Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995) on Netflix
R19951h 31mBiographyCrimeDrama
Carl Panzram arrives at Leavenworth Prison for burglary. Henry Lesser, a guard at the start of his career, believes in reform and offers him kindness. Panzram asks for writing materials.
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Trailer
Plot summary
Carl Panzram has served repeated prison sentences for robberies and violent crimes, and he is back inside, at Leavenworth penitentiary, for burglary. Henry Lesser, a guard at the beginning of his career, believes in reform and treats him with kindness. The two form a relationship, and Panzram asks for writing materials. He sets down his life story, confessing to murders and violent attacks on men and boys and blaming the circumstances of his life for his cruelty. A warden who believes in rehabilitation encourages him. Lesser confides in his wife, Esther, about the violent and nihilistic outlook of the man he must deal with, and she has difficulty understanding the people his work brings him.
Cast
- Seth Romatellias Teenaged Carl Panzram
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Screenwriter Tim Metcalfe found a copy of the 1970 book Killer: A Journal of Murder, by Thomas Gaddis and Joe Long, in a used-book store, then spent five years trying to get Carl Panzram's story onto the screen, writing his own screenplay.
- The film is loosely adapted from a book about Carl Panzram, a real American serial killer active in the early 20th century and executed in 1930, and it uses some passages drawn from Panzram's own writings near the end of his life.
