Word of Honor (1981)

A reporter refuses to reveal his source in the case of the murder of a young girl. As a result, he and his family are shunned by the residents of the small town in which they live. ... See full summary »

Director:

Mel Damski

Writers:

David Ackles (screenplay), David Ackles (story)

Stars:

Karl Malden, Rue McClanahan, Ron Silver

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Karl Malden	...	Mike McNeill
Rue McClanahan	...	Maggie McNeill
Ron Silver	...	David Lerner
Largo Woodruff	...	Amy
Alexa Kenin	...	Beverly
Jacqueline Brookes	...	Spinner
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Dist. Atty. Burke (as Jeff DeMunn)
Henderson Forsythe	...	Peterson
John Marley	...	Gordon Agee
Dan Lounsbery
John Malkovich	...	Gary
Betsy Baker	...	Denise McNeil
John Beem
Carole Morisseau
Thomas D. Mahard	...	(as Tom Mahard)

Storyline

A reporter refuses to reveal his source in the case of the murder of a young girl. As a result, he and his family are shunned by the residents of the small town in which they live. Virtually no one comes to his daughter's wedding, and at his office, the police search his desk, and his boss threatens to fire him.

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Plot Keywords:

source of information | informer | child murder | community | wedding of daughter | 

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Genres:

Thriller | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film begins with a concert in Plymouth's Kellogg park. Originally, the local high school band was to perform, but the director felt that they sounded too "professional". He opted to use a less-polished small community band instead. In fact, this same band performed at the location every Thursday evening during summer months.

User Reviews

dated

Karl Malden gives his "Word of Honor" that he won't reveal a source in this 1981 film, also starring Rue McClanahan, John Marley, Ron Silver, Jeffrey DeMunn, Alex Kenin, and John Malkovich. Both Malkovich and Silver were baby-faced kids when this TV movie was made.

Malden is a newspaperman, Mike McNeill, who gets a line on a pillar of the community, Roger Clements (Dan Crane) from a young woman (Alexa Kenin) who claims that the man is a pedophile and kidnapper. As a result, a search warrant is served on a house he has, and the dead body of a missing girl is found as well as photographs of his victims. He has promised his informant, who has a brand new life with a husband and baby, that he will not reveal her name. However, Clements cannot be convicted without her testimony, or the evidence becomes hearsay and is then thrown out. The Malden character refuses to name his source, is put in jail and ostracized by the entire town.

Nowadays we are much more used to newspapermen refusing to name their sources so the situation the McNeills find themselves in may seem overly dramatic now. However, it makes a point that can't be driven home too often -- people only have ethics until they have something to lose. It's the rare person who sticks to his ethics in adversity. The acting is good, especially from Malden, and it's great to see the young Malkovich in a small TV role!

Sadly, the actress who plays the informant, Alexa Kenin, was murdered a few years later by her boyfriend. Alas, that's often the subject of Lifetime TV movies today.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 January 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Avslöjandet

Filming Locations:

Daily Tribune - Royal Oak, Michigan, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Georgian Bay Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1