A high-class call girl accused of murder fights for the right to stand trial rather than be declared mentally incompetent.
Acting
Streisand's volcanic monologues—she's ferocious, never asking for sympathy.
Writing
Tom Topor's stage roots show: talky, theatrical, devastating.
Direction
Ritt's static framing turns the courtroom into a trap.
Director
Martin Ritt
Barbra Streisand
Claudia Draper
Richard Dreyfuss
Aaron Levinsky
Maureen Stapleton
Rose Kirk
Karl Malden
Arthur Kirk
Eli Wallach
Dr. Herbert A. Morrison
Robert Webber
Francis MacMillan
James Whitmore
Judge Stanley Murdoch
Leslie Nielsen
Allen Green
William Prince
Clarence Middleton
Dakin Matthews
Judge Lawrence Block
Paul Benjamin
Harry Harrison
Elizabeth Hoffman
Dr. Johnson
Castulo Guerra
Dr. Arantes
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Streisand fought for years to make this, originally planning to direct herself before Ritt took over.
Released during the era of feminist legal battles over competency and institutionalization, it mirrors real cases where women's anger was pathologized.
US
