''Attack on Fear'' is a 1984 American
made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by
Mel Damski
Melvin Damski (born July 21, 1946 in New York, New York) is an American director and producer of film and television.
Life and career
Mel Damski (born in New York, New York) is an American film director and film producer. Damski has Northern Euro ...
and starring
Paul Michael Glaser,
Linda Kelsey,
Kevin Conway and
Barbara Babcock. It premiered on
CBS on October 10, 1984. The teleplay by
T.S. Cook is based on the 1980 book ''The Light on Synanon: How a Country Weekly Exposed a Corporate Cult'' written by
Dave Mitchell, Cathy Mitchell and
Richard Ofshe.
Overview
Paul Michael Glaser and
Linda Kelsey portray Dave and Cathy Mitchell, the new owners of a small-circulation weekly newspaper called ''
The Point Reyes Light'' in
Marin County, California
Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...
. Upon hearing of iniquities at the famed
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
drug rehabilitation center
Synanon, the Mitchells begin publishing their evidence. Despite legal pressure from Synanon and bizarre anonymously mailed threats, the Mitchells' story results in a major investigation of the revered institution.
Although ''Attack on Fear'' was completed in 1982, it was not telecast until October 1984 and then only after being reshaped to satisfy Synanon's battery of attorneys.
Cast
*
Paul Michael Glaser as
Dave Mitchell
*
Linda Kelsey as Cathy Mitchell
*
Kevin Conway as
Richard Ofshe
*
John Harkins as Banner
*
Alan Fudge
Alan Fudge (February 27, 1944 – October 10, 2011) was an American actor known for his roles in four television programs, ''Man from Atlantis'', ''Eischied'', ''Paper Dolls'' and ''Bodies of Evidence'', along with a recurring role on ''7th Hea ...
as Art Disterhoft
*
Barbara Babcock as Jane Dutton
*
Tom Villard as Keith
*
Jerry Hardin
Jerry Hardin (born November 20, 1929) is an American actor. Hardin has appeared in film and television roles, including the character nicknamed Deep Throat in ''The X-Files''. He has guest starred in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and '' St ...
as Sheriff Bergus
*
Hugh Reilly as Lofgren
*
Wendy Goldman as Gail
* Jack Gregory as Thompkins
*
Patricia E. Parris as Bonnie
* Gary Bayer as Veteran Reporter
*
Michael Mallory as SWAT Officer
References
External links
*
*
1984 films
1984 television films
1984 drama films
CBS films
1980s English-language films
Films set in 1978
Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area
Biographical films about journalists
Films directed by Mel Damski
American drama television films
1980s American films
{{US-tv-drama-film-stub