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Movie brings gay son's murder into spotlight
August 14, 1997
Web posted at: 9:41 p.m. EDT (0141 GMT)From Correspondent Sherri Sylvester
HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- "They beat him to death. They beat him beyond recognition!" said Dorothy Hajdys, recalling her worst nightmare come to life. Her son, sailor Allen Schindler, had been murdered at the age of 22 while on shore leave in Sasebo, Japan.
She would later learn that he was gay, and that he was killed by shipmates in a crime of hate.
Now, her story is being brought to cable with the star of "Die Hard" and "Presumed Innocent," Bonnie Bedelia. "Any Mother's Son" -- August's "Lifetime Original Movie," on that cable network -- shows how Hajdys, a quiet woman from Chicago, confronted the military to prevent an attempted cover-up and bring justice to her son's killers. In doing so, she came to grips with her own homophobia in learning to respect who her son was.
The movie was Dorothy Hajdys' wish. One of the men involved in the assault is already free.
"I don't think people really know that (the assailant) served only 78 days, and he didn't even get a dishonorable discharge. My son signed papers saying they could give him a dishonorable discharge just because he declared he was gay," Hajdys said. "Is our country saying that it is a bigger crime to be gay than to help kill somebody?"
As an actress, Bedelia finds the story astounding. She has known gay colleagues throughout her career. "You know, I did six plays on Broadway before I was 18 years old. Broadway? I mean, to me it wasn't even a question."
But Hajdys finds that some friends still shun her because of her gay son. "I have two people that know me since I was born, but won't even speak to me anymore," she said.
The movie follows Hajdys' character to the court-martial of a second assailant, Terry Helvey, who confessed to the murder. "I did ask him what Allen did to him for him to do that," Hajdys said. "He told me, 'Nothing, ma'am.'"
Montage of scenes from "Any Mother's Son" Small version: 969K/25 sec. QuickTime Movie
Large version: 2MB/25 sec. QuickTime MovieAlthough the actress and the mother come from very different worlds, they came together on the set. Hajdys says Bedelia captures the heart of her story. "The first time I watched it, I cried through the whole thing, I also cried through the taping of the scene at the airport where Bonnie was saying goodbye to Allen," she said.
Today the two women, seemingly so different, share a common bond. "We kind of know what it would be like if someone came and said her son was murdered," Hajdys said.
"Absolutely," Bedelia agreed. "We're moms."
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