William Friedkin: Death Row and Live Television | Part 1

THE PEOPLE VS. PAUL CRUMP (1962) is the turning point for a young William Friedkin trying to claw his way out of live local television. We follow him from Chicago's North Side, listening in on corrupt cops at his uncle's tavern, to running hectic control rooms during the chaotic heyday of live television. An obsession with CITIZEN KANE and Stravinsky set off something in him — enough to send him into Cook County Jail with a camera, using extreme interrogation tactics to get his subject on film, then editing the raw 16mm negatives himself in his apartment. The result helped spare a condemned man from the electric chair, and set Friedkin on the path to a legendary career as a founding member of New Hollywood.

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Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne & Justin Bishop.

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