When He's Not a Stranger
When He's Not a Stranger is a 1989 American Made for TV crime drama film directed by John Gray and starring Annabeth Gish and John Terlesky. The screenplay concerns a college freshman who is sexually assaulted by a football jock. It sums up the ordeal that rape victims experience and the sexual assault on college campuses. A stark dramatization of the "acquaintance rape" dilemma, it was originally to be broadcast on October 17, 1989, but pushed to November 6th of that year because of coverage surrounding the earthquakes in Northern California.
| When He's Not a Strange | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Josephine Cummings (story) Richard Yalem (story) Beth Sullivan (story) John Gray (teleplay) Beth Sullivan (teleplay) |
| Directed by | John Gray |
| Starring | Annabeth Gish John Terlesky Kevin Dillon |
| Music by | Mark Snow |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Don Ohlmeyer |
| Producer(s) | Karen Danaher-Dorr Ian Sander |
| Production location(s) | California |
| Cinematography | Mike Fash |
| Editor(s) | Edward R. Abroms |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Ohlmeyer Communications Company World International Network |
| Distributor | CBS |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Picture format | Color |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original release | November 6, 1989 |
Plot
At Woodword University, a football-oriented California school, Lyn McKenna is raped and brutalized by her best friend's boyfriend, football player Ron Cooper. Lyn is hesitant to reveal this information as she fears that doing so will create a number of social issues and will simply worsen the aftermath of her experience. However, continued threats from Ron and his fellow football teammates lead Lyn into desperate action, and she requests that the school hold a disciplinary hearing against Ron, and ultimately demands that a district attorney prosecute.
Cast
- Annabeth Gish ... Lyn McKenna
- John Terlesky ... Ron Cooper
- Kevin Dillon ... Rick
- Kim Myers ... Melaine Fairchild
- Stephen Elliott ... Attorney Foster
- Paul Dooley ... Ben McKenna
- Micole Mercurio ... Emily McKenna
- Allan Arbus ... Judge Thomas J. Gray
- John M. Jackson ... Woodward University Coach