Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case (1980)
DIRECTOR: Peter Levin (The Starlost)
STARS: Mickey Rourke (Barfly), Linda Hamilton (Terminator, TAG), Rip Torn (Hit List), Eugene Roche (Pigs vs Freaks), Gail Strickland (Who’ll Stop the Rain), Paul Koslo (Mr. Majestyk), Richard Venture (The Onion Field), Gerald McRaney (American Justice, Easy Prey)
SYNOPSIS: Before hitting the big time Mickey Rourke (in Body Heat and Diner) and Linda Hamilton (in The Terminator) starred in this rare made-for-TV movie. They play John and Greta Rideout, a real-life married couple who made headlines in 1978 for a landmark rape case. In fact John was the first man in the US to go on trial for raping his wife (in Oregon). The young couple live in a shitty apartment and have a young daughter and seem content. However, John spends his money at the local bar drinking and gambling. He can be loving but has a hair-trigger temper. Whenever he wants to have sex - he says it’s his right as a husband and forces Greta to comply. When she doesn’t… he beats her. In one instance she’s left with a black eye and bruises. Fed up, Greta reaches out to a rape crisis center and eventually the police. This leads to a trial that attracts national attention and reporters who are eager to get the story. The last 30 minutes of the film covers the trial. All along the way Greta is met with resistance from the police, lawyers and even a female co-worker. Rourke and Hamilton are in good form making their characters believable and sympathetic. There’s good support from Paul Koslo (as Rourke’s sleazy cousin) and Rip Torn (as Rourke’s sleazy lawyer). Never released on dvd.
Fullscreen / Color
Region Free / Code Free DVD-R
DIRECTOR: Peter Levin (The Starlost)
STARS: Mickey Rourke (Barfly), Linda Hamilton (Terminator, TAG), Rip Torn (Hit List), Eugene Roche (Pigs vs Freaks), Gail Strickland (Who’ll Stop the Rain), Paul Koslo (Mr. Majestyk), Richard Venture (The Onion Field), Gerald McRaney (American Justice, Easy Prey)
SYNOPSIS: Before hitting the big time Mickey Rourke (in Body Heat and Diner) and Linda Hamilton (in The Terminator) starred in this rare made-for-TV movie. They play John and Greta Rideout, a real-life married couple who made headlines in 1978 for a landmark rape case. In fact John was the first man in the US to go on trial for raping his wife (in Oregon). The young couple live in a shitty apartment and have a young daughter and seem content. However, John spends his money at the local bar drinking and gambling. He can be loving but has a hair-trigger temper. Whenever he wants to have sex - he says it’s his right as a husband and forces Greta to comply. When she doesn’t… he beats her. In one instance she’s left with a black eye and bruises. Fed up, Greta reaches out to a rape crisis center and eventually the police. This leads to a trial that attracts national attention and reporters who are eager to get the story. The last 30 minutes of the film covers the trial. All along the way Greta is met with resistance from the police, lawyers and even a female co-worker. Rourke and Hamilton are in good form making their characters believable and sympathetic. There’s good support from Paul Koslo (as Rourke’s sleazy cousin) and Rip Torn (as Rourke’s sleazy lawyer). Never released on dvd.
Fullscreen / Color
Region Free / Code Free DVD-R
DIRECTOR: Peter Levin (The Starlost)
STARS: Mickey Rourke (Barfly), Linda Hamilton (Terminator, TAG), Rip Torn (Hit List), Eugene Roche (Pigs vs Freaks), Gail Strickland (Who’ll Stop the Rain), Paul Koslo (Mr. Majestyk), Richard Venture (The Onion Field), Gerald McRaney (American Justice, Easy Prey)
SYNOPSIS: Before hitting the big time Mickey Rourke (in Body Heat and Diner) and Linda Hamilton (in The Terminator) starred in this rare made-for-TV movie. They play John and Greta Rideout, a real-life married couple who made headlines in 1978 for a landmark rape case. In fact John was the first man in the US to go on trial for raping his wife (in Oregon). The young couple live in a shitty apartment and have a young daughter and seem content. However, John spends his money at the local bar drinking and gambling. He can be loving but has a hair-trigger temper. Whenever he wants to have sex - he says it’s his right as a husband and forces Greta to comply. When she doesn’t… he beats her. In one instance she’s left with a black eye and bruises. Fed up, Greta reaches out to a rape crisis center and eventually the police. This leads to a trial that attracts national attention and reporters who are eager to get the story. The last 30 minutes of the film covers the trial. All along the way Greta is met with resistance from the police, lawyers and even a female co-worker. Rourke and Hamilton are in good form making their characters believable and sympathetic. There’s good support from Paul Koslo (as Rourke’s sleazy cousin) and Rip Torn (as Rourke’s sleazy lawyer). Never released on dvd.
Fullscreen / Color
Region Free / Code Free DVD-R