All Lies End in Murder (1997)

Vanessa Marquez in All Lies
End in Murder

This past January 19 it was 25 years since the premiere of the television movie All Lies End in Murder. It first aired on The ABC Sunday Night Movie on January 19 1997. All Lies End in Murder involved some notable talent both behind and in front of the camera. For myself it is notable as the only TV movie in which  my dear friend Vanessa Marquez appeared during her run as Nurse Wendy Goldman on the TV show ER.

In All Lies End in Murder, following the murder of a police officer (Markie Valesquez, played by Rene L. Moreno), a police officer's wife Meredith Scialo (Kim Delaney) comes to suspect that her husband (Danny Scialo, played by Jamey Sheridan) is a corrupt cop. The movie follows her as she seeks evidence to confirm her suspicions.

The teleplay for All Lies End in Murder was written by someone with a notable surname. Lynn Mamet is the sister of David Mamet, the playwright and screenwriter behind such works as the play Glengarry Glen Ross and the movie House of the Games (1987). Lynn Mamet had begun her career writing under her married name, Lynn Weisberg, but changed to her birth  name after a studio learned she was David Mamet's sister. It was directed by Andy Wolk, who had worked in the New York City theatre before moving into television and directing TV movies and episodes of such shows as Tales from the Crypt and N.Y.P.D. Blue. Lynn Mamet would later go onto work on the TV show Law & Order, while Andy Wolk would go onto work on such shows as The Practice and Criminal Minds.

Here it must be stressed that All Lies End in Murder was not based on a true story. While the phrase "based on a true story" would become synonymous with TV movies, TV movies based on true stories really did not begin to take off until the mid to late Eighties. TV movies based on true stories peaked in popularity around 1992. By the mid-Nineties they had declined sharply in popularity, forcing the networks to seek out TV movies with more original storylines. All Lies End in Murder is one of those movies.

At the time that All Lies End in Murder aired, Kim Delaney was still appearing as Detective Diane Russell on N.Y.P.D. Blue. Jamey Sheridan had played Dr. John Sutton on the TV show Chicago Hope. He would later play Captain James Deakins on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Kevin Kilner played Rich Bernardi in All Lies End in Murder. He had previously appeared in the feature film Twenty Bucks (1993) and starred on the short-lived sitcom Almost Perfect. Meredith Scialo's fellow police wives were played by Any Pietz, who was on Caroline in the City at the time, and Robin Bartlett, who was appearing on Mad About You.

While her name appears in the opening credits, Vanessa Marquez actually plays a very small role in All Lies End in Murder. She plays murdered police officer Markie Valesquez's widow Yvonne Valesquez. Vanessa is little more than window dressing in the film, appearing only in a few scenes and getting only a few lines. That having been said, what time she is on screen she does make an impression. She does a very good job of playing the grieving, young widow of a police officer.

Over all, All Lies End in Murder is superior to most TV movies of the time. It unfolds much more realistically than many of the TV movies allegedly "based on true stories." The plot is also filled with suspense, making All Lies End in Murder a fine thriller. Unlike many TV movies of the Nineties, the performances are naturalistic and not overwrought. Ultimately, All Lies End in Murder has only one major flaw. Late in the movie's plot an incident occurs that nearly breaks suspension of disbelief in the film. The incident itself is realistic enough, but consequences from that incident that one would expect in real life never occur. I can only figure that perhaps Lynn Mamet did not have the adequate time to deal with the incident (TV movies in the Nineties only ran a little over 90 minutes after commercials).

Sadly, All Lies End in Murder is not widely available. It has never had an official release on DVD, nor is it on any streaming services. It can be found on the grey market. On YouTube there is a version dubbed into French under the French title La vérité à double tranchant (literally, "Double Edged Truth").

I very seriously doubt very many people remember All Lies End in Murder, which is a shame. It is a superior TV movie that stood out from its contemporaries in that it featured a fairly realistic plot and performances that were not overwrought. It definitely deserves the DVD release that many lesser TV movies have gotten.