10 Film Documentaries That Accidentally Uncovered Major Scoops

1. The Thin Blue Line - Death Row Inmate Randall Dale Adams Was Innocent

Gimme Shelter 1970 documentary
Miramax Films

While in the planning stages of the documentary that would eventually become 1988's The Thin Blue Line, director Errol Morris' goal was to centre his film around psychiatrist James Grigson - otherwise known by the ominous moniker "Doctor Death."

That name was given to Grigson due to the fact that most of the trials he prosecuted in resulted in a death sentence, which is why Morris was drawn to him. But when Morris began to dive deeper into his research, the focus of the documentary was completely flipped on its head.

While interviewing a man called Randall Dale Adams - a death row convict whom Grigson had previously testified against - Morris began to suspect that he was totally innocent, and that he hadn't committed the murder he was being accused of.

And thankfully, Morris' suspicions were bang on the money. Adams was indeed innocent, a massive scoop that Morris uncovered while making his documentary, when he managed to obtain a confession from the real murderer, David Harris.

As a result, Adams' conviction was overturned several months after the film's release - allowing him to walk free.

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Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.