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Dead Man's Wire tells the real-life story of Tony Kiritsis abducting mortgage broker Richard O. Hall in 1977
Kiritsis, who is played by Bill Skarsgård, placed a gun attached to a wire around Hall's neck and held him hostage for days
The film, which hit theaters on Jan. 16, also stars Dacre Montgomery as Hall and Colman Domingo as Fred Temple
Dead Man's Wireis based on a shocking true story.
The film, which premiered in theaters on Jan. 16, follows Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård), a disgruntled property owner who kidnaps his mortgage broker Richard O. Hall (Dacre Montgomery).
In real life, Kiritsis went to Hall's office in Indianapolis and wired the muzzle of a shotgun to the back of his head. Kiritsis connected the wire to the trigger, with the other end around Hall's neck — thus giving the contraption the name, "dead man's wire."
Even though the police were aware of the situation, they were unable to apprehend or shoot Kiritsis without his gun going off and shooting Hall in the head. Hall also had to be careful with how he moved, because the wire would pull and shoot him.
In addition to Skarsgård and Montgomery, the crime thriller starsCary Elwesas Detective Michael Grable,Myha'laas Linda Page,Colman Domingoas Fred Temple,Al Pacinoas M.L. Hall, John Robinson as John the Cameraman and Kelly Lynch as Mabel Hall. Although the film is an adaptation, Elwes explained that they tried to be as "faithful" to the real story as possible.
"The story is so extraordinary that we really didn't have to take many licenses," Elwes toldThe Directin October 2025. "We were pretty faithful to the story. Yeah, sure, there were bits and pieces that we tweaked, but for the most part, what you see is what happened."
Here's everything to know about the true story thatDead Man's Wireis based on.
IsDead Man's Wirebased on a true story?
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Dead Man's Wireis a film adaptation of the hostage situation that shook the entire city of Indianapolis over a three-day period in 1977.
Kiritsis was a veteran struggling to make ends meet when he reached his breaking point after the Meridian Mortgage Co. — which loaned him money years prior — refused to give him additional time to pay his mortgage for a property he bought in hopes of leasing to a shopping mall developer, per theEncyclopedia of Indianapolis.
At the time, Kiritsis accused the executives of sabotaging his plans and became determined to make the firm apologize to him and pay him $5 million. On Feb. 8, 1977, Kiritsis entered the Meridian office and targeted Hall.
Shortly after entering Hall's office, Kiritsis revealed that he was carrying a pistol and a sawed-off shotgun, and quickly put the wired concoction on Hall's neck. Kiritsis then had Hall call the police to alert them of the situation while also explaining the "dead man's wire" invention.
Even after authorities arrived at the scene, there was no way to apprehend him without killing Hall, so Kiritsis and Hall strolled out of the building and drove off in a police car.
Kiritsis forced Hall into the driver's seat and made him drive to his apartment, which he alleged had been filled with explosives. Kiritsis subsequently held Hall hostage in his apartment and demanded that he receive an apology, a clearance of his debt and $5 million from Meridian. He also told authorities that he would only release Hall if he was promised immunity from prosecution.
Shortly after Kiritsis and Hall walked out of the police-swarmed offices, the incident started to gain national news attention. Kiritsis wanted to share his side of the story, so he contacted Fred Heckman, who was one of Indianapolis' most respected journalists at WIBC-AM.
During their conversations, Kiritsis explained his motives while also listing out his demands. Several of the recordings were played on the air, and police began working with Heckman to negotiate.
After 63 hours, Kiritsis believed that Meridian and the police would honor his demands, so he held a press conference. In front of dozens of reporters and cameras, Kiritsis paraded Meridian with the gun wire around his neck. Kiritsis gave an impassioned speech about his cause before he thanked Heckman, took off the wire from Hall's neck and fired the gun at the ceiling to prove that it was loaded.
Although he was promised immunity if he let Hall go, Kiritsis was immediately arrested.
What happened to Richard Hall?
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Hall was ultimately released unharmed on Feb. 10, 1977. Despite the press attention Hall received in the aftermath, he mostly kept to himself after the ordeal out of the spotlight.
However, 40 years after the incident, Hall released a book from his point a view titled,Kiritsis and Me: Enduring 63 Hours at Gunpoint,in 2017. Hall explained that he was telling his story now because he didn't want his legacy to be told by others.
"Actually from the very start, I thought that I was a dead man really, from the first few minutes that he leveled the gun at me," Hall recalled while promoting the book in an interview with WIBC, perDead Man's Line.
Hall explained that although he was terrified, he also felt as though "God was with me" and was "aware of what was going on." However, he still acknowledged that Hall's actions had emotional consequences that were "difficult to quantify."
"Because of Tony Kiritsis, almost every aspect of my life was thrown upside down," he wrote in his memoir (viaA&E). "The fact that one man could walk into my office and turn all that effort and preparation into turmoil still bothers me. I feel I have endured quite a lot since that morning in February 1977."
Hall, who went by "Dick," died on May 20, 2022, after a brief illness, per his obituary in theIndyStar. He was 87 years old. He had four children with his wife, Ibby Metsker, and later had a long-term relationship with Mary Jo Carr.
What happened to Tony Kiritsis?
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Even though Kiritsis believed that he had been granted immunity from his crimes, he was arrested and charged with kidnapping, armed extortion and armed robbery, according toThe New York Times.
Kiritsis stood trial for his crimes in late 1977, and psychiatrists alleged that he was experiencing a "paranoid delusional state" during the hostage incident, per theIndyStar. Kiritsis was eventually found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Hall testified at Kiritsis' trial and later recalled hearing that he was acquitted.
"My attorney had called about 10 o'clock at night, and I turned on the news media and heard it announced at the Indiana Pacers game that Tony was found not guilty, and there was a loud cheer. That kinda aggravated me because I realized at that time that we dealt with the public, and I was going to have to do something to try to rectify that," he told WIBC.
Over the next 11 years, Kiritsis was a patient at several state hospitals before he was released in January 1988.
Kiritsis died on Jan. 28, 2005, at 72 years old, perWTHR. The outlet reported that Kiritsis died of complications from diabetes.
Shortly after his death, his brother, James "Jimmie" Kiritsis wrote in theIndyStarthat he will "remember him prior to that fiasco as a man proud of his Greek heritage, a loving and caring brother, a man who loved my family, had compassion for others and cared deeply for animals."
Where can I watchDead Man's Wire?
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Dead Man's Wirebecame available across theaters in the U.S. on Jan. 16. As of the film's premiere date, it has not been announced when or where it will be available to stream.
Read the original article onPeople
