Absolute Strangers (1991)

Directed by

Gilbert Cates

Genre

docudrama

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 36m

Rated

NR

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A husband fights to legally have an abortion for his comatose wife after a car accident leaves her brain-damaged. Anti-abortion activists sue to stop the procedure. The story is based on real events.

tenseemotionalsoberingthought-provokingheavyseriouscontroversialmelancholic

What happens

Absolute Strangers is a 1991 made-for-television CBS docudrama featuring Happy Days star Henry Winkler returning to his first major TV role in eight years. The screenplay, written by Robert Woodruff Anderson, was based on the true story of Marty Klein's controversial decision to have his wife Nancy undergo an abortion to aid her recovery after a head-trauma accident had left her comatose. The title is taken from the real-life court decision that used the phrase "absolute strangers", itself apparently derived from a courtroom outburst by Klein—to describe two anti-abortion activists, one of whom sued Klein to get custody of the fetus, the other to be appointed guardian of Nancy. The impending broadcast of the film spurred anti-abortion activists, including the American Family Association, to try to discourage advertisers from buying time during the show. These efforts provoked counter-demonstrations, and campaigns of letter-writing in support of the broadcast from Planned Parenthood, the National Council of Jewish Women, and other groups. The real-life Klein appeared in a cameo. Henry Winkler played Martin Klein, with his wife Nancy played by Jennifer Hetrick. Others in the cast included Karl Malden as Nancy Klein's father, Patty Duke as the appeals court judge (personally opposed to abortion) in the pivotal court case, and Richard Kiley as a doctor who favors abortion in such cases. The film's director, Gilbert Cates, was nominated for a Primetime Emmy. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• When Abortion Was Illegal: Untold Stories (1992)
• Roe vs. Wade (1989)
• A Private Matter (1992)
• Never Forget (1991)
• Right to Die (1987)
• Regarding Henry (1991)
• Guilty Until Proven Innocent (1991)
• Eclipse of Reason (1987)