Details

Release year: 1995

Storyline

Lawyers and the media argue the alleged child abuse at the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach, California.

Top credits

Directors

Mick Jackson

Writers

Cast

James Woods — Danny Davis
Mercedes Ruehl — Lael Rubin
Lolita Davidovich — Kee McFarlane
Sada Thompson — Virginia McMartin

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Awards

3 wins & 5 nominations

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Did you know

• James Woods filmed his role as Lester Diamond in Casino (1995) on a weekend break from shooting this film.

• Not mentioned in the movie, but years later as adults, some of the children retracted the allegations of abuse saying nothing happened to them.

• During the 1980s to early 1990s, there was an epidemic of false or exaggerated sexual abuse cases from preschools and day care centers around the world.. What all these cases had in common was that a comment, story, or allegation by a child was spun into increasingly more serious and outlandish stories of rape, satanic rituals, and fantastical events through interview sessions with various child therapists and/or social workers who used what has later been exposed as highly questionable and suggestive interviewing techniques. The McMartin case was one of the most publicized of these cases in the United States, and this made-for-television movie from 1995 set out to shed light on this hysteria that destroyed the lives of so many, both children and falsely accused adults.