Monthly Archives: June 2021

At Close Range



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At Close Range  is an incredibly good movie.  It’s from 1986 and I found it on Amazon Prime, as well as Tubi which is a free streaming service and it looks like it is available on Showtime as well, although I currently don’t have that one.

It has a star studded cast including:

Sean Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Chris Penn, Christopher Walken, Crispin Glover and Kiefer Sutherland.

It is an excellent movie all on it’s own. One of the reviews I read said “I recommend this movie to anyone and everyone.”

This is one of the few old true crime movies that I hadn’t seen, and hadn’t heard about the case before watching.  I’m not kidding when I say that there were at least two parts that had me absolutely speechless.  Like jaw dropping.

I was so blown away by this movie that I decided to move it up in the recording schedule.

The movie starts out with the words:  Based on a True Story.

And I’m going to tell you….this movie follows so close to the real story…it’s one of the closest to the real stories I’ve ever seen.  So, I’ll tell you about the movie which is just about the whole real story, and then at the end I’ll tell you about the bits that were included just for the movie, and I’ll go over what really happened in those instances.

CherryAvenueTrueCrime.com

Email: host@cherryavenuetruecrime.com

Twitter:  @AvenueCrime

Instagram:  Instagram.com/cherryavenuetruecrime

Sources for this episode:

Bruce Johnston (criminal) – Wikipedia

The Kiddie Gang: The True Crime Story Behind the Film ‘At Close Range’ (didyouknowfacts.com)

Bruce Johnston Sr., 63; Notorious Killer Dies in Prison – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

James Foley’s “At Close Range” and the Real Story of the Johnston Gang (treepony.com)  This is an excellent review of the movie.

Com. v. Johnston, 42 A.3d 1120 – CourtListener.com

Latest appeal denied for Norman and David Johnston | News | delcotimes.com

‘Tired’ Escapee Gives Up The Fight – The Washington Post

Escape revives a town’s bad memories (post-gazette.com)

The Actual Truth Behind Devil’s Road in Chadds Ford, PA (wjbr.com)


The Exception, Not the Rule



The Exception, Not the Rule

Welcome Back to Cherry Avenue True Crime Podcast

The Based on a True Story movie we are exploring today is In Plain Sight, and the case is the murders committed by the man said to be Scotland’s first serial killer, Peter Manuel.  We also have a side case about the last woman to be hung in Scotland in 1923.  It’s a crazy story. They are both are.

 

CherryAvenueTrueCrime.com

Email: host@cherryavenuetruecrime.com

Twitter: @AvenueCrime

Instagram:  @CherryAvenueTrueCrime

 

 

Sources for the episode:

Peter Manuel – Wikipedia

In Plain Sight (British TV series) – Wikipedia

Revealed: Sex secrets of Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel – Daily Record

The Beast of Birkenshaw: The Brutal Crimes of Peter Manuel (the-line-up.com)

Bid to exhume bodies of killers executed at Barlinnie Prison – BBC News

s://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-W1AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zKcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5913,3877922&dq=susan-newell+murder&hl=enhttp

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Peter Manuel, Scotland’s Most Notorious Serial Killer (wgbh.org)

Who was Peter Manuel, when was the serial killer hanged and why was he nicknamed the Beast of Birkenshaw? (thesun.co.uk)

Peter Manuel – Scotland’s most notorious serial killer – THE SCOTS LAW BLOG

BBC Scotland – BBC Scotland – Why the gruesome murders and disputed sentence of serial killer Peter Manuel still fascinate us 60 years on

Crimes that shocked Scotland: The serial killer who was rumbled by cops after spending his victims’ cash in the boozer – Daily Record

Susan Newell – Wikipedia

The chilling story of child killer Susan Newell – the last woman hanged in Scotland – Glasgow Live