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The People v. Leo Frank
| Length: | 82 min |
| Released: | 2009 |
This dramatized documentary, drawn verbatim from transcripts, combines the intrigue of a murder mystery with a revealing look at racial, religious and class prejudices. The case was a key factor in the founding and development of the Anti-Defamation League.
Originally from New York, Leo Frank was the manager of a pencil factory in Atlanta in 1913, when he was accused and convicted in the rape and murder of a worker, thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan. The case is widely regarded as having been a miscarriage of justice. It was the focus of conflicting cultural pressures, represented class and regional resentment of so-called educated Northern industrialists who were perceived to be wielding too much power in the South, threatening its system of justice, culture and morality.
The trial occupied the front page of every American newspaper and captivated public attention around the world. Shortly after Frank’s conviction, new evidence emerged that cast doubt on Frank’s guilt. The Governor commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment, sparking riots in Atlanta. A populist newspaper urged that Frank not be allowed to escape “justice.” On August 17, 1915, Frank was kidnapped from the state prison and lynched by a mob in Phagan’s hometown of Marietta, Georgia.
A closed captioned version is available. Please specify when ordering.
Originally from New York, Leo Frank was the manager of a pencil factory in Atlanta in 1913, when he was accused and convicted in the rape and murder of a worker, thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan. The case is widely regarded as having been a miscarriage of justice. It was the focus of conflicting cultural pressures, represented class and regional resentment of so-called educated Northern industrialists who were perceived to be wielding too much power in the South, threatening its system of justice, culture and morality.
The trial occupied the front page of every American newspaper and captivated public attention around the world. Shortly after Frank’s conviction, new evidence emerged that cast doubt on Frank’s guilt. The Governor commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment, sparking riots in Atlanta. A populist newspaper urged that Frank not be allowed to escape “justice.” On August 17, 1915, Frank was kidnapped from the state prison and lynched by a mob in Phagan’s hometown of Marietta, Georgia.
A closed captioned version is available. Please specify when ordering.
"The lessons of the Frank case are as clear today as they were 90 years ago: the diversity that makes America unique is too often used as a scapegoat in difficult times."
- Abraham H. Foxman, Dir., Anti-Defamation League
“… fascinating history well presented…the biases and divisions brought to the surface by the Frank case are still easy to find today. So are people who specialize in fear- mongering and fanning small fires into big ones.”
- The New York Times
“…transports the viewer to a tragic chapter of a region then proudly calling itself ‘the New South’… as the film documents painfully, the scars still haven’t healed.”
- The Washington Post
“The Frank case was more than about racism and anti-Semitism. It was also about the perceptions of the nation’s haves and have-nots.”
- The Los Angeles Times
- Abraham H. Foxman, Dir., Anti-Defamation League
“… fascinating history well presented…the biases and divisions brought to the surface by the Frank case are still easy to find today. So are people who specialize in fear- mongering and fanning small fires into big ones.”
- The New York Times
“…transports the viewer to a tragic chapter of a region then proudly calling itself ‘the New South’… as the film documents painfully, the scars still haven’t healed.”
- The Washington Post
“The Frank case was more than about racism and anti-Semitism. It was also about the perceptions of the nation’s haves and have-nots.”
- The Los Angeles Times
