On Aug. 9 and 10 in 1969, Los Angeles was gripped by fear.
During those two days, a lifetime petty convict named Charles Manson urged members of his “family,” a cult, to commit murder in hopes of spurring a race war between blacks and whites.
With Manson, a feature-length drama documentary broadcast 40 years later, History Television revisits the days leading up to the murders, the vicious acts themselves, and the trials that gripped a nation.
What makes Manson so chilling a film? Linda Kasabian, who spent a month as a member of the family and drove the getaway car both nights, narrates her first-person observations.
Dramatic – and I mean dramatic – re-enactments cover each moment leading up to, during, and after the murders with chilling accuracy based on her experiences and courtroom testimony. And actor Adam Wilson (The Listener, Flashpoint) is mesmerizing as Charles Manson.
Kasabian came forward after decades of living under an assumed name to relate why she joined the group, how she felt seeing male and female family members hack to death eight people – including pregnant actress Sharon Tate – and how she escaped the group and testified against them.
We spoke with Manson executive producer Nick Godwin and director Neil Rawles about getting Kasabian to speak and how, 40 years later, the Manson murders remain a wound not healed.
TVGuide.ca: How did Manson come about?
Nick Godwin: We thought the only way to do a really good film about Manson was if we had something new, otherwise it would just feel like another gratuitous film about Manson, of which there are quite a number. And we thought the most interesting and freshest approach would be to tell Linda’s story. Now, that said, we hadn’t spoke to Linda, but she was the only person who was present at the murders who wasn’t in prison.
And then there was a long, long period where we tried to find her. Months and months were spent hiring private investigators and doing detective work on our part before we found her. And then it was months longer before we convinced her to take part. At first, she didn’t want to have anything to do with us. She once did a brief interview about 20 years ago, and she hated the experience so much that she vowed never to do it again.
TVG: What made her decide to talk about the murders after all this time?
NG: Our producer persuaded her to take part, and she spent the better part of a day and half convincing her to do it. I think, for her, it was cathartic to talk about it. When we completed the film, she sat down and watched it with her whole family, because they never really understood her involvement with the Manson family.
TVG: It reminds me of war veterans talking about their horrific experiences.
NG: She’s certainly had her issues to deal with as a result of this. She was 19, 20, when this all happened, and it happened in the space of a month. It pretty much destroyed her life, considering at that time it was such a huge story.
TVG: Charles Manson is very much a powerful figure in the family members’ lives. What was it about Manson that made him so appealing to these kids?
NG: I think they were all looking for something. They were looking for somebody who was older than them who could give them some leadership. They did buy into the fact that he had some kind of philosophy on life that was attractive to them. He certainly played that game. He was very much of his time; I don’t think a Manson today would have much of the same affect. It’s doubtful.
But he also apparently read, when he was in prison, psychology books … and put all of this stuff together into this weird philosophy. But he was also – from the get-go – interested in manipulating people.
TVG: Did you ever think about requesting an interview with Charles Manson?
NG: We did. But there is a huge barrier in that – in the state of California, you cannot film an interview with an inmate. In fact, that law was enacted precisely because Manson would play the clown for cameras about 20 years ago. And, the only way to get him on the phone is if he calls you.
TVG: Neil, can you tell me about the colour palette that you used in the shooting of Manson? It has a very washed-out feel.
Neil Rawles: We were trying to give it a kind of ‘60s look to it. We were shooting in Toronto, and trying to match it for California. We shot wide shots of cars driving in landscapes, and that was shot in L.A., but the Manson family at the ranch was shot outside of Toronto. We pushed the lighting – that sort of golden light – to give it a California look to it.
Manson airs Sunday, Aug. 9, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on History.
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