The Thin Blue Line

1988Directed by Errol Morris

Crime · Documentary1h 43m

Erases the border between art and activism.

One night in November 1976, after his car breaks down on a road outside Dallas, Randall Dale Adams accepts a ride from teenager David Harris. Harris is driving a stolen vehicle and, later that night, when Dallas police officer Robert Wood pulls the car over to check its headlights, he is shot and killed. A jury believes Adams is the killer, but stylized reenactments and interviews with key figures, conflicting testimonies and evidence are presented to argue that Adams was framed by a corrupt justice system, ultimately leading to his exoneration.

Log this filmLog

RRandall AdamsSelf

DDavid HarrisSelf

GGus RoseSelf - Homicide Detective in Dallas

JJackie JohnsonSelf - Homicide Detective in Dallas

MMarshall TouchtonSelf - Homicide Detective in Dallas

DDale HoltSelf - Internal Affairs Investigator in Dallas

SSam KittrellSelf - Police Detective in Vidor

HHootie NelsonSelf - Friend of David Harris in Vidor

DDennis JohnsonSelf - Friend of David Harris in Vidor

FFloyd JacksonSelf - Friend of David Harris in Vidor

EEdith JamesSelf - Defense Attorney