Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995) (TV)

Director:

Mick Jackson

Writers (WGA):

Abby Mann (written by) &
Myra Mann (written by)

Release Date:

20 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

The McMartin family's lives are turned upside down when they are accused of serious child molestation...

Plot Keywords:

Children | Trial | Child Molestation | Law | School

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

James Woods	...	Danny Davis
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Lael Rubin
Lolita Davidovich	...	Kee McFarlane
Sada Thompson	...	Virginia McMartin
Henry Thomas	...	Ray Buckey
Shirley Knight	...	Peggy Buckey
Mark Blum	...	Wayne Satz
Alison Elliott	...	Peggy Ann Buckey
Chelsea Field	...	Christine Johnson
Joe Urla	...	Glenn Stevens
Scott Waara	...	Dean Gits
Valerie Wildman	...	Diana Sullivan
Richard Bradford	...	Ira Reiner
Roberta Bassin	...	Judy Johnson
Patricia Belcher	...	Juror #1

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic language and disturbing visuals related to a trial.

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:R | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Abby Mann Productions

Trivia:

The real-life Peggy McMartin Buckey, imprisoned for two years while awaiting the outcome of the most protracted U.S. criminal molestation case targeting her family's preschool, died December 15, 2000. She, her mother Virginia McMartin and her son Ray Buckey were charged, with four others, with 100 counts of child molestation in 1983. The case lasted seven years and cost Los Angeles County $13 million. Peggy was acquitted in 1990 after a three-year trial; Ray, incarcerated for five years, was acquitted of 40 counts. Critics said the case pinpointed the danger of basing criminal charges solely on the testimony of young children.

Movie Connections:

Features "60 Minutes" (1968)

Relentless, terrifying tale of legal power and emotion gone amuck.

This is a frightening revelation, a case history of the public immolation of an innocent Los Angeles family that is suddenly overwhelmed by mindless evil. Early on, we are schooled to believe in the innate ideals of American justice. Yet the McMartin family, which operated a small child-care facility not unlike those we've ourselves seen in our own neighborhoods, one day becomes caught up in the gears of a monstrous machine powered by unreasoning vengeance. One can only imagine the McMartins' horror as their world instantly turns into a helpless, waking nightmare of slander and violence. Almost totally friendless as they become engulfed by the evil that has found them, they face national hatred and vilification, prison, and personal ruin. "Indictment" has become a classic textbook study of the McMartins' ghastly descent into the dark side of American jurisprudence and media hysterics. As such, it transcends entertainment, and stands as a warning.

This was written on January 18, 2000. It was on this day ten years ago that Raymond Buckey and his mother Peggy McMartin Buckey were finally cleared of the 52 criminal charges of which they had been accused since 1984.

See this film.