Intimate Strangers (1977) (TV)

Director:

John Llewellyn Moxey

Writers:

Esther Shapiro (writer)
Richard Shapiro (writer)

Release Date:

11 November 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The pressures of problems at home and at work are taking a tremendous toll on a middle-aged husband, and he begins to take it out on his wife. |

Plot Keywords:

Marital Abuse | Abusive Husband | Domestic Violence

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dennis Weaver	...	Donald Halston
Sally Struthers	...	Janis Halston
Tyne Daly	...	Karen Renshaw
Larry Hagman	...	Mort Burns
Melvyn Douglas	...	Donald's Father
Brian Andrews	...	Chris Halston
Quinn Cummings	...	Peggy Halston
Julian Burton	...	Dr. James Morgan
Ellen Travolta	...	Marilyn Burns
Ellen Blake	...	Bridget
Regis Cordic	...	Simpson, Rest Home Director
James Keane
Edward Walsh
Barbara Harris	...	Charlotte Ames (as Barbara Iley)
Jack Stauffer

Also Known As:

Battered (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Charles Fries Productions

Wife-abuse drama far ahead of its time

Written by the astute Shapiro team, this TV-made drama has Dennis Weaver abusing wife Sally Struthers, sometimes in front of their two kids, and how everyone covers up--desperate to keep this ugly secret in the closet. Many years before "The Burning Bed" came this less-sensational suburban nightmare with concerns which are unfortunately timeless. Dennis Weaver does solid work. As for Sally Struthers, she became something of a punchline in the 1990s with her over-the-top TV commercials, yet as an actress during this era she was very brave (her character here is a world apart from Gloria on "All In The Family"). As a straightforward, no-nonsense examination of abuse, "Intimate Strangers" is harrowing, dramatic food-for-thought designed for grown-up people.