The 1988 attack that left Lieth Von Stein dead and his wife, Bonnie, seriously injured had television movie written all over it.
Not only was the attack particularly brutal, but it turned out that Bonnie's 19-year-old son, Christopher Pritchard, was involved. And thrown into the mix were about $2 million in inheritance and insurance money, drugs and Dungeons and Dragons, the role-playing game that was carried to extremes by those involved in the murder.The case not only spawned a pair of books - "Cruel Doubt" by Joe McGinniss and "Blood Games" by Jerry Bledsoe - but it has also resulted in a pair of television productions, one based on each book.
The first airs Sunday on CBS. "Honor Thy Mother," starring Sharon Gless and William McNamara, is based on "Blood Games." NBC's version, "Cruel Doubt," is a two-parter that stars Blythe Danner and Matt McGrath and airs May 17 and 19.
In this case, the first is definitely not the best.
The most obvious difference between "Honor Thy Mother" and "Cruel Doubt" is the length. The former is two hours long, the latter is four hours. And that difference in length accounts for many of "Cruel's" strengths and many of "Honor's" weaknesses.
As told in both books, this is a fascinating story, full of unanswered questions even now. But as related in the telefilm "Honor Thy Mother," it becomes a straightforward TV tale, quickly and easily leading to a concrete solution.
Briefly, what happened was this. On the night of July 24, 1988, a masked intruder entered the Von Stein home in Washington, N.C., where he brutally beat and stabbed Lieth Von Stein to death and seriously injured Bonnie. Bonnie's daughter, Angela, told police she slept through the attack, despite the fact that Lieth screamed loudly in the bedroom next door.
Chris Pritchard was away at college at the time.
The case went unsolved for months, and many questions remain today about the quality of the police investigation. Not until about nine months later - and after Washington had hired a new police chief - was the first arrest made.
Eventually, Chris and two of his friends were charged with the murder. Without giving away too many details, even after the case had gone through the courts, there were serious doubts as to which of Chris' two friends had actually committed the crime. And, while she was never charged with conspiracy in the crime, not only was Angela's story of sleeping through the killing rather unbelievable, but it turned out she was dating one of the young men charged.
However, viewing "Honor Thy Mother" gives you none of these rather important facts. As portrayed in the movie, two fine, courageous law enforcement officers (including former Utahn Brian Wimmer) quickly figure things out, tie in the Dungeons and Dragons angle, make their arrests and send the case to trial.
There's no mention of any doubt over who committed the murder. While there's some surprise over Angela not hearing the attack, no other information tying her to the crime is ever brought up.
In other words, most of the intrigue is gone.
Perhaps the most fascinating part of this case is Bonnie Von Stein's complete refusal to believe that either of her children could have been involved. But that too is glossed over in "Honor They Mother," while "Cruel Doubt" spends a considerable amount of time on the issue.
Danner's portrayal of Bonnie is much deeper, much more complex than Gless' - and that can be largely attributed to the shallowness of the "Honor" script.
"Cruel Doubt" had an obvious advantage. Bonnie Von Stein herself asked McGinnis to write his book. She came to him after Chris had confessed to her, but she didn't understand how all this could have happened. Unlike Bledsoe, McGinnis had unlimited access to the central figure in this drama.
While "Blood Games" concentrates largely on Chris' two friends who were charged, "Honor Thy Mother" deletes almost all of that and tries to concentrate on the Von Stein family - with considerably less to draw from.
The producers of "Honor Thy Mother" are trumpeting the fact that McNamara, the actor who portrays Chris in the CBS movie, met with the real Chris in prison. But it doesn't seem to have helped his performance, which is more frenetic than troubled. As does Danner, McGrath turns in a much more believable performance.
In a two-way comparison, about the only thing "Honor Thy Mother" has in its favor is that a dress-down Gless much more closely resembles the real Bonnie. But then, McGrath looks a lot more like the real Chris than McNamara does.
CBS, in its apparent rush to be first on the air with this story, has pushed through an inferior product. While "Cruel Doubt" is a fascinating and horrifying picture of a seemingly happy family gone terribly awry, "Honor Thy Mother" comes across as a grade-B crime-of-the-week story.