Murder, She Wrote 11.16 “Film Flam”

Jessica Fletcher is visiting Monolith Studios in Hollywood, California as she has agreed to have them look at her latest book manuscript and possibly adapt it for the screen.

The latest buzz around the set is that footage from ‘Cry of Destiny’, a 35-year old unfinished movie by director Austin Young (who died from a sleeping-pill overdose during its production), has recently been found and the studio is working on completing it.

When a death occurs on the evening of that movie’s premiere, Jessica investigates!

Just the facts:

Click on the text below to reveal spoilers.

Click to reveal the victim

It was Fritz Randall, the man who was writing a book about Austin Young’s life! We also learn that Austin Young didn’t die of an accidental overdose and was in fact murdered, making this a two-victim episode.

Click to reveal the killer

It was Joan “Bubbles” Kemp, a former child star who was originally in Austin Young’s movie!

Click to reveal the weapon

It was a lethal dose of sleeping pills in wine (in the case of both murders)!

Click to reveal the location

The present-day victim was drugged in the theatre and died in the lobby, but his body was discovered and taken home by Carson Robbins! Years ago, Austin Young’s murder took place at lunch time in his trailer on set.

Click to reveal the motive

The killer had been in love with Austin Young and killed him after he rejected her! The present-day victim had discovered evidence that the killer had lied about her whereabouts when Austin Young died.

Click to reveal the major clue

The photo of the movie set from years ago showed that the killer was exiting the trailer shortly before Austin Young was found dead there.

Cast of characters:

• James Caviezel as Darryl Harding, a homeless aspiring actor who is hiding out in an unused set.
• Richard Libertini as Carson Robbins, a member of the ‘Cry of Destiny’ production crew who is giving bootleggers access to film reels before the film is released. This is Libertini’s second of three appearances on MSW; he previously appeared in “Dead to Rights“.
• William O’Leary as Hank Duncan, a studio employee (in charge of office services) who is part of the bootlegging operation. This is O’Leary’s first of two appearances on MSW.
• Howard French as Manheim, another guy that’s part of the bootlegging operation.
• Richard Dano as Scotty, studio security guard. This is Dano’s second of three appearances on MSW; he previously appeared in “Time to Die“.
• Cali Timmins as Barbie Lippin, an aspiring actress who is dating Hank Duncan.
• John Astin as Fritz Randall, writing a book titled “The True Story of Austin Young’s Life and Death”. This is Astin’s fifth and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in three Season 2 episodes as Cabot Cove resident Harry Pierce, and as a different character in “Hooray for Homicide”.
• Mike Connors as Boyce Brown, the head of Monolith Studios and Jessica’s friend. This is Connors’ second of three appearances on MSW, and his first of two playing the same character; he previously appeared in “Truck Stop“.
• Stacy Edwards as Elaine Brown, Boyce’s daughter who recently found unfinished footage of Austin Young’s final film, ‘Cry of Destiny’, and is working on completing it. This is Edwards’ second and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “O’Malley’s Luck“.
• Kerrie Keane as Audrey Young, a woman who claims she is the daughter and rightful heir to Austin Young’s estate. This is Keane’s second and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “Terminal Connection“.
• Justin Lord as Lloyd Nader, Audrey Young’s lawyer (who is actually never named on screen).
• Kim Darby as “Wee” Joan Kemp, a former child star who appeared in ‘Cry of Destiny’ and is on set to audition for another role. This is Darby’s second and final appearance on MSW.
• Gregory Sierra as Lieutenant Gabriel Caceras, in charge of the investigation. This is Sierra’s sixth and final appearance on MSW, and his third appearance as Lt. Caceras; he previously appeared in “A Nest of Vipers“.
• Paulo Andres as the Delivery Boy from “One Hour Photo”.

Final thoughts and other trivia:

Just as was the case with several recent episodes, this episode also includes a scene that would later be reused in the Season 12 opening montage: The scene in which she is looking up at the series of photo negatives.

The episode also gives us clues as to the timeline of when these events were meant to happen: The one-hour photo receipt is clearly dated 2/20/95, which indicates that the events of this episode actually happened AFTER this episode had aired on February 19th.

We also get some clues regarding Jessica’s novels: Boyce is seen holding a copy of J.B. Fletcher’s latest novel ‘Venomous Valentine’, and it is apparently this book that he is considering adapting for the screen. Based on the conversations they have about it, we learn that the book is set in Northern California, but the movie may instead be set on the French Riviera.

Additionally, although this is the first appearance of Boyce Brown on the show, he is apparently an old friend of Jessica’s. At one point, Jessica mentions that she knows Boyce from years ago, when she thought she’d try her hand at writing. This means that they met while she was still living her quiet life in Cabot Cove — which begs the question of the circumstances that led to them meeting in the first place.

And finally, I’ve already mentioned in my post on “A Nest of Vipers” how there are some puzzles regarding the character of Lieutenant Gabriel Caceras. The one I wanted to point out here in particular is that in this episode he is introduced as being with LAPD homicide; but in “The Petrified Florist” he is introduced as being with Beverly Hills PD.