Backdrop fallback
The Thin Blue Line

The Thin Blue Line

Watch TrailerWatch Movie
1988
1h 43m
7.6(417 votes)
Crime
Documentary

Overview

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.

Links & Resources

IMDbView

Social & External

IMDb

Production Companies

American Playhouse

Videos & Trailers

2 videos

Cast & Crew

36 members
Acting

Randall Adams

Self

No Image
Acting

David Harris

Self

No Image
Acting

Gus Rose

Self - Homicide Detective in Dallas

No Image
Acting

Jackie Johnson

Self - Homicide Detective in Dallas

No Image
Acting

Marshall Touchton

Self - Homicide Detective in Dallas

No Image
Acting

Dale Holt

Self - Internal Affairs Investigator in Dallas

No Image
Acting

Sam Kittrell

Self - Police Detective in Vidor

No Image
Acting

Hootie Nelson

Self - Friend of David Harris in Vidor

No Image
Writing

Dennis Johnson

Self - Friend of David Harris in Vidor

No Image
Acting

Floyd Jackson

Self - Friend of David Harris in Vidor

No Image
Acting

Edith James

Self - Defense Attorney

No Image
Acting

Dennis White

Self - Defense Attorney

No Image
Acting

Don Metcalfe

Self - The Judge

No Image
Acting

Emily Miller

Self - Surprise Eyewitness

No Image
Acting

R.L. Miller

Self - Surprise Eyewitness

No Image
Acting

Elba Carr

Self - Employee at Fas-Gas

No Image
Acting

Michael Randell

Self - Third Surprise Eyewitness

No Image
Acting

Melvyn Carson Bruder

Self - Appellate Attorney

No Image
Acting

Ron Adams

Self - Randall Adams' Brother (archive footage)

No Image
Acting

John Dillinger

Self - Gangster (archive footage)

John Dillinger
Acting

James Grigson

Self - Texas Forensic Psychiatrist Prosecution (archive footage)

No Image
Acting

Mark Mays

Self - Murder Victim (archive footage)

No Image
Acting

Douglas Mulder

Self - Dallas Prosecutor (archive footage)

No Image
Acting

Anna Sage

Self - Informant in John Dillinger Case (archive footage)

Anna Sage
Acting

Teresa Turko

Self - Dallas Police Officer (archive footage)

No Image
Acting

Henry M. Wade

Self - Texas District Attorney (archive footage)

No Image
Acting

Robert Wood

Self - Murdered Dallas Police Officer (archive footage)

No Image
Directing

Errol Morris

Self - Interviewer (voice) (uncredited)

Errol Morris
Acting

Amanda Caprio

Popcorn Lady at Drive-In - Re-Enactments

No Image
Acting

Michael Cirilla

2nd Interrogation Officer Jackie Johnson - Re-Enactments

No Image
Acting

Adam Goldfine

Randall Adams - Re-Enactments

No Image
Acting

Derek Horton

David Harris - Re-Enactments

No Image
Acting

Marianne Leone Cooper

Officer Teresa A. Turko - Re-Enactments

Marianne Leone Cooper
Acting

Michael Nicoll

Interrogation Officer Gus Rose - Re-Enactments

No Image
Acting

Phyllis Rodgers

Police Stenographer - Re-Enactments

No Image
Acting

Ron Thornhill

Officer Robert W. Wood - Re-Enactments

No Image

Similar Movies

Bile
2022

Bile

A mentally unstable man breaks from reality. He murders and cannibalises another man.

Movie
Drop-Outs
2020

Drop-Outs

A group of youths terrorise their local town by torturing and killing random people. A group of mercenaries attempt to intervene.

Movie
King of New York
6.8
1990

King of New York

A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York's poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.

Movie
A Perfect World
7.5
1993

A Perfect World

A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.

Movie
She Wants My Daughter
3.0
2025

She Wants My Daughter

When Jenna reconnects with her birth mother Sara through a DNA website, her adopted mother Claire is uneasy. As Sara grows closer to the family, Claire begins to suspect she has a hidden agenda.

Movie
Grimm Love
4.8
2006

Grimm Love

In Germany, as graduate student Katie Armstrong researches cannibal killer Oliver Hagen for her thesis, she becomes obsessed with her subject and ultimately plunges into a lifestyle similar to Hagen's and the thousands of people like him.

Movie
The Italian Job
6.8
2003

The Italian Job

Charlie Croker pulled off the crime of a lifetime. The one thing that he didn't plan on was being double-crossed. Along with a drop-dead gorgeous safecracker, Croker and his team take off to re-steal the loot and end up in a pulse-pounding, pedal-to-the-metal chase that careens up, down, above and below the streets of Los Angeles.

Movie
6.5
2006

Time to Die

Mysterious murders are haunting the city of Jyväskylä. Meanwhile a couple of teens are celebrating one's birthday but soon they get dragged into that mysterious murder case.

Movie
Shoot to Kill
6.6
1988

Shoot to Kill

When a cunning murderer vanishes into the rugged mountains of the Pacific Northwest, pursuing FBI agent Warren Stantin must exchange familiar city streets for unknown wilderness trails. Completely out of his element, Stantin is forced to enlist the aid of expert tracker Jonathan Knox. It's a turbulent yet vital relationship they must maintain in order to survive... and one that becomes increasingly desperate when Knox's girlfriend Sarah becomes the killer's latest hostage!

Movie
End Game
5.4
2006

End Game

Secret Service agent Alex Thomas is detailed with protecting the president of the United States but, at a public appearance, everything went wrong and the president is assassinated. Wracked with guilt, he blames himself for his team's failure. Meanwhile, seasoned journalist Kate Crawford comes to believe there's a massive conspiracy afoot and convinces Alex of it. Together they unravel a treacherous web of lies as they try to unlock the truth behind the conspiracy amid the deadly threat of shadowy assassins and ex-special ops enforcers.

Movie
Striptease
5.6
1996

Striptease

Bounced from her job, Erin Grant needs money if she's to have any chance of winning back custody of her child. But, eventually, she must confront the naked truth: to take on the system, she'll have to take it all off. Erin strips to conquer, but she faces unintended circumstances when a hound dog of a Congressman zeroes in on her and sharpens the shady tools at his fingertips, including blackmail and murder.

Movie
The Juror
5.7
1996

The Juror

Struggling single mother Annie Laird impulsively agrees to serve on a jury, hoping for a little excitement in her humdrum life. But she gets far more than she bargained for when she's forced to sacrifice the truth to save her son from the mob's seductive, psychotic enforcer.

Movie
The Devil and Ms. D
5.2
1999

The Devil and Ms. D

Is he really the devil incarnate, as he claims? Or is he a dangerous weirdo who uses his stories to get the best out of women? Because in any case he is one thing: a great seducer, to whom the psychologist Cora falls hopelessly; he is the target of her unfulfilled dreams, her most secret longings. The reason to completely change her life and even commit a perfect murder...

Movie
Infamous
6.5
2006

Infamous

While researching his book In Cold Blood, writer Truman Capote develops a close relationship with convicted murderers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.

Movie
Cobra
6.1
1986

Cobra

A tough-on-crime street cop must protect the only surviving witness to a strange murderous cult with far reaching plans.

Movie
The Big White
6.2
2005

The Big White

To remedy his financial problems, a travel agent has his eye on a frozen corpse, which just happens to be sought after by two hitmen.

Movie
Walking Tall: Lone Justice
5.8
2007

Walking Tall: Lone Justice

In Dallas, witnesses against a drug-lord are murdered in a safe-house.The testimony of FBI agents becomes the only chance to keep him in prison. They are lodged in another safe-house, but the place is invaded and the agents are executed. However, Kate is only wounded, and her boyfriend Nick believes there is a traitor in the agency and takes her to his ranch to protect her life.

Movie
Autopsy
4.9
2007

Autopsy

Eric and Sarah are detectives who are investigating the murder of a professor which it seems like a gay hate crime. Married Eric becomes attracted to the pathologist, Emmanuel.

Movie
La ragazza dei lillà
5.0
1986

La ragazza dei lillà

An honest and idealistic archaeologist, to find the legendary burial of an Etruscan king, collides with the interests of a group of "grave robbers". Larth is a passionate archaeologist of the Etruscan civilization, on the trail of a famous royal tomb. Vasco is a hotelier in the area which is enriched by plundering the graves and selling their treasures. Tania is the beautiful, thirteen year old, niece of Vasco (played by 18 yr old Brigitta Boccoli ) that disturbs the mature scholar Larth by attempting to seduce his wife Leonora. There is treasure, thievery, murder and seduction. Oh, and a red car.

Movie
Very Bad Things
6.3
1998

Very Bad Things

Kyle Fisher has one last night to celebrate life as a single man before marrying Laura, so he sets out to Vegas with four of his best buddies. But a drug and alcohol filled night on the town with a stripper who goes all the way, turns into a cold night in the desert with shovels when the stripper goes all the way into a body bag after dying in their bathroom. And that's just the first of the bodies to pile up before Kyle can walk down the aisle...

Movie

Recommended Movies

The Crash
7.0
2026

The Crash

A teen slams her car into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend. What seems like a tragic accident becomes a murder case.

Movie
West of Memphis
7.4
2012

West of Memphis

The documentary tells the hitherto unknown story behind an extraordinary and desperate fight to bring the truth to light. Told and made by those who lived it, the filmmakers' unprecedented access to the inner workings of the defense allows the film to show the investigation, research, and appeals process in a way that has never been seen before; revealing shocking and disturbing new information about a case that still haunts the American South.

Movie
Long Shot
7.2
2017

Long Shot

When Juan Catalan is arrested for a murder he insists he didn't commit, he builds his case for innocence around unexpected raw footage.

Movie
ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke
6.9
2019

ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke

This investigation examines the mysterious shooting of soul icon Sam Cooke, whose death silenced one of the most vital voices in the civil rights movement.

Movie
Into the Abyss
6.9
2011

Into the Abyss

We do not know when and how we will die. Death Row inmates do. Werner Herzog embarks on a dialogue with Death Row inmates, asks questions about life and death and looks deep into these individuals, their stories, their crimes.

Movie
Maternal Instinct
7.2
2026

Maternal Instinct

Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.

Movie
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story
6.2
2025

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story

Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.

Movie
Voyeur
5.9
2017

Voyeur

Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.

Movie
The Perfect Neighbor
6.8
2025

The Perfect Neighbor

Police bodycam footage reveals how a long-running neighborhood dispute turned fatal in this documentary about fear, prejudice and Stand Your Ground laws.

Movie
The Menendez Brothers
7.3
2024

The Menendez Brothers

Serving life in prison for murdering their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez speak out in this documentary explaining the shocking crime and ensuing trials.

Movie
Murder in Monaco
6.4
2025

Murder in Monaco

Monaco, 1999. One of the world's richest men dies in his penthouse. This documentary unpacks the mysterious murder of billionaire banker, Edmond Safra.

Movie
Nail Bomber: Manhunt
6.5
2021

Nail Bomber: Manhunt

This documentary examines the 1999 London bombings that targeted Black, Bangladeshi and gay communities, and the race to find the far-right perpetrator. He terrorized a city, seeking to ignite a race war but justice was served by those who wouldn't let his hate win.

Movie
Girl in the Picture
7.1
2022

Girl in the Picture

A young mother’s mysterious death and her son’s subsequent kidnapping blow open a decades-long mystery about the woman’s true identity, and the murderous federal fugitive at the center of it all.

Movie
American Murder: The Family Next Door
7.3
2020

American Murder: The Family Next Door

Using raw, firsthand footage, this documentary examines the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her children, and the terrible events that followed.

Movie
Out of Thin Air
5.9
2017

Out of Thin Air

Set within the stark Icelandic landscape, OUT OF THIN AIR examines the 1976 police investigation into the disappearance of two men in the early 1970s.

Movie
Cover-Up
7.1
2025

Cover-Up

He's devoted his career to uncovering stories the powerful want buried. From My Lai to Abu Ghraib, dig into the life's work of journalist Seymour Hersh.

Movie
Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator
6.3
2019

Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator

The spectacular rise and scandalous fall of hot-yoga evangelist Bikram Choudhury is chronicled through archival footage and extensive insider interviews.

Movie
Ted Bundy: Mind of a Monster
7.6
2019

Ted Bundy: Mind of a Monster

New exclusive access and never before heard testimony gives a unique insight into the mind of America's most notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. Breathtaking archive from the time and the voice of Bundy himself, reveals the monster inside the man.

Movie
Boys State
7.1
2020

Boys State

This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.

Movie
Beastie Boys Story
7.5
2020

Beastie Boys Story

Here's a little story they're about to tell... Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz share the story of their band and 40 years of friendship in a live documentary experience directed by friend, collaborator, and their former grandfather, Spike Jonze.

Movie