TV-movie about a rule-abiding good girl from the suburbs who gets caught up in a bit of teenage excitement and goes joy-riding with a friend; unfortunately, the kids are arrested and the strict judge throws the book at them, culminating in a rape behind bars. Exceptionally well-acted teens-in-trouble film alternates between exploitation melodrama and cautionary fable (kids, this can happen to you!). Luckily, interest is held by a top cast including Andy Griffith (positively frothing at the mouth as the old judge), Ralph Waite (excellent as the young girl's dad, who bows to legal pressure and then fights his conscience over it), and Shawnee Smith in the lead. As a teenage actress, Smith was focused and very forthright, able to rise above the soapy dross of the script by never getting carried away with her character's anger, sadness, or feelings of betrayal. She gives just what is needed, and the movie is absorbing and interesting as a result.
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moonspinner5528 January 2009
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This is Andy Griffith at his most vile, playing a power abusing judge that sends two teen girls to jail where they face all kind of abusive behavior, one obviously raped, and the revenge of father Ralph Waite whose ire goes out of control. Young Shawnee Smith plays the daughter of Waite and the ever patient Diane Ladd, the calming force in the troubled family who sees the injustice at play but wants to deal with it legally rather than through violence. This leads to a lawsuit that puts Griffith's character on trial where he doesn't even seem to be guilt ridden for the horrors he caused a young girl.
You won't see an ounce of Andy Taylor in Griffith's performance here. His character is vile in every way. Smug, hypocritical, arrogant and judgmental beyond the legal power of how any judge should be, blaming the parents for the relatively minor crime that Smith and her pal got into. There's also the excellent Jordan Charney as the court's attorney, not on the family's side but certainly not on Griffith's. This is a film that will make the viewer angry over the abuse of power, an issue that never seems to be resolved especially when elected officials get away with their crimes and in Griffith's case seem to be laughing smugly at using their power to make others feel small in their presence. -
lburwell19 August 1999In answer to a previous person's email, the judge in the story is indeed passed away. He was my father. He passed on the day of the OJ verdict (although that was not the cause). By the way, please realize that this movie was produced by liberal movie makers who intended to paint the judge in the story as the villain. Anyone familiar with the real story felt my father was correct in the way he treated juveniles who came before his court, and he was re-elected (more precisely, elected after being appointed) in a landslide.
The true villain in the story was the jailer, someone who was a childhood friend of mine, and who tried to take revenge on me because of how determined my father was to get him for raping that girl. The parents should have sued the sheriff in my opinion, since he was the one who hired the jailer and didn't protect her.
I never found out for sure, but Andy Griffith must have met my father before doing this movie, because he reminded me of him in many ways. -
DgrWoman3 February 1999Well, in my point of view, I figured that the real-life judge that was the basis of the movie, is dead. The young lady who was harmed, is now a lawyer in a big city, somewhere in the western part of the USA! She did get married and have a family!
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Boogalow18 June 2010No disrespect to anyone here, just wanted to say that the way Andy Griffith was fantastic in this role. Film makers always take things too far and I'm sorry if the movie didn't portray the people involved as accurately as they could have done. I have only ever seen Andy Griffith in nice guy roles and in this part he was downright hateful, not a person you'd like to be on the wrong side of.
Andy Griffith did a good job, as did Shawnee Smith. Being the daughter of a famous movie legend (Raquel Welch) it can be difficult to carve out your own career but the emotions were spot on, the acting was great. I agree with the OP though that the person who should have been sued was the sheriff as the jailer would have been hired by him and he did not protect the girl in question when he should have done.
Finally, what a horrible thing to have happened, I hope those victimised by this awful crime have gone on to better lives.