''Reckless Disregard'' is a 1985 American film that was directed by

Harvey Hart Harvey Hart (August 30, 1928 – November 21, 1989) was a Canadian television and film director and a television producer. Hart studied at the University of Toronto before being hired by the CBC in 1952.Rist, Peter Harry (2001). "Harvey Ha ...

. It stars

Tess Harper Tessie Jean Harper (''née'' Washam; born August 15, 1950) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her first film role in 1983's '' Tender Mercies'', and for the Academy Award for B ...

as a lawyer that must defend a physician against claims of selling prescriptions. After accepting the part Harper commented that the role was different from those she'd played in the past such as "rural mothers". The film has drawn comparisons to the 1983 Galloway lawsuit against

Dan Rather Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. Rather began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hur ...

as well as the case of Westmoreland vs. CBS.

Synopsis

Meredith Craig is a small-time lawyer that must defend Edward Lucas, a physician whose practice was ruined after a television show claimed that he sold illegal drug prescriptions. Edward wants Meredith to sue the show, stating that its host Bob Franklin was guilty of libel, as Edward claims innocence.

Cast

as Meredith Craig * Frank Adamson as Dr. Edward Lucas *

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 192628 November 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. Nielsen was bo ...

as Bob Franklin *

Ronny Cox Daniel Ronald Cox (born July 23, 1938) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. His best-known roles include Drew Ballinger in ''Deliverance'' (1972), George Apple in '' Apple's Way'' (1974–75), Ozark Bule in '' Bound for Glory'' (1976), C ...

as Dan Leone * Henry Ramer as Jack Coburn *

Kate Lynch Kate Lynch (born June 29, 1959) is a Canadian film, television and stage actress, drama teacher, theatre director and playwright. Biography In 1980 she won the Genie Award for Best Actress for ''Meatballs''. She was notably adept at improvisation ...

as Lauren Gartner * Sean McCann as Harold Stern

Reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' reviewed the film and drew parallels to the 1983 Galloway lawsuit against

. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' made similar comments, stating that "The way reality has been rendered into fiction with ''''Reckless Disregard'''' illustrates how film makers try to heighten drama by sharpening and simplifying murky issues." ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'' panned the film, writing that "In the wake of Westmoreland vs. CBS, there's a compelling movie to be made about how TV news works, how the producers do all the work and the anchors get all the credit, how interviews are edited, how news and entertainment merge on TV. But this isn't that movie."

References

External links

* 1985 films 1980s crime drama films American crime drama films 1985 drama films Films about medical malpractice Films directed by Harvey Hart 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-crime-drama-film-stub