‘Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood’ Fact Check: Did a Manson Follower Really Back Out at the Last Minute?

(Spoiler alert: Don’t read on if you don’t want to hear lots of details about Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.”) Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” takes place around the time of the infamous Manson family murders of Sharon Tate and her friends under the dark influence of Charles Manson. The movie deviates — a lot — from what really happened on the night of Aug. 8, 1969, including in the moment when a young Manson follower bails out on her friends before the home invasion. Did it really happen? Not exactly. But there’s a grain of truth. And seriously, stop reading now if you want to avoid spoilers. In the film, “Tex” Watson and three female members of the Manson Family drive up to the residence of Tate and Roman Polanski at 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles. (The woman aren’t named, but they seem to be Susan Atkins, also known as Sadie, Patricia Krenwinkel and Linda Kasabian.) They park the car at the bottom of the street and climb the steep road by foot, until one of the female members, played by Maya Hawke (daughter of “Kill Bill” star Uma Thurman), says she...