''A Little Thing Called Murder'' is a 2006

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

starring

Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...

and Jonathan Jackson and directed by

Richard Benjamin Richard Samuel Benjamin (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor and film director. He has starred in a number of well-known film productions, including ''Goodbye, Columbus'' (1969), based on the novella by Philip Roth; ''Catch-22'' (1970), fr ...

. Made by Stonemade Entertainment for

Lifetime TV Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...

, the film was based on a true story of convicted murderer

Sante Kimes Sante Kimes (born Sante Singhrs; July 24, 1934 – May 19, 2014) was an American criminal who was convicted of two murders, as well as robbery, forgery, violation of anti-slavery laws, and numerous other crimes. Many of these crimes were comm ...

, as told in the book ''Dead End'' by reporter Jeanne King. A 2001 made-for-TV film about Kimes titled ''Like Mother, Like Son'' starred

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...

Synopsis

Sante Kimes is a con artist and thief who has been preparing her son Kenny since childhood to be her accomplice. Sante is living with a rich man, Ken Kimes, who is unwilling to marry her and makes no provision for Kenny in his will. The boy's mother becomes involved in robberies, arson and the murder of an elderly woman to enrich herself, with her son as her partner in crime.

Cast

* Jonathan Jackson as Kenny Kimes *

Chelcie Ross Chelcie Claude RossAccording to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searchable at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records ...

as Ken Kimes Sr. *

Cynthia Stevenson Cynthia Stevenson (born August 2, 1962) is an American actress. She first played a leading role in the syndicated parody comedy series ''My Talk Show'' (1990–91), before starring in a number of sitcoms, including ''Bob'' (CBS, 1992–93), ''H ...

as Beverly Bates *

Ryan Robbins Ryan John Currier (born November 26, 1972), better known as Ryan Robbins, is a Canadian actor. Early life Robbins was born in Victoria, British Columbia. Career Robbins is known for his roles as Ladon Radim in ''Stargate Atlantis'', Henry F ...

as Shawn Little *

Alexander Ludwig Alexander Ludwig (born May 7, 1992) is a Canadian actor and country musician. He first began his career as a child, and then received recognition as a teenager for starring in the films '' The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising'' (2007) and ''Race to Wi ...

as Young Kenny Kimes

Awards and nominations

The film won Best Motion Picture Made for Television in the 11th Golden Satellite Awards. Judy Davis won Best Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television in the 11th Golden Satellite Awards. Davis was also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie in the

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

. The casting team was nominated for Best Movie of the Week Casting by the

Casting Society of America The Casting Society, formerly known as Casting Society of America (CSA), was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1982 as a Professional association, professional society of about 1,200 Casting (performing arts), casting directors and associate ...

in its 2006 Artios Awards.

References

External links

* * Lifetime (TV network) films 2006 television films 2006 films Films directed by Richard Benjamin 2000s crime drama films American crime drama films Films scored by John Frizzell (composer) 2006 drama films American drama television films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-crime-drama-film-stub