In ‘Murf The Surf,’ Director R.J. Cutler Explores Dashing Jewel Thief-Turned Murderer Who Became A Proto-True Crime Celebrity
deadline.comJack Roland Murphy just about had it all: Kennedy-esque good looks, charm to burn, athletic talent and even a musical gift.
Still, he wanted more. The man who became a legendary jewel thief – he bagged the priceless Star of India from a New York museum – before graduating to murder is the focus of the documentary series Murf the Surf: Jewels, Jesus and Mayhem in the USA, which premieres on MGM+ on Sunday.
Renowned filmmaker R.J. Cutler directed and executive produced the four-part series. “Murf the Surf tells the story of one of the most complicated and notorious American crime figures ever, Jack Roland Murphy,” Cutler has explained in a director’s statement, “who became America’s very first true crime television superstar in 1964, a mere few months after the assassination of John F.
Kennedy.” In episode 1 of the series, Murf describes his upbringing as “storybook.” It was hardly that, unless the book in question is Grimm’s Fairytales.
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