‘Shadow’ Sheds Light on Sam Sheppard Case

Fans of the celebrated TV series “The Fugitive” probably know that it was inspired by the true story of a Midwestern physician wrongfully convicted of brutally killing his wife.

As depicted in the arresting CBS movie “My Father’s Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story,” the actual tale is an absorbing murder mystery in which several lives were ripped apart by the heinous crime.

Peter Strauss, in one of his grittiest roles since the 1970s miniseries “Rich Man, Poor Man,” portrays Sam Sheppard, the brilliant albeit arrogant surgeon in Cleveland whose wife was raped and beaten to death July 4, 1954.

Police immediately pegged the “flamboyant” Sheppard as the killer, concealing evidence that might otherwise gum up what they saw as an open-and-shut case.

Shifting between recent and past events, “Shadow” is told from the perspective of Sheppard’s tormented son (Henry Czerny), also named Sam, whom we meet as a boy (Bradley Reid) taken in by his stern uncle while Dad is railroaded in a rigged trial involving a ravenous press.

The resulting scandal, which laid bare Sheppard’s multiple affairs with other women, took a toll on both parent and child, who was subsequently shuffled off to military school, where he matured into a disciplined teen (Jonathan Kroeker).

As a grown man, Czerny’s Sam has a chance encounter with a sympathetic attorney (Ralph Small) in a position to help him gain access to evidence swept under the rug during the trial. He also has sporadic conversations with the spirit of his deceased father, who urges him to reopen the case and get at the truth of what happened that night.

What emerges from the drama is a classic miscarriage-of-justice story and redemption of sorts for the perceived offender.

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* “My Father’s Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story” airs at 9 tonight on CBS. The network has rated it TV-PG-DV (may be unsuitable for young children, with advisories for suggestive dialogue and violence).