Death of a Soldier | |
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Directed by | Philippe Mora |
Written by | William L. Nagle |
Produced by | David Hannay William L. Nagle |
Starring | James Coburn Bill Hunter Reb Brown Maurie Fields |
Cinematography | Louis Irving |
Edited by | John Scott |
Music by | Allan Zavod |
Production company | Suatu Film Management |
Distributed by | Open Eye |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Budget | $4 million[1] |
Death of a Soldier is a 1986 Australian historical crime drama film directed by Philippe Mora and starring James Coburn, Bill Hunter and Reb Brown. It dramatizes of the case of Eddie Leonski (Brown), an American soldier stationed in Australia who committed a string a serial killings in May 1942. The investigation and trial, which was conducted by U.S. military authorities instead of Australian civil ones, contributed to the development of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but also inflamed Australian-American relations during the war.
The film was released in Australia on 16 May 1986, to generally positive reviews. It received two AFI Award nominations - Best Actor in a Leading Role (Brown) and Best Actress in a Leading Role (Maurie Fields).