He’s open and honest about how the process impacts him emotionally-some interviews even end with reassuring hugs and the words “I love you.” He balances a procedural aspect-there’s a sequence where he even restages some of the clean-up of the crime-with authorship that only he could provide. Kelley mini-series or two.Īnd yet Madison Hamburg always brings it back to the personal story. There’s more than enough story in the Hamburg family tree for a David E. As if that “plot twist” isn’t fascinating enough, wait until you see some of the financial and legal papers of Jeffery Hamburg, documents that hint at illegal, international operations.
Every new member would gift money up the power structure like a new soldier in the mob does to the godfather, and it’s not hard to conceive that this illegal operation resulted in violence when someone felt financially destroyed. It was revealed that Barbara Hamburg was a part of something called “gifting tables,” wherein groups of women would meet in fancy homes along the Connecticut shore and basically gift money up a food chain of power. The emotional foundation of a torn-apart family is what strengthens “Murder on Middle Beach” but it’s also a fascinating mystery without the personal touch. And then imagine putting that journey in front of the camera.
Imagine if the person most important to you was murdered-now imagine it may have been your father, sister, or aunt who committed the crime. Three family members-Jeffery, Conway, and Barbara's daughter Ali-would become suspects at different points in the case, and Hamburg the filmmaker brilliantly takes us along on his journey through suspicion and trust. That day, Barbara was supposed to attend a court hearing in a case against her ex-husband Jeffery Hamburg over alimony and child support. On March 3 rd, 2010, the battered body of Barbara Hamburg was found outside her home by her sister Conway.
Madison hamburg series#
The question that drives this captivating series becomes not “who did this” but “what if someone I love did this” and watching Hamburg make that turn as vulnerably as he does makes for riveting television. Hamburg digs into the brutal death of his mother and finds that most of the suspects are on his family tree. At first, the emphasis on the filmmaker himself in this story may be off-putting to people looking for just the facts, but “Murder on Middle Beach” is a generically misleading title for a series that’s more about the impact of an investigation than the actual crime itself. Of course, this is a very different project but it’s telling how invested HBO is in their docuseries branch that they keep highlighting projects like “Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children,” “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” and now Hamburg’s deeply personal series. Pale blue interior with white text (" There's a quarter of me -/ but no quarter of thee/ IN/ HAMBURG HEAVEN/ RARE - MEDIUM - WELL-DONE") and wide pink matchsticks.“ trying to solve a murder and tell a story.”Ī relative of Madison Hamburg defines the structure of the uniquely moving “Murder on Middle Beach” in that line, which comes late in the four-episode series that HBO hopes fans of “ The Vow” will jump to starting this Sunday. Pale blue rear cover with black and pink text: "696 madison avenue/ 1044 madison avenue/ 5 east 51st street/ *18 east 56th street/ east side airlines terminal/ *closed sunday". Pink saddle with pale blue text, "PARTY AND / DELIVERY SERVICE". Pale pink front cover with black line illustration of cherub serving a hamburger and pale blue text, "Hamburg Heaven / heavenly locations".
Prime Burger took over at 5 East 51st Street in 1965-the year after Moffett died-and operated until its closure in 2012.ĭescription 15 "feature" stick matchbook. The narrator of Truman Capote's novel Breakfast at Tiffany's describes visiting the 1044 Madison Avenue location. Celebrities and politicians were known to frequent the chain, which specialized in prime beef. Moffett opened her first Hamburg Heaven restaurant at 696 Madison Avenue in 1938, and there were five locations by 1959.