The Rape of Richard Beck (1985)

Seattle veteran cop Richard Beck becomes a sexual assault victim and must deal with the painful aftermath.

Director:

Karen Arthur

Writer:

James G. Hirsch

Stars:

Richard Crenna, Meredith Baxter, Pat Hingle

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Crenna	...	Richard Beck
Meredith Baxter	...	Barbara McKee (as Meredith Baxter Birney)
Pat Hingle	...	Chappy Beck
Frances Lee McCain	...	Caroline Beck
Cotter Smith	...	Lt. Hugo
Joanna Kerns	...	Anita Parrish
Mark Dickison	...	Eric Gibbs
Jason Bernard	...	Sgt. Wally Rydell
George Dzundza	...	Blastig
Nicholas Worth	...	Ray
M.C. Gainey	...	Sonny
Stanley Kamel	...	Dr. Greenberg
James Goodwin Rice	...	Weatherspoon
Jonas Marlowe	...	Joey
Gregory Wagrowski	...	Bozer

Storyline

Cop Beck thinks rape victims "bring it upon themselves" to be raped but has a mind-changing experience when he himself is raped by a couple of white trash felons, one of whom actually says he's going to make him "squeal like pig".

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Plot Keywords:

rape | trauma | homosexual rape | medical exam | divorced man | 

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Taglines:

He had to learn the truth - the hard way.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deadly Justice

Filming Locations:

Bill Spiedel's Underground Tour - 608 First Avenue, Seattle, Washington, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert Papazian Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 95 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Eric Gibbs: [to Beck] Aren't we supposed to leave that for the coroner?
Richard Beck: Beck Standard Manual of Police Procedure, Rule 81: "Coroners don't know jack."

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Connections

References Deliverance (1972)

User Reviews

Cops Can Be Victims Too

The Rape Of Richard Beck should never have been a made for TV film, it was truly worthy of theatrical release. Had it been on the big screen there might have been an Oscar instead of an Emmy that sat on Richard Crenna's fireplace mantel.

The big screen's loss was the small screen's gain. Richard Crenna in the title role is a hard-nosed cop who has little patience for the victims of sex crimes, especially after he was reassigned to sex crimes after pulling a real cowboy performance in apprehending a suspect. Maybe he's seen too many Clint Eastwood films and emulates his style, but there's nothing wrong calling for backup.

Afterward he's still looking to score big and follows two really suspicious characters into Seattle's underground where they get the drop on him. The two are a really vicious pair of inbreds and male rape is probably an ordinary thing in their family. They both assault and rape him and make the mistake of leaving him alive. Probably they don't want a cop killing on the resume, at least they're bright enough to appreciate those consequences.

The story centers around Crenna who has to readjust his thinking and come to grips with the fact that cops can be victims too. Crenna is now going through victim trauma, rape trauma something he'd been dismissive of with women before.

Other roles to note are George Dzundza as his partner, Pat Hingle as his father and a former cop as well, Meredith Baxter as the rape counselor who previously had not been getting along with Crenna. Most of all the role to note besides Crenna's is that of Frances McCain as Crenna's ex-wife who has an interesting relationship with her former husband.

This one is highly recommended, especially for those considering a career in law enforcement.