Indictment: The McMartin Trial

views updated

Indictment: The McMartin Trial ★★★ 1995 (R)

Woods stars as attorney Danny Davis, who has the unenviable task of providing a defense in the notorious McMartin child molestation trial. In 1983, Manhattan Beach, California was rocked by reports that some 60 preschoolers had been abused at a daycare center. Seven defendants were accused thanks to lurid videotaped interviews with the children. The trial lasted six years (the longest and most expensive on record) and all charges were eventually dismissed. It's clear from this telepic that public hysteria and media hype lead to a grave miscarriage of justice that put the legal system on trial as well. 132m/C VHS, DVD . James Woods, Henry Thomas, Mercedes Ruehl, Shirley Knight, Sada Thompson, Mark Blum, Alison Elliott, Chelsea Field, Richard Bradford, Lolita (David) Davidovich; D: Mick Jackson; W: Abby Mann, Myra Mann; C: Rodrigo Garcia; M: Peter Melnick.