The Rape Of Richard Beck should never have been a made for TV film, it was truly worthy of theatrical release. Had it been on the big screen there might have been an Oscar instead of an Emmy that sat on Richard Crenna's fireplace mantel. The big screen's loss was the small screen's gain. Richard Crenna in the title role is a hard-nosed cop who has little patience for the victims of sex crimes, especially after he was reassigned to sex crimes after pulling a real cowboy performance in apprehending a suspect. Maybe he's seen too many Clint Eastwood films and emulates his style, but there's nothing wrong calling for backup.Afterward he's still looking to score big and follows two really suspicious characters into Seattle's underground where they get the drop on him. The two are a really vicious pair of inbreds and male rape is probably an ordinary thing in their family. They both assault and rape him and make the mistake of leaving him alive. Probably they don't want a cop killing on the resume, at least they're bright enough to appreciate those consequences.The story centers around Crenna who has to readjust his thinking and come to grips with the fact that cops can be victims too. Crenna is now going through victim trauma, rape trauma something he'd been dismissive of with women before.Other roles to note are George Dzundza as his partner, Pat Hingle as his father and a former cop as well, Meredith Baxter as the rape counselor who previously had not been getting along with Crenna. Most of all the role to note besides Crenna's is that of Frances McCain as Crenna's ex-wife who has an interesting relationship with her former husband.This one is highly recommended, especially for those considering a career in law enforcement.

I remember seeing this as a little me back in the 1980's.If I remember correctly Beck was underground someplace and is cornered by 2 guys or whatever. One of the guys says to him "I just broke up with my girlfriend" and I think his partner says "yeah he just broke up with his girlfriend-why don't you help him out" or something to that affect. Then due to the magic of television- the camera pulls out as the viewers see a struggle ensue-then the picture fades to back leaving me as a young viewer to wonder-what was happening? As a grown-up I know what was happening- he was getting violated against his will by other men. That one sequence has had a profound place in my mind ever since- It is fatefully stored in my mind with all the other bits and pieces of stuff I would rather forget...I am so glad this is available in some form again, I must revisit this movie again with older-eyes!

'The Rape of Richard Beck" combines elements of "Dirty Harry" and "Deliverance" in a message-oriented, urban crime melodrama about two hardcore homosexual hoodlums that sodomize an off-duty police detective at gunpoint when he cannot produce any back-up. Basically, it's a rape movie for guys about guys that espouse a callous, chauvinistic attitude toward female rape victims. Neither former ballet dancer-turned-director Karen Arthur nor producer-scenarist James G. Hirsch deviate an iota from the social problem/crime drama formula in this outstanding role-reversal rape movie. No, they don't depict the actual simulated sodomy between the cop and his two thuggish assailants, played with menace by Nicholas Worth and M.C. Gainey. Most of the action that takes place between Beck and his assailants occurs in close-ups and medium shots. The act itself takes place off-camera so that everybody retains their dignity. After all, this was a prime-time network featured 1985 made-for-television movie. Nevertheless, the impact of the rape on the cop's life evokes a reevaluation on his part about helpless women raped because he thought that they brought it on themselves. By the end of the action, Beck is teaching sensitivity training classes to cadets at the police academy."The Rape of Richard Beck" takes an obnoxious, hard-boiled cop and forces him to endure sodomy and then live with the consequences. Mind you, this isn't something you want to sit around and watch with a bunch of drunks. Detective Richard Beck's transformation when he loses his gun is 180 degrees. Indeed, at the beginning of "The Rape of Richard Beck," the filmmakers make a subtle point that perhaps Beck is a little too big for his own britches by trying to be a one man army. Beck compares modern-day cops to 'tribal warriors' of another age going out on 'safari' in 'the jungle' to apprehend criminals. Meanwhile, Beck's partner Blastig (George Dzundra of "Basic Instinct") thinks that Beck is crazy to jeopardize their lives when they are off-duty, especially because he has 37 months left until he receives his pension. If anything, Beck's hubris is that he's supremely overconfident about himself. He thinks that he is larger-than-life and exempt from all the rules. Indeed, he makes up Beck's Police Rules about being a cop. Ironically, the very same thing that Beck had accused women of doing by bringing her rape on themselves, he does himself when he embarks on his so-called 'safaris' to nab lawbreakers.Aside from this horrific twist, "The Rape of Richard Beck" is a well-made but standard, police procedural that argues a good case about misguided (male) perceptions of rape (women) victims. Earlier, Beck felt that female rape victims brought this molestation on themselves and then did help matters by refusing to identify the suspect and prosecute. By having the unthinkable happen to an abrasive, masculine cop who has trouble coming to terms with himself after the fact gives this film its dramatic punch. Richard Crenna, better known for his comedy TV role on "The Real McCoys" and his supporting bits in the "Rambo" movies, received an Emmy for his first-rate, top-notch performance as the violated detective. This performance is a far cry from his spaghetti western "A Man Called Noon," his French crime thriller "Un Flic," and his turn as a criminal in "Wait Until Dark." The sodomy for the sensation minded doesn't occur into about 40 minutes into the plot. Earlier, we learn that Beck is divorced. His son Joey (Jonas Marlowe of "Children of the Corn") and his daughter live with their mother Carolina Beck (Francis Lee McCain of "Patch Adams") and Beck comes around to take his son on fishing trips with his father Chappy Beck (Pat Hingle of "Hang'em High"). Beck spoils his son and his ex-wife doesn't appreciate his shenanigans. We only see Beck's current girlfriend once after the rape occurs and Beck suffers from a nervous breakdown and destroys the dinner that she had carefully prepared. Indeed, in the underground room where the crime transpires, we only see unsavory tough guy Nicholas Worth of "Heartbreak Ridge" and a younger, thinner M.C. Gainey of "The Dukes of Hazzard" corner a cop, disarm him, batter him, then seize him by the hair and pull his head back as one character reaches to unzip himself. Later, we learn that a janitor witnessed the rape in its entirety and refused to interfere for fear that he would receive similar treatment from them. Initially, Beck behaves like a female rape victim. He lives in the land of denial, but rape counselor Barbara McKee (Meredith Baxter Birney of "Ben") sees through his masquerade. Eventually, these two who had never tolerated each other join sides to catch a rapist."The Rape of Richard Beck" is one of the few TV movies or theatrical features that examines the impact of rape on a man, but the grim subject matter and prime time sensibility prevented the filmmakers from delving too deeply into any man's worst nightmare. You'd think that a TV movie of this magnitude would have merited a better presentation on DVD, but the copy that I bought appeared under a different, more generic title "Deadly Justice" on a twin-bill with an early Mark Harmon adventure opus "Tuareg: The Desert Warrior."

I first saw this truly startling mid-80's made-for-TV favorite in health class when I was in 17 in high school. It truly unnerved the hell out of me. The teacher would occasionally stop the film and make all the students discuss what they just saw with utmost seriousness. It's an experience I'll always treasure as a truly special and unique adolescent memory. Richard Crenna deservedly won an Emmy for his exceptionally brave performance. Nicholas Worth and M.C. Gainey are positively terrifying as the two brutish homosexual hooligans who sodomize Crenna. The single most scary moment occurs when Worth holds a knife to Crenna's throat and venomously snarls to Gainey,"You ever go pig-hunting Sonny -- they squeal when ya stab 'em!" Yikes! This was pretty heavy and hard-sitting stuff for me to take at the time. It still upsets me today and rates highly as my second all-time favorite 80's TV movie right after the equally awesome "Fallen Angel."