Any Mother's Son

Any Mother's Son

Any Mother's Son is a 1997 American made-for-television drama film directed by David Burton Morris. The movie is based on a true story, the murder of Allen Schindler, a United States Navy sailor who was killed for being gay. The film stars Bonnie Bedelia, Hedy Burress, Sada Thompson and Paul Popowich. It premiered on August 11, 1997 on Lifetime. The movie won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Made for TV Movie, and Bedelia was nominated for a CableACE Award for Outstanding Actress in a Movie or Miniseries.

Plot

In 1992, Allen Schindler, a 22-year-old navy sailor, is brutally beaten to death so badly that his body could be identified only by tattoos. The murder took place in a public restroom while Schindler was on leave in Sasebo, Japan. Schindler's mother, Dorothy Hajdys, becomes distraught when the representatives of the Navy refuse to provide her with full details on her son's murder. However, a reporter from the "Pacific Stars and Stripes" informs Dorothy that her son was gay, which Hajdys didn't know, and that this might have been the reason he was killed. But if the Navy has anything to say about it, the entire matter will be swept under the rug. A deal has already been cut with an accomplice, who, after a secret court-martial, received a four-month jail sentence, of which he served 78 days. Radicalized by the incident and its aftermath, Dorothy joins forces with a journalist to force the Navy to reveal the whole truth.