Movies Based on True Stories & Movies Based on True Crimes (List)

Movies Based on True Stories, movies based on true crimes, movies based on actual events, and movies inspired by real-life cases are THE most interesting. This is part of the original list that started it all---the first blog that tracked the real names and the real cases behind made-for-tv movies.


I started compiling a list of these stories and cases many years ago. Since then, the original pages have scattered to the wind. I don't have the heart to recreate the entire blog, but here are a few stories from my true crime and movie research notes that I found interesting enough to remember all these years later.

A Killer Among Friends

based on Missy Avila murder in Arleta, California.

A Stranger To Love True Story
based on James McDonnell Amnesia Case

Complex of Fear
based on John Charles Whipple Norcross, Georgia

Fried Green Tomatoes

inspired by tales of the Irondale Cafe and Bess Fortenberry

Girl in the Closet
based on Linda Weston of Philadelphia

Highway Heartbreaker
based on Joseph Mac Duffy

Loved to Death

based on Deborah Ross and Nathan Burris

Mother Knows Best
based on Lee Goldsmith

Too Close to Home
based on Elizabeth Duncan

The Price of a Broken Heart
based on Dot Hutelmyer

The Wrong Woman
based on The Wrong Man by Alfred Hitchcock

Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story True Story