FILM · 1995 · FRANCE
Murder in the First
26 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (26)
- #001
In real life, Henri Young's defense was handled by two prominent San Francisco attorneys, Sol A. Abrams and James Martin MacInnes. They argued an insanity defense, claiming that the brutal treatment Young suffered at Alcatraz drove him to kill his fellow inmate Rufus McCain. The jury accepted the argument and returned a verdict of manslaughter, largely because the Alcatraz officials who testified at Young's trial refused to give the true details of how prisoners were treated there, which would have contradicted his defense. (Alcatraz officials and guards lived under strict rules against discussing prison procedures off the island, for fear the details would reach the newspapers and be used by criminals in escape attempts.)
- #002
Kevin Bacon lost twenty kilos to play Henri Young.
- #003
The prostitute Blanche, whom James Stamphill brings to visit Henri Young (Kevin Bacon) in prison, is played by Kevin Bacon's real-life wife, Kyra Sedgwick.
- #004
While the courtroom scenes were being shot, the location was shaken by the 6.7 Northridge, California earthquake. Kevin Bacon was handcuffed to a large table and took shelter beneath it as a huge crystal chandelier swung above his head. The warehouse studio was later condemned.
- #005
According to Stephen Tobolowsky, Oliver Stone had originally taken on the role of Mr. Henkin but did not show up on the day of shooting. Mark Rocco called Tobolowsky only a few hours before filming to take over the part.
- #006
The guard James Humson in the film is based on Warden James A. Johnston, who served as warden of Alcatraz from 1934 to 1948. Far from being a confused bureaucrat, Warden Johnston was largely in charge throughout his tenure at Alcatraz. Before his appointment to Alcatraz, Johnston had previously served as warden of both San Quentin and Folsom Prisons, but he did not (as depicted in the film) serve as warden of all three prisons at the same time. (This would have been impossible, since Alcatraz was a federal prison and San Quentin and Folsom were state prisons.)
- #007
Because the producers wanted authenticity, the film's leads, Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon and Sir Gary Oldman, spent some of their free time locked in prison cells when production began.
- #008
When Henri Young tried to escape from Alcatraz in real life, one of his accomplices was Dale Stamphill, who shares the same surname as Christian Slater's character.
- #009
Kevin Bacon chose to bring his children to the set to help him shake off the character of Henri Young after work, and had them watch the makeup application of Henri Young's scars so they would know it was not real.
- #010
Although the film's depiction of "the hole" as an inhospitable dungeon where prisoners were left naked is based on the real Henri Young's account, documentary evidence produced at the trial showed that his actual isolation cell contained lighting, a bed, indoor plumbing and a sink.
- #011
After the Northridge earthquake, aftershocks constantly shook the makeup trailer. Fed up, Sir Gary Oldman jumped out of the hairdresser's chair, opened the door and, looking at the sky, shouted "STOP!"
- #012
Embeth Davidtz went on record saying she hated the experience of working on the film, one of her first big-budget projects.
- #013
It was the last film directed by Marc Rocco.
- #014
Because of the logistics of shooting, Kevin Bacon wore a wig and a false beard for the scenes in which Henri Young's hair grows during his time in solitary confinement. Bacon claimed that shooting all the scenes in the hole, a single set, took 3 weeks and was later matched with scenes shot at Alcatraz. Half of the courtroom and prison scenes were shot alone before the hole scenes and half were completed afterwards. Bacon claimed this was a good compromise, because he would have been exhausted if he had shot the hole scenes first, and by shooting them in the middle of production he could draw on his experiences from some of the courtroom scenes.
- #015
Because all the scenes in the hole had to be artificially lit for the cameras, Kevin Bacon spent a night on the set to experience what it was like to be inside in pitch darkness.
- #016
According to an interview, Oliver Stone claims he auditioned for the role of D. A. William McNeil, which ultimately went to William H. Macy.
- #017
The broadcaster of the game in which Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak ended was Mel Allen, on the original broadcast.
- #018
When Henri Young first appeared in court, Judge Clawson said that Rufus McCain had died on June 11, 1941. June 11 was the same date on which Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin escaped from Alcatraz in 1962.
- #019
It was the second film produced by the US arm of the French film studio Le Studio Canal. The first was Boiling Point (1993).
- #020
It reunites Stephen Tobolowsky, Brad Dourif and R. Lee Ermey, who had all appeared in Mississippi Burning (1988), another film based on a true story.
- #021
Gary Oldman and William H. Macy also appear in Air Force One (1997).
- #022
Christian Slater and Gary Oldman also appeared together in True Romance (1993) and The Contender (2000).
- #023
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick also appeared together in Lemon Sky (1988), Pyrates (1991), The Woodsman (2004), Cavedweller (2004) and Loverboy (2005).
- #024
Brad Dourif (Byron) played Sheriff Brackett in Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009), while Charles Cyphers (not credited in the titles of this film) originated the role of Sheriff Brackett in Halloween (1978) and returned to it in Halloween II (1981) and Halloween Kills (2021).
- #025
Both Kevin Bacon and Christian Slater would play the lead character of the Hollow Man film series. Bacon played Sebastian Caine, the first invisible criminal, in Hollow Man (2000), while Slater took on Michael Griffin, the next invisible criminal, in Hollow Man II (2006). Moreover, Slater's character's surname is taken from the original Invisible Man's name in H. G. Wells's 1897 novel of the same title. Hollow Man 2 also includes brief scenes showing Sebastian Caine.
- #026
Christian Slater and William H. Macy later appeared together in He Was a Quiet Man (2007).
Continue through the archive
Christian Slateras James Stamphill- Kevin Baconas Henri Young
Gary Oldmanas Associate Milton Glenn
Embeth Davidtzas Mary McCasslin
William H. Macyas William McNeil
Stephen Tobolowskyas Mr. Henkin
Brad Dourifas Byron Stamphill
R. Lee Ermeyas Judge Clawson- Mia Kirshneras Adult Rosetta Young
- Kyra Sedgwickas Blanche
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