books Television shows about murder Television shows directed by Yves Simoneau True crime television series