The Preppie Murder: Difference between revisions

| image_size =

| network = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]

| first_airedreleased = {{filmStart date|1989|09|24|TV=y}}

'''''The Preppie Murder''''' is aan American [[television film]] directed by [[John Herzfeld]], written by Herzfeld and Irv Roud, and starring [[William Baldwin]] as [[Robert Chambers (criminal)|Robert Chambers]] and [[Lara Flynn Boyle]] as [[Jennifer Levin]]. The film aired on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in 1989. It was based on the events of a murder committed by Robert Chambers, nicknamed the "Preppie Killer". The film co-stars [[Danny Aiello]], [[Joanna Kerns]], and [[William Devane]].

The film reenacts Robert Chambers' murder of Jennifer Levin. [[Robert_Chambers_Robert Chambers (criminal)|Robert Chambers]], a man who attended [[University-preparatory school|prep schools]] on a [[scholarship]], kills Jennifer Levin, who herself was of a privileged background after they leave a trendy [[Manhattan]] bar together. When Detective Mike Sheehan arrests him, Chambers claims that he killed her in self-defense after rough sex got out of hand. In the ensuing trial, Chambers' attorney, Jack Litman, attacks Levin's personal history. Chambers eventually pleads guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

* [[Dorothy Fielding]] as Phyllis Chambers

The film was shot mostly in Los Angeles, but some exterior shots took place in New York City. Mike Sheehan, who investigated the case, served as a consultant. Jennifer Levin's parents declined involvement; her father called it "exploitative". Linda Fairstein and Jack Litman also declined involvement.<ref>{{cite journalmagazine|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20121265,00.html|title=Art Imitates Death in The Preppie Murder|last=Kunen|first=James S.|workmagazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|volume=32|issue=13|date=1989-09-September 25, 1989|accessdate=2014-02access-date=February 14, 2014}}</ref> Director John Herzfeld wanted to tell Jennifer Levin's story and "clear a little of the mud off her".<ref name=lat>{{cite news|url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-23/entertainment/-ca-669_1_preppie669-murderstory.html|title='Preppie Murder' Drama Pleads Case for Victims|last=Rosenberg|first=Howard|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=1989-09-September 23, 1989|accessdate=2014-02access-date=February 24, 2014}}</ref>

''The Preppie Murder'' aired September 24, 1989, on ABC.<ref name=lat/> It was released on home video in November 1993.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.philly.com/1993-11-18/entertainment/25946252_1_bad-guys-profanity-stallone-returns|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305105218/http://articles.philly.com/1993-11-18/entertainment/25946252_1_bad-guys-profanity-stallone-returns|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 5, 2014|title=Reforming In Seattle But 'Lost In Yonkers'|last=Cornell|first=Christopher|work=[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=1993-11-November 18, 1993|accessdate=2014-02access-date=February 24, 2014}}</ref>

Howard Rosenberg of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called it "vexing, powerful and heartbreaking—yet strangely enigmatic".<ref name=lat/> John Leonard of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' called it "pointless" and compared it negatively to [[Linda Wolfe]]'s book, ''[[Wasted: The Preppie Murder]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-gCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA126|title=Sex, Lies, and Videotape|last=Leonard|first=John|workjournal=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=1989-09-September 25, 1989|accessdate=2014-02access-date=February 24, 2014|page=126|volume=22|issue=38}}</ref> John J. O'Connor of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that the film's denunciation of the press as exploitative was ironic, as it "merely warms up the old headlines it pretends to abhor."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/22/arts/tv-weekend-death-in-central-park-lives-of-80-s-youth.html?pagewanted=2|title=TV Weekend; Death in Central Park, Lives of 80's Youth|last=O'Connor|first=John J.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=1989-09-September 22, 1989|accessdate=2014-02-February 24, 2014}}</ref>

*{{cite web|title=A Killing in Central Park: The Preppy Murder Case|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/not_guilty/park/14.html|author=Mark Gado|publisher=[[Tru TV]]|accessdateaccess-date=2011-10-22}}

[[Category:TrueFilms crimeshot filmsin Los Angeles]]