A Case of Rape
Encyclopedia
A Case of Rape is a 1974 television movie
. It premiered on NBC
on February 20, 1974. The film tells the story of a wife and mother who is rape
d twice by the same man and her ordeals dealing with the actual rape and her subsequent dealing with the police
and the trial.
classes with her neighbor and best friend, Marge Bracken, she is introduced to Larry Retzliff.
Ellen and Marge accept a ride home from Retzliff the same night while David is away. Once Ellen is in her apartment, Retzliff arrives claiming car trouble and asks to use the phone. When Ellen lets him in, he overpowers and rapes her. Unable to reach David by phone, and emotionally unable to report the crime, Ellen decides to put the attack behind her, and tries through three showers to literally wash away the rape.
When David returns, she is still unable to get his attention long enough to tell him about the attack. Having had an anonymous blood test, Ellen makes a serious effort to forget the attack and resume her life. This attempt comes to a crashing halt four days after the initial attack in a parking garage when Retzliff, who has been waiting for Ellen behind the front seat of her car, rapes her again, this time beating her viciously.
After reporting the attack, the treatment that Ellen receives from the police, doctors, and detectives is anything but sympathetic. While her attorney, Leonard Alexander, appears to have her best interests at heart, he clearly has his reservations: he is once heard commenting "Never try a rape case unless your victim is a 90-year-old nun with at least four stab wounds."
Defending Retzliff is ruthless attorney Muriel Dyer, who bullies witnesses and Ellen herself on the stand, ultimately winning Retzliff an acquittal. Some time after the trial, he attempts to rape someone else. While trying to escape from the police, he is shot and wounded, and ends up pleading guilty to the rape and sentenced to prison.
Ellen and David's marriage is strained by the events of the film, and they ultimately get a divorce
.
Television Network
, which had some reservation about showing the second rape scene. As reported by the A&E
series Biography
, Montgomery believed so strongly in the story that she threatened to leave the project if the scene was cut. Montgomery prevailed, and the film was shown in its entirety along with warnings of the mature subject matter.
, received an Emmy nomination for her performance.
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
. It premiered on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on February 20, 1974. The film tells the story of a wife and mother who is rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d twice by the same man and her ordeals dealing with the actual rape and her subsequent dealing with the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
and the trial.
Plot
Ellen appears to have a happy marriage to David, although his frequent work-related absences are beginning to take a toll on her. While taking night schoolNight School
Night School is a school that holds classes in the evening or at night, and is usually intended for continuing and adult learning and to accommodate people who work during the day.Night School may also refer to:...
classes with her neighbor and best friend, Marge Bracken, she is introduced to Larry Retzliff.
Ellen and Marge accept a ride home from Retzliff the same night while David is away. Once Ellen is in her apartment, Retzliff arrives claiming car trouble and asks to use the phone. When Ellen lets him in, he overpowers and rapes her. Unable to reach David by phone, and emotionally unable to report the crime, Ellen decides to put the attack behind her, and tries through three showers to literally wash away the rape.
When David returns, she is still unable to get his attention long enough to tell him about the attack. Having had an anonymous blood test, Ellen makes a serious effort to forget the attack and resume her life. This attempt comes to a crashing halt four days after the initial attack in a parking garage when Retzliff, who has been waiting for Ellen behind the front seat of her car, rapes her again, this time beating her viciously.
After reporting the attack, the treatment that Ellen receives from the police, doctors, and detectives is anything but sympathetic. While her attorney, Leonard Alexander, appears to have her best interests at heart, he clearly has his reservations: he is once heard commenting "Never try a rape case unless your victim is a 90-year-old nun with at least four stab wounds."
Defending Retzliff is ruthless attorney Muriel Dyer, who bullies witnesses and Ellen herself on the stand, ultimately winning Retzliff an acquittal. Some time after the trial, he attempts to rape someone else. While trying to escape from the police, he is shot and wounded, and ends up pleading guilty to the rape and sentenced to prison.
Ellen and David's marriage is strained by the events of the film, and they ultimately get a divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
.
Cast
- Elizabeth MontgomeryElizabeth MontgomeryElizabeth Victoria Montgomery was an American film and television actress whose career spanned five decades. She is perhaps best remembered for her roles as Samantha Stephens in Bewitched, as Ellen Harrod in A Case of Rape and as Lizzie Borden in The Legend of Lizzie Borden.-Early life:Born in Los...
as Ellen Harrod - Ronny CoxRonny CoxDaniel Ronald "Ronny" Cox is an American character actor, singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Personal life:Cox, the third of five children, was born in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, the son of Lounette and Bob P. Cox, a carpenter who also worked at a dairy. He grew up in Portales, New Mexico...
as David Harrod - Cliff PottsCliff PottsCliff Potts is an American television and film actor most noted for supporting roles and guest appearances in more than sixty episodic television series between 1967 and 1999....
as Larry Retzliff - William DanielsWilliam DanielsWilliam David Daniels is an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild . He is known for his performance as Dustin Hoffman's father in The Graduate , as John Adams in 1776, as Carter Nash in Captain Nice, as Mr. George Feeny in ABC's Boy Meets World, as the voice of KITT in...
as Leonard Alexander - Rosemary MurphyRosemary MurphyRosemary Murphy is an American actress of stage, film, and television.Murphy was born in Munich, Germany, the daughter of American parents Mildred and Robert D. Murphy, a diplomat...
as Muriel Dyer - Ken Swofford as Detective Riley
- Jonathan Lippe as Detective Parker
- Patricia SmithPatricia Smith (actress)Patricia Smith Lasell was an American actress who appeared in film and television roles from the early 1950s through the 1990s.-Career:...
as Marge Bracken
Broadcast
The film was broadcast on February 20, 1974, over the NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Television Network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
, which had some reservation about showing the second rape scene. As reported by the A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
series Biography
Biography (TV series)
Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987...
, Montgomery believed so strongly in the story that she threatened to leave the project if the scene was cut. Montgomery prevailed, and the film was shown in its entirety along with warnings of the mature subject matter.
Awards
Montgomery, who had become a household name during her eight-year tenure on BewitchedBewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, received an Emmy nomination for her performance.