FILM · 1988 · USA

The Thin Blue Line

Directed by

Errol Morris

Runtime

103 min

Studio

American Playhouse, Third Floor Productions

9 archived facts · 3 topics · 1 source · Last reviewed Oct 2026

An unorthodox investigation into the wrongful conviction of Randall Dale Adams for the 1976 murder of Dallas police officer Robert Wood. Using 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.

Summary: TMDB

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All facts (9)

1. #001

   Errol Morris spent two and a half years tracking down the various players in the Randall Adams case and persuading them to appear in the film.

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2. #002

   The final scene, in which the recording device is shown from various angles, was shot that way because Errol Morris's camera malfunctioned on the day of the interview.

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3. #003

   In 1989 it was rejected for the Oscar for Best Documentary because its script content led it to be considered a fiction film.

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4. #004

   This film was released in the same year the National Film Registry was first established. Thirteen years later, the film was selected for preservation in the Registry, making it the first film preserved that was as old as the Registry itself.

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5. #005

   As explained in the film, its title refers to the symbolic "thin blue line" of police officers that separates the public from anarchy, described as a state of complete lawlessness.

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6. #006

   Randall Adams's life after his release was so unusual that his death from cancer in October 2010 was not widely reported until June 2011.

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7. #007

   Dallas Police Detective Gus Rose, named in this film as having framed Randall Adams, was also involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Rose was known to have persuaded Lee Harvey Oswald's co-worker Buell Wesley Frazier to admit that Oswald had brought a mysterious long package of curtain rods to work. Frazier's sister confirmed this statement, but Frazier's mother and a supervisor at the Texas School Book Depository said Oswald was empty-handed.

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8. #008

   This film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 18 critic reviews.

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9. #009

   This film is part of spine number 753 of the Criterion Collection.

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