The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck (TV 1984)

A shopkeeper is condemned by the police & the press for sleeping with a suspected terrorist.

Director:

Simon Langton

Writers:

Heinrich Böll (novel), Loring Mandel (adaptation)

Stars:

Marlo Thomas, Kris Kristofferson, George Dzundza

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marlo Thomas	...	Kathryn Beck
Kris Kristofferson	...	Ben Cole
George Dzundza	...	Lt. DeCarlo
Jon DeVries	...	Bob Fuhrman
David Rasche	...	Donald Catton
Linda Thorson	...	Cory Fuhrman
Edward Winter	...	Carl Macaluso
Randy Rocca	...	Det. Gerry Astarte
Christine Estabrook	...	Janet Reiss
Steven Williams	...	Les Averback
Ron Parady	...	James McLandish
William Leach	...	Harry Flynn
Belinda Bremner	...	Mary Siebel
Mike Genovese	...	Sgt. Ornett
Jack McLaughlin-Gray

Storyline

A shopkeeper is condemned by the police & the press for sleeping with a suspected terrorist.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Act of Passion

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Entertainment Production, Cornworld, Open Road

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alan M. Dershowitz worked as an uncredited consultant on this film. Marlo Thomas asked him if a story like this had ever occurred in the U.S. in modern times. Dershowitz assured her that incidents like this did occur frequently. He wrote a brochure which was sent to television critics that explained that the circumstances were accurate.

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Connections

Version of The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (1975)

User Reviews

Yet another Hollywood remake of a foreign classic to disappointing results

It saddens me to know that even back in 1984 Hollywood was remaking stuff without giving the original film recognition. Being a bit young, I assumed that this was a poison affecting only today's studios, perhaps a sign of the times. Unfortunately not, however, and unbeknown to the general public there's a beautiful film that inspired this made for TV blah. 'Ocean's Eleven', 'The Italian Job' to name a few: all films from the archives of Hollywood that recently have been remade with your average-joe movie fan having no idea of their remake status. Even with smaller releases such as 'Welcome to Collinwood', nowhere on the DVD case does it pay respect to 'Big Deal on Madonna Street', which it has no problem copying scene by scene. Anyways, enough ranting; on with the show. Kathryn (Marlo Thomas) is a private business owner, Ben Cole (Kris Kristofferson) is a runaway bank thief/political activist/all around nice guy, and at a party they randomly bump into each other, finding themselves an hour later in each other's arms on Kathryn's living room couch (not any longer at the party). Kathryn didn't know about Ben's past (or did she?), so naturally when the uniforms come busting down her door the next morning she is quite shocked, and wants to know what's going on. She has no information for the cops (or does she?), yet as she is their only lead they continue to harass her and generally make her life miserable. As the film progresses we find out she might not be quite as innocent as first presumed, and she might, in fact, have something to offer the troublesome police. If you're going to watch this film please go out and rent `The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum', as you will love the story and understand very well the extent of Katharina's knowledge. If you have to watch the American remake, don't. It's an interesting story that forces you to look at the media in a different light, but it just wasn't pulled off very well in the 1984 remake, and despite the two leads the acting is surprisingly subpar. Rating: 16/40