A Case of Rape

Magnificent performances by the entire cast punctuate a true story more horrifying than any horror film. All the nuances of a married woman's indignities and insults suffered after being raped are underplayed for maximum effect. Montgomery gives the performance of a lifetime, and Cox is a revelation as the feckless husband. Harris and Daniels as the attorneys provide contrast with colourful performances, and Potts' chilling rapist is the catalyst for all. A must-see for every woman in America.

That's the subtle message of this remarkably restrained made-for-TV docudrama, which features the "Bewitched" star as a sort of real-world Samantha Stephens - Ellen Harrod, a stylish California housewife with an adorable blonde daughter and an affable mope for a husband (in this film played by Ronny Cox as opposed to Dicks Sargent or York), but no magic powers. Ellen is, however, just as smart and self-possessed as Samantha, and her lack of histrionics makes all the abuse she endures in this movie -- two sexual assaults, a callous medical establishment and an actively hostile legal system -- even more disturbing. Liz Montgomery almost always played superior to type. In "Bewitched," both she and the audience were in on the central joke of the premise, which was that she was light-years above Darren's league and could have turned him into a ferret if she wanted (not that it would have made much difference) . In "A Case of Rape," she plays a victim who steadfastly refuses to act like a victim, but is so disgusted by everyone's willful blindness to her ordeal that she finally gets up and screams about it.

In her early scenes of playfully sparring with Cox and dabbling with painting, Liz establishes Ellen as sexy, sharp-witted, and creative, the kind of woman whom it was all too easy to stereotype as a bored housewife secretly bored by her life and seek excitement in infidelity. Which is exactly how doctors and cops treat Ellen after her assailant tricks his way into her home one night, sexually assaults her while her daughter is sleeping, and attacks her again in the parking lot of her apartment complex a couple of days later. The rest of the movie is calculated outrage, but since public attitudes toward rape weren't all that progressive in 1974, such plot devices as the cynical prosecutor who treats Ellen's case like a mundane chore and Cox's pitifully inadequate attempts to be supportive ("he did this to both of us!") were probably necessary, and the filmmakers are to be commended for not sensationalizing the subject matter with cat-and-mouse chase scenes or hysterical breakdowns. Still, it's a rough couple of hours. Liz is so isolated in this movie that she doesn't even get sympathy from her best friend, a frumpy neighbor who, in one sickening scene, hints that she wants Liz to share every titillating detail of the assault. Less secure human beings would explode or sob at such ill treatment. Liz, being Liz, drops a cool bon mot, thanks her for the coffee, and leaves. She's a great advocate for the dignity of sexual assault survivors, and that alone makes "A Case of Rape" worth watching.

I must concur with the previous posters regarding this landmark NBC TV movie that changed the genre forever and initiated a new career and more sophisticated image for the late Elizabeth Montgomery. This television classic starred Montgomery (in a performance that should have won her an Emmy)as a housewife who gets raped twice by the same man. She does not report the 1st rape but she does report the second and the film shows the indignities this woman suffers from the courts and the insensitivity and mistrust she experiences from her husband (Ronny Cox) and her best friend (Patricia Smith). There is actually a horrific scene where Montgomery meets with best friend Smith, who actually wants details about what happened and implies that her friend might have enjoyed it. This movie pulls no punches, makes no compromises or apologies, and promises no happy endings. It was reported that when the script was first submitted to network executives, they wanted to cut the second rape. A long time friend of Ms. Montgomery stated that she responded by submitting a list of names of other actresses who might be interested in appearing in the film because she would quit if they changed the script. This is a mature, disturbing, adult movie that is so well-crafted, it could have merited theatrical release and I find it amazing that this movie is not available on video. An intelligent script, uncompromising direction by Boris Sagal, and solid supporting performances by Cox, Rosemary Murphy and Williams Daniels as the attorneys involved, and Cliff Potts as the unapologetic rapist, made this film an instant classic and it's truly criminal if this film is not available on video. All serious students and connoisseurs of great drama and superb acting should see this important and disturbing movie.

Elizabeth Montgomery's performance of a lifetime. This movie proves that 1970's "Movies of the Week" were far superior to anything made since. Liz plays a housewife raped twice by the same guy. She suffers every indignity you can think of, by the police, her supposed best friend and finally by her husband and the courts. This movies proves attorneys are scum and the why the jury system doesn't work. One really disturbing scene is where the police photographer acts like he's doing a photo session for Playboy Magazine. Another one is where her best friend actually insinuates that she kind of likes it when her husband comes home drunk and has his way with her against her will. Liz's husband in this movie is played by Ronny Cox who does an excellent job but we end up disliking him anyway. Even Liz's attorney doesn't give her much support. Excellent performances all the way around but still a sad commentary on the judicial system. Liz should have won an emmy for this and the next year as well for Lizzie Borden. Above average directing as well.

Brave television movie which makes today's Lifetime/exposé-styled films look positively harlequin. Elizabeth Montgomery is a wife and mother who is raped while her husband is out of town. At first, she is unable to report the attack to the police, her neighbor or her spouse because everyone is too busy and distracted to notice how much pain she's in--that is, until she's raped a second time by the same creep. Director Boris Sagal and writer Robert E. Thompson (working from a story by Louis Randolph, who also served as a producer), carefully go for the gut, not holding back and yet commendably handling this story without sensationalism. In speaking about the injustices that plague victims, and the degradation one must endure just to stand up for one's self, the team nimbly avoids the typical TV-movie preachiness and has created an 'ordinary' heroine in an overwhelming situation--someone we can identify with. Montgomery is very good here, no longer the nose-twitching cutie from "Bewitched" but still maintaining her charisma.