Murder in a Small Town

Plot

The film begins with a series of arguments involving millionaire Sidney Lassiter. He threatens to disinherit his son Albert, his wife Martha reveals she knows of his infidelity, and his secretary Kate Faxton urges reconciliation. Sidney then meets with Cash Carter, who seeks a theater donation; Sidney makes unreasonable demands and makes bigoted comments about Carter being Jewish, prompting Carter to call him an anti-Semite and leave. That night, a stranger hidden in Sidney's car fatally shoots him.

Lieutenant Tony 'Baloney' Rossini informs Carter of the murder and notes many suspects due to Sidney's temper. Carter agrees to help interview the three beneficiaries of the will: Albert, Martha, and Kate. During the interview with Martha, Carter demonstrates his observational skills by deducing she is faking her need for a wheelchair. The suspects all appear to be lying, but no conclusion is reached.

Intercut are scenes of Carter dating Mimi Barnes and his daughter Sophie leaving for college. Flashbacks reveal that Carter and Rossini first met when Rossini investigated the unsolved murder of Carter's wife, who was shot by thieves during a robbery; only one thief was caught. A restaurant scene shows Carter mistaking a man for the other thief, indicating he remains haunted by the event.

Production

Gene Wilder stated that A&E wanted him to invent a character he would like to play, an American living in America. He said he knew what they wanted because he was their audience, enjoying mysteries like Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Morse. Brooke Bailey Johnson, A&E executive vice president, said they learned Wilder was interested in doing a mystery and jumped at the opportunity, describing the collaboration as a 'Vulcan mind-meld.' Wilder received assurance he could make as many films as he liked with no set schedule and was given over three months to write the script, a rarity in television.

Wilder chose to set the story in the 1930s, feeling he belonged in another time. The script was written between January and April 1998 with his brother-in-law Gilbert Pearlman, who helped with story structure. Setting the story in Stamford, Connecticut, came naturally because Wilder and his wife lived there in an 18th-century house left to him by his late wife Gilda Radner. The film was shot in Toronto in August and September 1998, including at Parkwood Estate, with Bruce Surtees as director of photography.

Only one sequel, The Lady in Question, was produced. In 2000, Wilder was admitted to Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center for a stem-cell transplant, checking in under the name Larry Carter.

Reception

Murder in a Small Town was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Television Feature or Miniseries in 2000. It was the first A&E Original Movie and became the network's second-highest rated original movie, behind only the 1995 miniseries Pride and Prejudice. For the week of January 4–10, 1999, it ranked 13th in Nielsen's top 15 basic cable programs, with a rating of 2.6 (2.55 million homes). An encore showing at midnight ET drew an additional 921,000 households. Variety reported that the high ratings guaranteed more films starring Wilder as Cash Carter, and A&E announced two more series of original movies focusing on American detectives: Spenser (Small Vices) and Nero Wolfe (The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery).