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Indictment: The McMartin Trial
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Wikipedia article
'Indictment: The McMartin Trial' is a film made for television that originally aired on HBO on May 20, 1995. 'Indictment' is based on the true story of the McMartin preschool trial.
Oliver Stone and Abby Mann were executive producers of the film, which was directed by Mick Jackson.
The cast includes James Woods and Mercedes Ruehl, as opposing defense and prosecuting attorneys in the McMartin trial. Henry Thomas, Sada Thompson and Shirley Knight co-star as the defendants in the case, with Lolita Davidovitch as a child-abuse therapist whose findings were crucial to the prosecution's case and Roberta Bassin as the mother who initiated the case.
Summary
A defense lawyer defends an average American family from shocking allegations of child abuse and satanic rituals. After seven years and $16 million, the trial ends with the dismissal of all charges. George Freeman is the star witness in the trial. Kee MacFarlane and Wayne Satz are in a romantic relationship. The poster and ads for the movie declare "The charges were so shocking, the truth didn't matter."
Cast
* James Woods as Danny Davis
* Mercedes Ruehl as Lael Rubin
* Lolita Davidovitch as Kee MacFarlane
* Henry Thomas as Ray Buckey
* Sada Thompson as Virginia McMartin
* Shirley Knight as Peggy Buckey
* Alison Elliott as Peggy Ann Buckey
* Roberta Bassin as Judy Johnson
* Mark Blum as Wayne Satz
* Richard Bradford as Ira Reiner
* James Cromwell as Judge Pounders
* Chelsea Field as Christine Johnson
* Richard Portnow as Judge George
Reception
John J. O'Connor, writing for 'The New York Times':
Also writing for 'The New York Times', Seth Mydans said:
The Los Angeles Times described the docudrama as "HBOs frothing, highly opinionated account of the case". Variety reports this "fact-based HBO Pictures presentation ... makes no apologies for depicting the infamous child molestation case as a witch hunt" and leaves "little leeway for surprise. Even so, the well-acted cabler hits its targets with a take-no-prisoners gusto".
Accolades
Impact
The film is cited as a watershed in the shift of ideas about satanic ritual abuse, recasting Ray Buckey as a victim of a hysterical conspiracy rather than a child abuser.
References
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