1928
In 1928 Los Angeles, Christine Collins's son, Walter, vanishes, and months later, the LAPD presents an impostor, which Christine immediately refutes, leading Captain J. J. Jones to have her committed to a psychopathic ward. Simultaneously, Detective Lester Ybarra investigates child murders at Northcott Ranch, where an accomplice implicates Northcott in the deaths of several boys, including one matching Walter's description. Public outrage, fueled by Pastor Gustav Briegleb, secures Christine's release, leading to legal action against Jones and Davis, and the impostor boy confesses his deception, while Northcott is apprehended and sentenced to death. Despite Northcott's denial of knowing Walter before his execution, Christine later learns of a potential sighting of her son at the ranch, offering a renewed hope for his survival.
Save the Cat beat sheet
Christine Collins’s ordinary life as a single mother and switchboard supervisor is shattered when her son goes missing.
Open full beat sheetChristine Collins is listed as Protagonist. A telephone company supervisor in her thirties, mother of Walter Collins. In the parsed data, Christine Collins is connected to 84 scenes, 87 dialogue lines, 92 text mentions, first appearing around scene 4.
84 scenes / 87 dialogue linesGustav Briegleb is listed as Activist Pastor. A fire-and-brimstone preacher who uses his radio show to expose police corruption. In the parsed data, Gustav Briegleb is connected to 15 scenes, 7 dialogue lines, 7 text mentions, first appearing around scene 26.
15 scenes / 7 dialogue linesJ. J. Jones is listed as Antagonist. Captain of the Lincoln Park Juvenile Division. In the parsed data, J. J. Jones is connected to 14 scenes, 20 dialogue lines, 22 text mentions, first appearing around scene 40.
14 scenes / 20 dialogue linesArthur Hutchins is listed as Imposter. A runaway boy who claims to be Walter Collins. In the parsed data, Arthur Hutchins is connected to 14 scenes, 6 dialogue lines, 7 text mentions, first appearing around scene 38.
14 scenes / 6 dialogue linesWalter Collins is listed as Missing Child. Christine's nine-year-old son. In the parsed data, Walter Collins is connected to 10 scenes, 17 dialogue lines, 24 text mentions, first appearing around scene 4.
10 scenes / 17 dialogue linesBen Harris is listed as Floor Manager. Christine's supervisor at the Pacific Telephone Company. In the parsed data, Ben Harris is connected to 9 scenes, 11 dialogue lines, 11 text mentions, first appearing around scene 6.
9 scenes / 11 dialogue linesGordon Northcott is listed as Serial Killer. The owner of the Northcott Ranch in Wineville. In the parsed data, Gordon Northcott is connected to 9 scenes, 8 dialogue lines, 9 text mentions, first appearing around scene 92.
9 scenes / 8 dialogue linesS. S. Hahn is listed as Attorney. A prominent attorney who represents Christine Collins pro bono. In the parsed data, S. S. Hahn is connected to 8 scenes, 11 dialogue lines, 11 text mentions, first appearing around scene 89.
8 scenes / 11 dialogue linesCarol Dexter is listed as Patient. A fellow patient in the psychopathic ward. In the parsed data, Carol Dexter is connected to 8 scenes, 4 dialogue lines, 4 text mentions, first appearing around scene 71.
8 scenes / 4 dialogue linesLester Ybarra is listed as Detective. A police detective who investigates the Northcott Ranch. In the parsed data, Lester Ybarra is connected to 8 scenes, 1 dialogue line, 1 text mention, first appearing around scene 75.
8 scenes / 1 dialogue linesJonathan Steele is listed as Hospital Administrator. Head doctor at the LA County General Hospital psychopathic ward. In the parsed data, Jonathan Steele is connected to 7 scenes, 14 dialogue lines, 15 text mentions, first appearing around scene 73.
7 scenes / 14 dialogue linesJames E. Davis is listed as Antagonist. Hard-edged Police Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. In the parsed data, James E. Davis is connected to 5 scenes, 2 dialogue lines, 2 text mentions, first appearing around scene 94.
5 scenes / 2 dialogue linesEarl W. Tarr is listed as Corrupt Physician. A child specialist who consults for the police. In the parsed data, Earl W. Tarr is connected to 4 scenes, 5 dialogue lines, 6 text mentions, first appearing around scene 50.
4 scenes / 5 dialogue linesSanford Clark is listed as Witness/Accomplice. Gordon Northcott's nephew, held captive and forced to participate in murders. In the parsed data, Sanford Clark is connected to 3 scenes, 6 dialogue lines, 6 text mentions, first appearing around scene 75.
3 scenes / 6 dialogue linesEstablishing shot of the Collins home in 1928.
Christine wakes up to her alarm.
Christine CollinsChristine gets ready for the day.
Christine CollinsChristine wakes Walter for school.
Christine Collins, Walter CollinsChristine takes Walter to school on the street-car.
Christine Collins, Walter CollinsChristine works as a supervisor at the telephone company.
Christine Collins, Ben HarrisChristine eats lunch and looks at a drawing from Walter.
Christine CollinsChristine picks up Walter from school.
Christine Collins, Walter CollinsChristine puts Walter to bed.
Christine Collins, Walter CollinsChristine gets a call to work on her day off.
Christine CollinsChristine tells Walter she has to work.
Christine Collins, Walter CollinsChristine leaves for work.
Christine Collins, Walter CollinsChristine works a busy shift.
Christine CollinsMr. Harris talks to Christine about a promotion.
Christine Collins, Ben HarrisChristine misses her streetcar.
Christine CollinsChristine rides home.
Christine CollinsChristine arrives home to find it dark.
Christine CollinsChristine searches for Walter.
Christine CollinsChristine checks the kitchen.
Christine CollinsChristine checks Walter's room.
Christine CollinsChristine searches outside.
Christine CollinsChristine asks Mrs. Riley if she has seen Walter.
Christine CollinsChristine calls the police.
Christine CollinsChristine continues searching.
Christine CollinsPolice arrive at the Collins home.
Christine CollinsPastor Briegleb speaks about the case on the radio.
Gustav BrieglebChief Davis listens to the radio.
James E. DavisChristine wakes up.
Christine CollinsChristine visits Walter's room.
Christine CollinsChristine returns to work.
Christine Collins, Ben HarrisChristine returns to the switchboard.
Christine CollinsChristine addresses her coworkers.
Christine CollinsMr. Harris looks for Christine.
Ben HarrisMr. Harris finds Christine.
Christine Collins, Ben HarrisMr. Harris searches for Christine in the lunch area.
Ben HarrisChristine makes repeated calls to missing persons departments while Mr. Harris watches.
Christine Collins, Ben HarrisA man and a boy stop at a diner in De Kalb, Illinois.
Arthur Hutchins, Gordon NorthcottThe man leaves the boy as collateral for a meal he cannot pay for.
Arthur Hutchins, Gordon NorthcottThe cook calls the sheriff after the man fails to return.
Arthur HutchinsCaptain Jones informs Christine that her son has been found.
Christine Collins, J. J. JonesChristine and Jones arrive at the station amidst a media frenzy.
Christine Collins, J. J. JonesThe boy identified as Walter travels to Los Angeles.
Arthur HutchinsChristine meets the boy and realizes he is not her son.
Christine Collins, James E. Davis, J. J. Jones, Arthur HutchinsChristine and the boy ride home in silence.
Christine Collins, Arthur HutchinsChristine observes the boy at dinner.
Christine Collins, Arthur HutchinsChristine discovers the boy is circumcised.
Christine Collins, Arthur HutchinsChristine confronts the boy about his height.
Christine Collins, Arthur HutchinsChristine confronts Jones about the discrepancies.
Christine Collins, J. J. JonesJones dismisses Christine's concerns.
Christine Collins, J. J. JonesDr. Tarr arrives to examine the boy.
Christine Collins, Arthur Hutchins, Earl W. TarrDr. Tarr tests the boy's recognition with neighborhood children.
Christine Collins, Arthur Hutchins, Earl W. TarrDr. Tarr attempts to have neighborhood children identify the imposter as Walter Collins.
Christine Collins, Walter Collins, Earl W. TarrMrs. Riley identifies the imposter as Walter Collins after struggling to see.
Christine Collins, Walter Collins, Earl W. TarrChristine confronts the imposter after a heated phone call with the police.
Christine Collins, Walter CollinsChristine pleads with the imposter to tell the truth.
Christine Collins, Walter CollinsPastor Briegleb discovers a newspaper article about the boy.
Gustav BrieglebChristine receives a call from Briegleb.
Christine Collins, Gustav BrieglebBriegleb advises Christine on how to fight the police.
Christine Collins, Gustav BrieglebDr. Montgomery confirms the boy is not Walter due to dental differences.
Christine CollinsMrs. Fox confirms the boy is not Walter.
Christine CollinsChristine publicly declares the boy is not her son.
Christine Collins, Gustav BrieglebCaptain Jones orders Christine to be brought in.
J. J. JonesChristine is brought to the station and sits with the imposter while Ybarra takes a call about a juvenile in Wineville.
Christine Collins, Arthur Hutchins, J. J. Jones, Lester YbarraJones confronts Christine, accuses her of being an unfit mother, and has her committed to the psychopathic ward.
Christine Collins, J. J. JonesChristine is processed into the psychopathic ward against her will.
Christine CollinsChristine undergoes a humiliating physical examination.
Christine CollinsChristine is locked in a room with another patient who screams throughout the night.
Christine Collins, Carol DexterYbarra encounters Gordon Northcott on the road and asks for directions to the Northcott Ranch.
Lester Ybarra, Gordon NorthcottYbarra raids the Northcott Ranch and captures Sanford Clark.
Lester Ybarra, Sanford ClarkPastor Briegleb broadcasts a radio show about Christine's disappearance.
Gustav BrieglebChristine meets Carol Dexter, who explains that the police use the ward to silence people.
Christine Collins, Carol DexterChristine is escorted by a nurse to Dr. Steele's office.
Christine CollinsDr. Steele interviews Christine, attempting to force her to admit she is delusional regarding her son.
Christine Collins, Jonathan SteeleDetective Ybarra meets with the Administrator to see Sanford Clark.
Lester YbarraSanford confesses to Ybarra about the murders at the Northcott Ranch.
Sanford Clark, Lester YbarraCaptain Jones orders Ybarra to stop investigating the murders and return to the station.
J. J. Jones, Lester YbarraBriegleb confronts Jones about Christine's whereabouts.
Gustav Briegleb, J. J. JonesChristine refuses medication and is confronted by Dr. Steele.
Christine Collins, Jonathan Steele, Carol DexterSteele tries to force Christine to sign a confession.
Christine Collins, Jonathan SteeleChristine is forcibly sedated, and Carol Dexter is punished for intervening.
Christine Collins, Jonathan Steele, Carol DexterOur thoughts go out again to Mrs. Christine Collins, of Lincoln Heights -- whose young son, Walter Collins, disappeared almost two weeks ago. Though she is not a member of our congregation, we pray for her today as we have every day since we first learned of her situation on the radio, and in the newspapers. We are told that the Los Angeles Police Department is doing the best it can to reunite mother and child, and I am sure that is true. But given its position as the most violent, corrupt and incompetent police department this side of the Rocky Mountains, that's not saying a great deal. Every day, new bodies show up along Mulholland, or in ditches, the work of Police Chief James Davis and his so-called "gun squad." Every day the needs of honest citizens are put second to greed and personal gain. Every day, the city sinks deeper into a cesspool of fear, intimidation and corruption. Once the City of Angels, Los Angeles is now a place where our protectors have become our brutalizers...where to be the law...is to be above the law...where none dare speak truth to power. But we will not be silent. We will continue to put their offenses and their failures in full view of the public. We will not be intimidated.
Excuse me, can I have your attention? Listen, everyone, I appreciate your consideration, but I'm not made of porcelain. I won't break down and cry if the station to station call to Kankakee doesn't go through. Actually, I...promised myself that I wouldn't cry...wouldn't let myself cry...until I knew, one way or another, what.... Point is...I like the noise here. So don't be afraid to talk and...push buttons, and drop things. If it wasn't noisy, how would I know I was in the right place?
Whether or not this was in fact the correct boy was not relevant to my decision. Throughout this period, she acted strangely. She was often cool, aloof and unemotional, especially when presented with the boy we located in De Kalb, and in our subsequent conversations. It was because of her disturbing behavior that I submitted her for observation to the psychopathic ward of Los Angeles County General Hospital.
Yeah, I want to make a statement. I want to make it real clear that I never once got a fair shake from you, your "honor," or this court. The only one of you here worth a goddamn is her -- 'cause she's the only one never badmouthed me to the press. She understands what it is when the police frame you for something you didn't do and throw you in the hole. Isn't that right?
so after much effort, we were able to identify this boy, who was has been responsible for so much recent trouble, as Arthur Hutchins of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Between this, and the arrest of the man suspected of murdering the real Walter Collins, we have cleared up two of the biggest mysteries in the history of Los Angeles.
That's odd, because according to the head nurse, when you were admitted you accused the police of conspiring to do this deliberately, to punish you. So either she and the interns are also conspiring against you...or you're changing your story. Do you often have trouble telling reality from fantasy, Mrs. Collins?
My cousin's Gordon Northcott. He owns the ranch where you found me. He let me live there in exchange for watching the place when he was gone, doing chores, stuff like that. Said I could stay on as long as I wanted to. I figured that also meant I could leave whenever I wanted to, but he wouldn't let me.
Walter, I decided a long time ago that I would always tell you the truth, that I would treat you like a grown-up. I can't expect you to respect me unless I respect you. I've never lied to you. Your father leaving had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with what was in the responsibility box.
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