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BEYOND THE CALL (1996)
MAIN DETAILS • SYNOPSIS • CAST • QUOTES • NOTES • PHOTOS & MEDIA • CRITICAL PRAISE/COMMENTARY
Beyond the Call (1996) - photo copyright © Showtime Networks | Role: Russell Cates
Air Date: June 23, 1996
Director: Tony Bill"Conscience knows no prison."Synopsis: A Vietnam vet on death row. The woman who once loved him. And the fight for the truth that will cause her to question everything she believes in--putting her at risk for destroying her own comfortable life to save an old friend. Cast:
Sissy Spacek .... Pam O'Brien
David Strathairn .... Russell Cates
Arliss Howard .... Keith O'Brien
Janet Wright .... Fran
Lindsay Murrell .... Rebecca
Leslie Carlson .... Dan
Ken James .... Mel
Christina Collins .... Ruth
Andrew Sardella .... Mark
Diane D'Aquila .... Angela Favorite Quotes:
• "I didn't call to say goodbye, because I'm not leaving. They're going to kill the guy they got locked up in here, but they won't kill the guy you got locked up in your heart." - Russell Cates • "You can't kill the message." - Russell Cates Notes:
• Much of Beyond the Call was shot at an actual prison in Canada.
• David and co-star Arliss Howard worked together again in A Map of the World. Critical Praise & Commentary:
• "David Strathairn's rage and hopelessness are a powerful reminder of how such damages are wrought by war on any young man with ideals." -Amazon.com • "Brilliant performances by Sissy Spacek, David Strathairn and Arliss Howard lift Beyond the Call above what might seem to be its overly familiar themes. ...the movie's portrayal of how Vietnam changed or even broke some who fought there might be among the best attempted on television. And the acting really is exceptional." -South Coast Today • "Director Tony Bill draws out astonishing performances from Strathairn and Spacek." -Frederic Brussat, Spirituality & Health • "Even though the central issue here is the lingering effects of Vietnam on the people who went there, Beyond the Call is still a death row story and as such offers a terrific part for Strathairn." -TV Guide • "The performances are first rate and the direction from Tony Bill is sympathetically understated." -Radio Times • "Strathairn is excellent, while Spacek is her usual ethereal self..." -PEOPLE (David On His Role:)
• "In Beyond the Call, I play a Vietnam veteran who is condemned to death for shooting a policeman in Louisiana. It's sort of an investigation of post-traumatic stress disorder and the death penalty." -David Strathairn, 2002 | 
