Crime Scenes: A True Crime Movie Podcast - Mini Scenes 1: The Frozen Ground

Mini Scenes 1: The Frozen Ground

Explicit content warning

05/03/21 • 18 min

Crime Scenes: A True Crime Movie Podcast

In our first mini episode, we have a follow up conversation to our most recent episode of CRIME SCENES: A True Crime Movie Podcast where we covered the 2013 movie and real story of The Frozen Ground. We give our instant take to the movie, our opinion of the depictions after researching the real story, and share some extra facts that we did not cover in the main episode.

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Previous Episode

Episode 7: The Frozen Ground

In Episode 7, Bolton and Grace recap the 2013 movie, The Frozen Ground, and discuss the facts of the true crime story that the movie is based on.

The movie was written and directed by Scott Walker. The film stars Nicolas Cage as Alaskan State Trooper Sergeant Jack Halcombe, Vanessa Hudgens as survivor-hero Cindy Paulson, and John Cusack as serial killer Robert Hansen. The film focuses on serial killer Robert Hansen’s rampage against women and girls in the Anchorage area, and how survivor Cindy Paulson helped law enforcement apprehend Hansen and discover the extent of his crimes. The Frozen Ground provides insight into how Hansen was able to get away with his crimes for so long, and does a great job of highlighting the important role Cindy Paulson played in his eventual apprehension. This movie has some scenes that are tough to watch, and may be especially triggering for survivors of sex trafficking and/or sexual assault. While The Frozen Ground gets most of the major details correct; Scott Walker took dramatic license with parts of the storyline, which Bolton & Grace discuss in this episode.

Sources:
The Frozen Ground (2013)
“The FBI Files: Hunter's Game.” Season 2, episode 6, 1999. Available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
“The Frozen Ground.” IMDb.com, 1 Feb. 2013.
“The Frozen Ground.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Feb. 2021.
“Robert Hansen.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Apr. 2021.
The Butcher Baker: The Making of a Monster (Investigation Discovery Sept 2, 2020). Available to purchase on Amazon Prime Video.
Gilmour, Walter, and Leland E. Hale. Butcher, Baker: the True Account of an Alaskan Serial Killer. Open Road Integrated Media, 2018.
Crime Junkie (podcast), Episode titled: SERIAL KILLER: The Butcher Baker of Alaska, released Sept 21, 2020.
True Crime Guys (podcast), Episode titled: #19 Robert Hansen “The Butcher Baker”, released July 1, 2017.
True Crime All the Time (podcast), Episode titled: Ep80- Robert Hansen, released May 27, 2018.
Morbid (podcast), Episodes titled: Episode 43: Robert Hansen Part 1 AND Episode 45: Robert Hansen Part 2, released February 6, 2019 and February 13, 2019 respectively.
Sharma, Dhruv. “Where is Cindy Paulson Now?” The Cinemaholic, 22 Aug. 2020.
Hale, Leland. Butcher Baker: True Crime in Alaska.

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Next Episode

Episode 8: In Cold Blood (Part 1)

In Episode 8, Bolton and Grace begin recapping the 1967 true crime classic, In Cold Blood, and discuss the facts of the true crime story that the movie is based on. This is just Part 1; so be on the lookout for Part 2!

The movie was written, directed, and produced by Richard Brooks and is based on the 1966 book of the same name written by Truman Capote. The musical score was composed by the great Quincy Jones. The film stars Robert Blake and Scott Wilson as convicted murderers Perry Smith and Richard "Dick" Hickock. The film focuses on the seemingly random murder of a family of four in Holcomb, Kansas. Truman Capote's In Cold Blood is hailed by many to be the birth of the true crime genre. Likewise, the movie is often noted as the first true crime movie ever made. The film goes beyond birthing the true crime film genre and provides an entertaining, yet not overly dramatized or gory, and aesthetically interesting viewer experience.
Also, be sure to check out True Crime Out Loud wherever you get your podcasts!
Sources:
In Cold Blood (1967)
Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. (1966)
Documentary series - Cold Blooded: The Clutter Family Murders (2017) (can be found on AMC+ and Prime Video)
“In Cold Blood.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 May 2021.
“In Cold Blood (Film).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Apr. 2021.
Fujiwara, Chris (November 18, 2015). "In Cold Blood: Structuring the Real". The Current. The Criterion Collection. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
"Cinematic Classics, Legendary Stars, Comedic Legends and Novice Filmmakers Showcase the 2008 Film Registry". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
"Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
Crowther, Bosley (December 15, 1967). "Screen: Graphic Quadruple Murder". The New York Times: 59.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-fiction_novel
Yagoda, Ben (2013-03-20). "I Found the Papers of the Fact Checker Who Worked on "In Cold Blood." What Did He Miss?". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
Langbaum, Robert (1966). "Review: Capote's Nonfiction Novel". The American Scholar. 35:3: 570–80.
Bass, Erin Z. “New Evidence on 'In Cold Blood' Sixty Years Later.” Deep South Magazine, 14 Nov. 2019. deepsouthmag.com/2019/11/14/new-evidence-on-in-cold-blood-sixty-years-later/.