Directed by:
Delbert MannScreenplay:
E. Jack NeumanCinematography:
Joseph F. BirocComposer:
John CacavasCast:
Cheryl Ladd, Sam Elliott, Alexis Smith, John Ashton, Barry Corbin, Jim Haynie, George Wyner, Richard Bull, Bruce Gray, Chad Allen, Kenneth Tigar, Rance Howard, William Lucking, John McLiam (more)Plots(1)
A vicious psychopath murders your fiance, then rapes you. Do you call the cops, fight back, run like hell? Or do you bond with your tormentor? Events that plunge emotionally fragile Hope Masters (Cheryl Ladd) into a living nightmare become more monstrous when, frightened into believing the twisted, self-serving tale her attacker (Sam Elliott) weaves, she comes to view him as a hero. She trusts him, depends on him, lets him become part of her life. And Hope lies for him - a lie that leads to her arrest and trial for her fiance's murder. The fact-based A Death in California locks a heartbreakingly vulnerable woman, a manipulative killer and viewers in a bizarre dance of crime, punishment and death. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Cheryl Ladd
USA
Best movies:
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980) (TV movie)
Lisa (1990)
A Dog of Flanders (1999)
Sam Elliott
USA
Best movies:
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
The Sacketts (1979) (TV movie)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Alexis Smith
Canada
Best movies:
Rhapsody in Blue (1945)
Gentleman Jim (1942)
The Young Philadelphians (1959)
John Ashton
USA
Best movies:
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Columbo (1971) (series)
Barry Corbin
USA
Best movies:
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Lonesome Dove (1989) (series)
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Jim Haynie
USA
Best movies:
The Right Stuff (1983)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
George Wyner
USA
Best movies:
The Devil's Advocate (1997)
All the President's Men (1976)
Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)
Richard Bull
USA
Bruce Gray
Puerto Rico
Best movies:
Starship Troopers (1997)
Recount (2008) (TV movie)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Chad Allen
USA
Best movies:
Battle for Terra (2007)
End of the Spear (2005)
Save Me (2007)
Kenneth Tigar
USA
Best movies:
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
Primal Fear (1996)
Rance Howard
USA
Best movies:
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Cinderella Man (2005)
William Lucking
USA
Best movies:
K-Pax (2001)
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
The World's Fastest Indian (2005)
John McLiam
Canada
Best movies:
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
First Blood (1982)
My Fair Lady (1964)
George Wallace
USA
Best movies:
The Towering Inferno (1974)
Minority Report (2002)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Joel Polis
USA
Best movies:
The Thing (1982)
Ściana (1982) (TV movie)
Ally McBeal (1997) (series)
Anne Betancourt
Best movies:
Life as a House (2001)
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Martin West
USA
Best movies:
Soldier Blue (1970)
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker (1989) (TV movie)
Chip Heller
Best movies:
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Space: Above and Beyond (1995) (series)
The Deliberate Stranger (1986) (TV movie)
Jack Rader
USA
Best movies:
Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995) (TV movie)
Who Will Love My Children? (1983) (TV movie)
Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker (1989) (TV movie)