When a prosecutor leaks a false story that a liquor warehouse owner is involved in the murder of a union head, the man's life begins to unravel.
Director:
Sydney PollackWriter:
Kurt Luedtke
From metacritic.com
IMDb goes behind the scenes with movie prop master Russell Bobbitt to learn the secrets and stories behind iconic props from Avengers: Infinity War, Iron Man, Charlie's Angels, and more. IMDb in Partnership with Zippo.
Related News
-
8 Stars Who Couldn’t Cut It as Murphy Brown’s Secretary, From Rosie to JFK Jr. (Photos)
11 May 2018 | The Wrap -
Who’s your favorite Best Actor Oscar winner of 1980s: Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas … ? [Poll]
23 March 2018 | Gold Derby -
Meryl Streep in ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’: A look back at her third Oscar nomination, the competition and the outcome
31 January 2018 | Gold Derby
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Absence of Malice (1981)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
People who liked this also liked...
Fort Apache the Bronx
(1981)
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Daniel Petrie
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Edward Asner,
Ken Wahl
The Verdict
(1982)
Drama
Director:
Sidney Lumet
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Charlotte Rampling,
Jack Warden
The Drowning Pool
(1975)
Action
|
Crime
|
Mystery
Director:
Stuart Rosenberg
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Joanne Woodward,
Anthony Franciosa
Nobody's Fool
(1994)
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
Robert Benton
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Bruce Willis,
Jessica Tandy
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Ava Gardner,
Roy Jenson
Harry & Son
(1984)
Drama
Director:
Paul Newman
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Robby Benson,
Ellen Barkin
Sometimes a Great Notion
(1971)
Certificate: GP
Action
|
Adventure
|
Drama
Director:
Paul Newman
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Henry Fonda,
Lee Remick
Harper
(1966)
Action
|
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Jack Smight
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Lauren Bacall,
Julie Harris
The MacKintosh Man
(1973)
Thriller
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Dominique Sanda,
James Mason
Somebody Up There Likes Me
(1956)
Certificate: Passed
Biography
|
Drama
|
Sport
Director:
Robert Wise
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Pier Angeli,
Everett Sloane
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Paul Newman | ... | Gallagher | |
| Sally Field | ... | Megan | |
| Bob Balaban | ... | Rosen | |
| Melinda Dillon | ... | Teresa | |
| Luther Adler | ... | Malderone | |
| Barry Primus | ... | Waddell | |
| Josef Sommer | ... | McAdam | |
| John Harkins | ... | Davidek | |
| Don Hood | ... | Quinn | |
| Wilford Brimley | ... | Wells | |
 |
Arnie Ross | ... | Eddie Frost |
|
|
Phanie Napoli | ... | Nickie (as Anna Marie Napoles) |
|
|
Shelley Spurlock | ... | Sarah Wylie |
| Shawn McAllister | ... | Hood 1 | |
|
|
Joe Petrullo | ... | Hood 2 |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
Mike Gallagher is a Miami liquor wholesaler whose deceased father was a local mobster. The FBI organized crime task force have no evidence that he's involved with the mob but decide to pressure him into perhaps revealing something - anything - about a murder they're sure was a mob hit. They let Megan Carter, a naive but well-meaning journalist, know he is being investigated and Gallagher's name is soon all over the newspaper. Gallagher has an iron-clad alibi for when the murder occurred but won't reveal it to protect his fragile friend Teresa. When Carter publishes her story, tragedy ensues. Needing to make amends, Carter tells Gallagher the source of the first story about him and he sets out to teach the FBI and the Federal Attorney a lesson. Written by garykmcd
Taglines:
In America can a man be guilty until proven innocent? See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
Edit
See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
18 December 1981 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Ausencia de malicia See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$12,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$64,775, 22 November 1981, Limited ReleaseGross USA:
$40,716,963Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
Megan Carter: Oh, no, no, no. I'll pay. Unless you think that would make you impotent.
Michael Colin Gallagher: You got some mouth.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The name of the newspaper in the film is the fictional paper 'The Miami Standard'. Its interiors were portrayed by the actual newspaper 'The Miami Herald'. See more »Goofs
Megan sends Michael a note containing a spelling error. It reads "Michael: This is tomorrow's page one - just in case you've cancelled your sibscription - I'm happy for you," yet is told she'd make a good editor. However, she isn't being considered as a copy editor (who proofreads written stories from spelling and grammar) but for position of one who assigns stories and makes key judgment calls. See more »Quotes
Michael Colin Gallagher: Waiter? Check.Megan Carter: Oh, no, no, no. I'll pay. Unless you think that would make you impotent.
Michael Colin Gallagher: You got some mouth.
See more »
Contribute to This Page
Explore popular sci-fi movies and TV shows available to stream with Prime Video.
This movie provides a clever insight into the principles the press live by. Reporters sometimes lose their basic humanity because they're not looking at the human interest, but at covering all the angles. What's newsworthy is what's in the public domain as fact, not gossip. It's definitely something to think about in this age when large sections of the media are intent on muckraking over the affairs of those who are deemed to be 'high-profile'...
The movie asks us, though, to keep in mind that sometimes there's more going on than meets the eye, and that certain acts function as a means to an end. It can be seen as an extension of that great 70's movie tradition where acclaimed directors make polished films exposing high-level corruption. "Absence of Malice" is an involving exercise in paranoid mystery, with Newman in fine form as always, and Sally Field providing capable support.