Episode 2.19: Strange Fruit

[Naj]

HAUNTED BY A CHILDHOOD MEMORY, JEFFRIES PERSUADES THE TEAM TO RE-EXAMINE THE 1963 MURDER OF A 15-YEAR-OLD BOY, ON "COLD CASE," SUNDAY, APRIL 3 at 8:00pm on CBS.



~Naj

Guest Cast List:

Mary Williams (1963): Cyndi Martino
Donald Williams (1963): Billy Brown
Zeke Williams (1963): Paul James
Mathilde (1963): Dana Davis
Billy Jones (1963): Chaney Kley
Judith (1963): Melinda Allen
Henry (1963): Scott Alan Smith
Charlotte (1963): Liana Liberato
14 K Leader/ Will Jeffries (1963): DJ Wyatt
Kid #1: Dallas McKinney
Donald Williams (2005): Ed Bernard
Worker #1 (1963): Brian Glanney
Worker #2 (2005): Francis Fallon
Billy Smith (2005): Drew Snyder
Tommy (1963): Tripp Henningston
Judith (2005): Mimi Cozzens
Clyde (1963): Sean Blakemore
Linda Callahan (2005): Mary Anne McGarry
Sergeant (1963): Cazimir Milostan

[V]

I Google'd "Strange Fruit" and found out that it is the name of a song sung by Billie Holiday -- according to the site, the song became the protest anthem during the 1940s and impacted millions during the civil rights movement. Here's a link I found that explains a little of the history. Pretty interesting...

www.pbs.org/independentlens/strangefruit/film.html

[Naj]

We thought this was going to run March 27 but Ravaged is the new episode for that date.


Stay tuned.



~Naj

[Ryebeach]

Finally got confirmation courtesy of thefutoncritic that this will be episode 19 and air Sunday April 3rd at 8:00pm.

[r2k]

Spoilers Below
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Oh yeah, this episode rocked. Excellent story, plenty of suspects and twists and a killer you never expected. I consider the one guy the main killer seeing as he initiated it. I at least got one song right. Anyway, this was a nice return to a more ordinary Cold Case episode. The murder takes the cake as the most brutal. CBS did a good job editing it while still giving it plenty of effect. By the way, the actresses aren't mentioned in the cast above, but the older Charlotte played the mother in E.T. and the older Mathilde has been on TV shows over the years. It was nice to see Jeffries having a real connection to the case. He seems to do a good job although Vera and Stillman did well when the case was close to them. As for Scotty, even without Christina he screws up. A real intervention is needed although Vera really shouldn't be talking. For me this episode ranks in the top five and tops "A Time To Hate" in the '60s cold case category.

[Naj]

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Another good episode. I didn't know how this was going to come down. At first I thought it might be Clyde the chess player but then it all suddenly changed and I was suspicious of Judith. When I see these kinds of cases I can't believe how cruel people are. That sargeant from the Philly police, if he's living, should be accountable for treating Matilida the way he did. That was awful. Maybe if the sargeant had done his job, Zeek would be alive. And why shouldn't the police department be responsble for Zeek's death as well? I wonder if Scotty is going to lose his job? Wouldn't that be a shocker?


~Naj

[saywhatknow]

This episode was incredible. Definitely up there, I'd say this is the "Time To Hate" of season two. Very moving. The end was horrifying and made me sick watching it. Very good episode

[Naj]

The mentality of the father and uncle taking the girl (charlotte) with them. What's wrong with them? Except what's wrong with them for killing any person no matter what his color? Oh and don't eat their jello either.

The end was horrifying and made me sick watching it

Yes, and "The Letter" comes to mind as well.

~Naj

[MrsB]

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OMG! I LOVED this episode. I had tears at the end! I was so sad about Zeke and sooo angry at those men! This episode ranks right up there with "A Time to Hate" and "Boy in the Box" for me! I LOVED the music too - so fitting.

One thing, though - if Charlotte and her mother were so upset about what happened, why, after all these years, wouldn't they have said anything about it? Why did it take a re-opening of the case to get them to tell about it? These days, as opposed to 1963, I'm sure it would have garnered a review and arrests of the guilty. Surely, they couldn't STILL have been afraid of those "old" men, right? Maybe I'm naive, but I think something like that on your mind would be too hard to live with, especially if you were as fond of the victim as they claimed to have been. By the way, I just assumed, since I may have missed it, that Charlotte's dad had already died. I think that reason alone should be enough to tell the dirty secret, even with one of the other guys being her uncle.

I think this one is by far the best episode this season. I'm still thinking about it - it was so sad and tragic. And, did I mention how awesome the music was? Oh, I did, didn't I? Again, LOVED this one!

[blklvuvla]

V said:

I Google'd "Strange Fruit" and found out that it is the name of a song sung by Billie Holiday -- according to the site, the song became the protest anthem during the 1940s and impacted millions during the civil rights movement. Here's a link I found that explains a little of the history. Pretty interesting...

www.pbs.org/independentlens/strangefruit/film.html

That's correct, although I believe the version that was sung at the end of the program was by Nina Simone, not the original one by Billie Holiday

[blklvuvla]

I almost always get teary-eyed at the end of each Cold Case show, but with Strange Fruit I just outright started to bawl and couldn't stop weeping. This was very, very moving and so well done. It was incredible to me, and I thought very brave for network TV, that they showed that most terrible image at the end, to which the name "Strange Fruit" refers. This is the image that for all African American is like a stab straight through the heart.

[TVFan]

Veena Sud has done it again! This was a powerful, gripping, moving, and tragic episode. It ranks right up there with "Mind Hunters," "Fly Away," and "The Sleepover" for me. I was absolutely blown away by this episode.

The characters were so rich. Even when you thought you knew exactly how they would react to situations, they surprised you, proving just how complicated human nature can be (Mrs. Jones scolding Zeke in jail, Mr. Jones cowardly hovering in the car while his brother murdered Zeke - I so thought he was the one who hanged him until the scene unfolded). I tend to favor the 80s episodes (b/c of the music and the nostalgia), but this episode was so powerful that I barely noticed the music. The one exception was the haunting and brillant ending song ("Strange Fruit"). As much as I have enjoyed and sung the praises of other ending sequences, I think that this one was the highlight of the series so far.

Maybe because I tend to see the best in people, but the absolute cruelty in people never ceases to amaze me. Mr. Jones, his brother, the police department in 1963, and so on. Completely inexcusable.

I just loved Lilly in this episode. She seemed so content and caring. I love it when she works with Jeffries, and that might have had something to do with her demeanor (she wasn't working with Scotty). They work well together, and I like how they are both gentle and caring. Scotty is heading down a dark road. I was glad other members of the team were calling him on it, especially Stillman. He better shape up or ship out.

Overall, an excellent episode! :thumb:

[saywhatknow]

I can't stress enough how good this episode was. The ending creeped me out for the rest of the night.

The bitter irony of how they murdered him was probably what made it so hard to stomach. The fact that he was being murdered during MLK's speech, and - I might have my historical facts wrong on this one - the fact that he got an old-fashioned Southern lynching in what was supposed to be the free North, I think the lynching surge died off after the 30's too. Again, I might be wrong on that one.

However, I loved how before he died Zeke got in that "You mean, your boss." I think that just made everyone go "yeah! you tell 'em! take that, jerks!!!" What struck me about Zeke was that he was a kid who stood up for what was right and for himself no matter what the consequences or how dangerous it might have been. He was a hero and that's one of the things that made this episode so bitterly tragic.

[irishkale]

That's what I was thinking, TVFan. Lilly and Jeffries were working together as well in "The Badlands," another great Jeffries episode. I think when Jeffries is with Lilly, he's more comfortable in saying things that he might not want to say in front of his usual partner, Vera.

There was something really magical in that shot of L & J sitting by the seaside, they just looked really nice together.
The show might do well to pair them together more often (Also the Vera-Scotty pairing is always good for some laughs).

TVFan said:

I just loved Lilly in this episode. She seemed so content and caring. I love it when she works with Jeffries, and that might have had something to do with her demeanor (she wasn't working with Scotty). They work well together, and I like how they are both gentle and caring.

[CC Fan]

I really liked this episode and thought the ending was soooo sad. I thought the actors were all really great and the whole storyline was very surprising.

[TVFan]

There was something really magical in that shot of L & J sitting by the seaside, they just looked really nice together.

I loved that scene as well irishkale. Besides being a nice scene with Lilly and Jeffries, it was also a nice change of scenery. The show usually stays dark with the blue and gray hues, and it has an overall colder feel to it. The scene at the beach was different because it was a brighter scene. I really liked the change for that one scene.

[duke147]

hello,

my parents who are technologically backwards taped over the end of cold case episode strange fruit, about the african american youth killed 40 years ago.

last thing i saw is the chess playing lady's husband taking her daughter away to find the african american

who is the killer?

[TVFan]

duke147 - the husband and his brother found Zeke along the road hitchhiking, so they picked him up. They took him to a remote place and beat him to a pulp (all while the little girl watched from the car). They were going to let him go, but they wanted Zeke to promise that he wouldn't tell. He refused, so the brother decided to hang him. The husband (of the chess playing woman) got back in the car and shielded his daughter from the horrific sight. As the brother and some conspirators hanged Zeke, Martin Luther King's speech played on the radio.

[samanda]

Episode is set to re-air on Oct. 30 instead of "Saving Patrick Bubley."

[r2k]

I have to see the ending to this one again. So brutal.