This movie omits several real-life aspects of the Walter Collins case (probably for the sake of clarity and running time): In this movie, L.A.P.D. detective Lester Ybarra more or less stumbles upon Gordon Stewart Northcott's case while he is following up on a lead concerning an illegal immigrant, Sanford Clark (who is Northcott's nephew). In reality, Clark's sister had once visited her brother on Northcott's ranch, where she learned what Northcott had done and how he forced Sandford to cooperate in the murders. After returning to Canada, she warned the authorities, who tipped off the L.A.P.D. The L.A.P.D. then had the Immigration Service check the murder story, largely under the pretense of an immigration issue. Gordon Stewart Northcott saw two Immigration Service Agents coming to his ranch, and fled before they arrived. He told his nephew Sandford Clark that he would be hiding in a nearby tree line, threatening to shoot the boy from afar if he didn't stall the Agents. Clark actually managed to do that for two hours before he felt comfortable enough to trust the two Agents, realizing that Northcott had been bluffing and was long gone. This movie omits Gordon Northcott's mother Sarah Louise, who was the only person convicted of murdering Walter Collins. She had confessed to the murder, but later retracted her confession. She was sentenced to life imprisonment, but was paroled after less than twelve years in prison. Gordon Northcott was convicted (and hanged) for the murders of the Winslow brothers (ten and twelve-years-old), and the "headless Mexican" found on the side of the road near La Puente, California, but not the murder of Walter Collins (since his mother had already confessed to that). Christine Collins waited four days to call the Police about Walter's disappearance. She initially thought his abduction was connected to her husband, who was serving a term for armed robbery in Folsom prison (the movie explains that the husband had simply walked away before Walter's birth because he couldn't handle the responsibility of being a father). When she was finally convinced that neither her husband nor any of his criminal associates had anything to do with Walter's disappearance, she notified the authorities. Walter did not disappear while Christine was working on a Saturday. In reality, she gave him a dime to go to the movies, and he never came home. Christine Collins did not witness Northcott's execution. She spent the morning in the house of San Quentin's warden with the mother of the Winslow brothers. This movie never explains why Arthur J. Hutchins impersonated the real Walter Collins (except at 1:30:56 - to meet Tom Mix), entertaining the possibility that the L.A.P.D. coerced the boy into doing it. In reality, Hutchins had ran from home to get away from his stepmother. While on the road, he met a drifter who pointed out Hutchins' resemblance to the missing Walter Collins. After being found by the Police, Hutchins decided to play along, claiming to be the missing Walter in the hope of not having to go back home, but instead go to Hollywood and meet his idol, Tom Mix.

Film

Nessun dato in archivio