Reckless Disregard

Last updated
Reckless Disregard
Reckless Disregard poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Harvey Hart
Written by Charles S. Haas
Starring Tess Harper
Leslie Nielsen
Ronny Cox
Henry Ramer
Kate Lynch
Sean McCann
Cinematography René Verzier
Edited byTony Lower
Music by Gil Goldstein
Production
company
Telecom Entertainment Inc.
Distributed by Showtime
Release date
  • March 17, 1985 (1985-03-17)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Reckless Disregard is a 1985 American film that was directed by Harvey Hart. It stars Tess Harper as a lawyer that must defend a physician against claims of selling prescriptions. After accepting the part Harper commented that the role was different from those she'd played in the past such as "rural mothers". [1] The film has drawn comparisons to the 1983 Galloway lawsuit against Dan Rather as well as the case of Westmoreland vs. CBS. [2] [3]

Contents

Synopsis

Meredith Craig is a small-time lawyer that must defend Edward Lucas, a physician whose practice was ruined after a television show claimed that he sold illegal drug prescriptions. Edward wants Meredith to sue the show, stating that its host Bob Franklin was guilty of libel, as Edward claims innocence.

Cast

Reception

The Los Angeles Times reviewed the film and drew parallels to the 1983 Galloway lawsuit against Dan Rather. [4] The New York Times made similar comments, stating that "The way reality has been rendered into fiction with ''Reckless Disregard'' illustrates how film makers try to heighten drama by sharpening and simplifying murky issues." [5] People panned the film, writing that "In the wake of Westmoreland vs. CBS, there's a compelling movie to be made about how TV news works, how the producers do all the work and the anchors get all the credit, how interviews are edited, how news and entertainment merge on TV. But this isn't that movie." [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Woman of the Year</i> 1942 film by George Stevens

Woman of the Year is a 1942 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Stevens and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The film was written by Ring Lardner Jr. and Michael Kanin, and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Rather</span> American broadcast journalist

Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurricane Carla in September 1961. Rather spontaneously created the first radar weather report by overlaying a transparent map over a radar image of Hurricane Carla. In his first national broadcast, he helped initiate the successful evacuation of 350,000 people. He reported on some of the most significant events of the modern age, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, 9/11, the Iraq War, and the war on terror.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corey Haim</span> Canadian actor (1971–2010)

Corey Ian Haim was a Canadian actor. He starred in a number of 1980s films, such as Silver Bullet (1985), Murphy's Romance (1985), Lucas (1986), License to Drive (1988) and Dream a Little Dream (1989). His role alongside Corey Feldman in The Lost Boys (1987) made him a household name. Known as The Two Coreys, the duo became 1980s icons and appeared together in seven films, later starring in the A&E American reality show The Two Coreys.

In United States defamation law, actual malice is a legal requirement imposed upon public officials or public figures when they file suit for libel. Compared to other individuals who are less well known to the general public, public officials and public figures are held to a higher standard for what they must prove before they may succeed in a defamation lawsuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burgess Meredith</span> American actor (1907–1997)

Oliver Burgess Meredith was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Herrmann</span> American actor (1943–2014)

Edward Kirk Herrmann was an American actor, director, and writer. He was known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries Eleanor and Franklin (1976) and 1982 film musical Annie, Richard Gilmore in Amy Sherman-Palladino's comedy-drama series Gilmore Girls (2000–2007), and a ubiquitous narrator for historical programs on The History Channel and in such PBS productions as Nova. He was also known as a spokesman for Dodge automobiles in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Preston (actor)</span> American actor

Robert Preston Meservey was an American stage and film actor and singer, best known for his collaboration with composer Meredith Willson and originating the role of Professor Harold Hill in the 1957 musical The Music Man and the 1962 film adaptation; the film earned him his first of two Golden Globe Award nominations. Preston collaborated twice with filmmaker Blake Edwards, first in S.O.B. (1981) and again in Victor/Victoria (1982). For portraying Carroll "Toddy" Todd in the latter, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 55th Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary-Louise Parker</span> American actress (born 1964)

Mary-Louise Parker is an American actress. After making her Broadway debut as Rita in Craig Lucas' Prelude to a Kiss in 1990, Parker came to prominence for film roles in Grand Canyon (1991), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), The Client (1994), Bullets over Broadway (1994), A Place for Annie (1994), Boys on the Side (1995), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), and The Maker (1997). Among stage and independent film appearances thereafter, Parker received the 2001 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Catherine Llewellyn in David Auburn's Proof, among other accolades. Between 2001 and 2006, she recurred as Amy Gardner in the NBC television series The West Wing, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2002. She received both a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award for her portrayal of Harper Pitt in the acclaimed HBO television miniseries Angels in America in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vince Vaughn</span> American actor (born 1970)

Vincent Anthony Vaughn is an American actor. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film Swingers. Vaughn further appeared in Rudy (1993), At Risk (1994), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Psycho (1998), South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000), and Domestic Disturbance (2001). He starred as Frank Semyon in the second season of the HBO anthology crime drama television series True Detective (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMOV</span> CBS affiliate in St. Louis

KMOV is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power station KDTL-LD. The two stations share studios on Progress Parkway in suburban Maryland Heights; KMOV's transmitter is located in Lemay, Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Albert</span> American actor (1951–2006)

Edward Laurence Albert was an American actor. The son of actor Eddie Albert and Mexican actress Margo, he starred opposite Goldie Hawn in Butterflies Are Free (1972), a role for which he won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. He was nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Albert starred in more than 130 films and television series, including Midway, The Greek Tycoon, Galaxy of Terror, The House Where Evil Dwells, The Yellow Rose, Falcon Crest and Power Rangers Time Force.

<i>Stir Crazy</i> (film) 1980 film by Sidney Poitier

Stir Crazy is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Sidney Poitier, written by Bruce Jay Friedman, produced by Hannah Weinstein, and starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor as two unemployed friends who are given 125-year prison sentences after getting framed for a bank robbery. While in prison they befriend other prison inmates. The film reunited Wilder and Pryor, who had appeared previously in the 1976 comedy thriller film Silver Streak. The film was released in the United States on December 12, 1980 to mixed reviews, and was a major financial success.

The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception was a controversial television documentary aired as part of the CBS Reports series on January 23, 1982. The 90-minute program, produced by George Crile III and narrated by Mike Wallace, asserted that in 1967 intelligence officers under General William Westmoreland, the commander of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MAC-V), had manipulated intelligence estimates in order to show far fewer communist personnel in South Vietnam than there actually were, thereby creating the impression that the Vietnam War was being won.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood accounting</span> Opaque or creative accounting methods

Hollywood accounting is the opaque or creative set of accounting methods used by the film, video, television and music industry to budget and record profits for creative projects. Expenditures can be inflated to reduce or eliminate the reported profit of the project, thereby reducing the amount which the corporation must pay in taxes and royalties or other profit-sharing agreements, as these are based on net profit.

Tessie Jean Harper is an American actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her first film role in 1983's Tender Mercies, and for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1986 film Crimes of the Heart. Her other film appearances include Flashpoint (1984), Ishtar (1987), Far North (1988), and No Country for Old Men (2007). She also had a recurring role on the first three seasons of Breaking Bad (2008–2010).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Galloway</span> Canadian novelist and a former professor

Steven Galloway is a Canadian novelist and a former professor at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of the award-winning novel The Cellist of Sarajevo (2008).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Crile III</span> American journalist (1945-2006)

George Washington Crile III was an American journalist most closely associated with his three decades of work at CBS News. He specialized in dangerous and controversial subjects, resulting in both praise and controversy. He received an Emmy Award, Peabody Award, and Edward R. Murrow Award.

<i>Westmoreland v. CBS</i> US libel lawsuit

Westmoreland v. CBS was a $120 million libel suit brought in 1982 by former U.S. Army Chief of Staff General William Westmoreland against CBS, Inc. for broadcasting on its program CBS Reports a documentary entitled The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception. Westmoreland also sued the documentary's narrator, investigative reporter Mike Wallace; the producer, investigative journalist and best-selling author George Crile, and the former CIA analyst, Sam Adams, who originally broke the story on which the broadcast was based.

<i>Reckless</i> (1995 film) 1995 American film

Reckless is a 1995 American dark comedy film directed by Norman René. The screenplay by Craig Lucas is based on his 1983 play of the same title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharyl Attkisson</span> American writer, journalist, television reporter/correspondent

Sharyl Attkisson is an American journalist and television correspondent. She hosts the Sinclair Broadcast Group TV show Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.

References

  1. Buck, Jerry (March 1, 1985). "Actress Spreads Wings In Reckless Disregard". Kentucky New Era. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Picks and Pans Review: Reckless Disregard". People.com. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  3. "Reckless Disregard' Gives Inside Look At '60 Minutes' Report". The Day. Mar 17, 1985. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  4. ROSENBERG, HOWARD (1985-03-18). "The Dumb Defense Rests Again In 'Reckless'". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  5. Smith, Sally Bedell (1984-10-30). "TV MOVIER PARALLELS SLANDER TRIAL OF RATHER". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2016-07-08.