MovieChat Forums > Forensic Files (1996) Discussion > FF changing names and images

FF changing names and images

posted 8 years ago by caulkins69
11 replies | jump to latest

They stick a disclaimer in the end credits that says some names and images have been changed to protect the innocent. I figured that only applied to people who were tangentially involved with the case. But then I saw the episode "The Financial Downfall." This is the one where a couple purchases life insurance for a mentally slow 20-year-old woman whom they promptly push off a cliff. FF gives the victim's name as Donna Hartman, and I believe they even have interviewees refer to her by that name. But it turns out her real name was Deana Hubbard Wild. Perhaps even worse, the still photos that they show, supposedly taken just before the victim's death, are in fact reënactments, although nothing on screen alerts the viewer to that fact. That is disgraceful, IMO. What possible legal justification can there be for this cover-up? I searched online and found an L.A. Times article from 1992 which gives the victim's name, so how big a secret can it be? The photos must be a matter of public record, since they were entered in evidence at trial.

[–] GorillazButter 8 years ago

Perhaps even worse, the still photos that they show, supposedly taken just before the victim's death, are in fact reënactments, although nothing on screen alerts the viewer to that fact.

Where'd you get that info from? That is bizarre. I always assumed those were real.

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I'd love to see you in the moonlight with your head thrown back and your body on fire.

[–] caulkins69 8 years ago

The first thing that tipped me off was the fact that the quality of the pictures is way too good to have come from a disc camera. Second, the match between the people in the photos and the actors in the live-action reënactment is too exact. Third, I found this site which shows the actual photos, albeit in grainy black-and-white because they were scanned from the pages of a book:

http://deathbenefitjusticeforannie.blogspot.com/2009/05/deanna-wild-crime-scene-photos-at-big.html

[–] tlm557 8 years ago

The disclaimer already told you that... and you just said it... so what are you complaining about?

The show has to protect itself from legal action if someone should seek it if they released personal information.

[–] caulkins69 8 years ago

The disclaimer whizzes by at the end and doesn't specify which names and images were changed. I've seen at least one FF episode where the narrator says something like, "...a man we'll call Jim" to indicate that that is not his real name. That is the honest way to do it, but in the case of "Donna Hartman" they didn't do that.

[–] GorillazButter 8 years ago

I'm with you on this one. They usually go out of their way to let you know what's real and what isn't. The photos in that episode I genuinely believed to be the real thing because they were made to look like real photos.

Not that it tarnishes the quality of the show but it makes me question every episode while watching now since that one was deceptive. Should I assume all photos shown on the program are just look-alike actors being shot with Polaroid cameras? That thought shouldn't even be crossing my mind.

Even shows like Homicide Hunter make it clear through the way it's filmed that you're looking at an actor. The same way FF does with the scenes being re-enacted should apply to any photos as well. Make it obviously phony, get the real thing, or have text accompanying the fake photo when it's shown. A disclaimer at the end is legal coverage, sure, but that's not really the same as flat out honesty on what you're showing.

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I'd love to see you in the moonlight with your head thrown back and your body on fire.

[–] canadazbest 8 years ago

I've never seen anyone use an umlaut in a word like re-enactment (that's how I was taught to spell it), may I ask if you are of German descent?

due to gov't cutbacks, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.

[–] Beeracuda 8 years ago

I also noticed that about that episode. I usually follow up on cases that I see on the show, to look for any updates since airing, and I found what you stated as well.

There's another episode with a different victim. The episode "Weakest Link" (Season 11, Episode 11) shows the murder victim Florence Hildreth. The still pictures of the victim were clearly of the actress portraying her in the episode. After doing a search for the victim, I could only find 1 true picture, and it in no way resembles the ones shown on the show.

[–] abigail7881 8 years ago

I'm sure there's plenty of times they made the characters look better than they are in real life. No offense to anyone that's been a victim on 'forensic files', but they aren't all supermodels. Like on 'homicide hunter', the cases that take place in the 70s have the characters dressed in modern day clothing and not the clothes of the time.

[–] canadazbest 8 years ago

don't most Homicide Hunter episodes take place in the early/mid 90's?

due to gov't cutbacks, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.

[–] 4-Kane 8 years ago

don't most Homicide Hunter episodes take place in the early/mid 90's?

Many of them take place in the '90s, but many others are set in the '80s. There are also a few episodes that take place in the '70s, including "My First Case" and "The Master Key" (1977 and 1979, respectively).

[–] wlbennett 8 years ago

It's not a cover up. The general disclaimer is enough. Not only does it provide legal cover if needed, it protects the people that were involved in the events from being harassed by people that feel the need to insert themselves into these people lives.

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.