Scandal in a Small Town

Scandal in a Small Town

She's in for the fight of her life, against her own shameless past.

1988 · 91 min · ★ 5.5 · Drama, TV Movie

Leda Beth Vincent lives in the small town of Shiloh and works as a cocktail waitress there. She is not too well thought of as she is nothing of a blushing virgin. But she is far from a whore and brings up her daughter Julie, a high school student, as a loving responsible mother. So, when she becomes aware that Julie's very popular history teacher, Mr Baker, spreads antisemitic ideas among his pupils, Leda Beth decides to ask Mr Baker for an explanation. But she comes up against a wall. Nobody in town - Julie less than all others - wants to support her and it looks as if she will have to bring the Board of Education to court. The trouble is that a school dropout and a tramp of her kind does not count for much compared to the holders of knowledge and of morality.

Directed by Anthony Page · Written by Robert J. Avrech

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 12m together

Scandal in a Small Town

Pack of Lies

Both from Anthony Page.

More from Anthony PageSee all →

Hallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of Fame · 1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
★ 8.81951
SeriesDrama
Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.
The Missiles of OctoberThe Missiles of October · 1974
The Missiles of October
★ 8.81974
SeriesDramaWar & Politics
The Missiles of October is a 1974 docudrama made-for-television play about the Cuban missile crisis. The title evokes the book The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman about the missteps among the great powers and the failed chances to give an opponent a graceful way out, which led to the First World War. The teleplay introduced William Devane as John F. Kennedy and cast Martin Sheen as United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. The script is based on Robert Kennedy's book Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The ChangelingThe Changeling · 1974
The Changeling
★ 8.51974
MovieDramaTV Movie
Sexual passion breeds violence in the Thomas Middleton and William Rowley written tale of a beautiful woman who falls in love with a sea-captain. Filmed with lush production values and at a leisurely, very British pace, Helen Mirren is riveting as Beatrice-Joanna, a young lass already torn by love and commitment.Beatrice-Joanna (Helen Mirren) is betrothed to Lord Alonzo de Piraquo (Malcolm Reynolds) but is in love with Alsemero (Brian Cox). She hires her father's manservant, De Flores (Stanley Baker), to kill Alonzo but after he has done so, she realises De Flores wants her as a reward.The Changeling was an instalment of the BBC's Play of the Month series and is a production for television of a 1622 Jacobean tragedy of the same name, written by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley.
MiddlemarchMiddlemarch · 1994
Middlemarch
★ 7.81994
SeriesDramaComedy
19th century Great Britain. The Industrial Revolution brings both the promise and fear of change. In the provincial town of Middlemarch, the progressive Dorothea Brooke desperately seeks intellectual fulfillment in a male-dominated society and is driven into an unhappy marriage to the elderly scholar Casaubon. No sooner do they embark on their honeymoon than she meets and develops an instant connection with Casaubon's young cousin, Will Ladislaw. When idealistic Doctor Lydgate arrives, his new methods of medicine sweep him into the battle between conservatives and liberals in town. He quickly becomes enamored of the beautiful, privileged Rosamond Vincy, a woman whose troubles seem bound to destroy him.
The Missiles of OctoberThe Missiles of October · 1974
The Missiles of October
★ 7.51974
MovieDramaTV Movie
Based in part on Robert F. Kennedy's book, "Thirteen Days," this film profiles the Kennedy Administration's actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The Adams ChroniclesThe Adams Chronicles · 1976
The Adams Chronicles
★ 7.41976
SeriesDramaWar & Politics
Chronicles the story of the Adams political family over a 150-year span, including John Adams (drafter and signer of the Declaration, accomplished diplomat, and the 2nd President of the U.S.), his wife Abigail Adams, his son John Quincy Adams (acclaimed Secretary of State, the 6th President, and prominent abolitionist Congressman), grandson Charles Francis Adams, Congressman and Ambassador to Great Britain during the Civil War, and much-heralded members of the fourth generation Henry Brooks Adams, the historian and author of the novel Democracy, and Charles Francis Adams II, the industrialist.
Z-CarsZ-Cars · 1962
Z-Cars
★ 7.31962
SeriesDrama
Z-Cars or Z Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.
Bill: On His OwnBill: On His Own · 1983
Bill: On His Own
★ 7.21983
MovieDramaTV Movie
Bill Sackter struggles to cope after his best friend and guardian, Barry Morrow and his wife Beverly move away. Bill moves into a group home run by Mae Driscoll who teaches him how to read. Bill soon discovers his religious heritage, overcoming the fire that accidentally destroyed his small canteen business, and then travels to California to search for the Morrows.
ITV Saturday Night TheatreITV Saturday Night Theatre · 1969
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
★ 7.01969
Series
Anthology series of dramatic works.
F.D.R.: The Last YearF.D.R.: The Last Year · 1980
F.D.R.: The Last Year
★ 6.91980
MovieDramaTV Movie
Though visibly frail and weary, President Franklin D. Roosevelt runs for a precedent-setting fourth term. He also oversees plans for the D-Day Invasion and engages in tempestuous summit meetings with his wartime allies Stalin and Churchill.
Pack of LiesPack of Lies · 1987
Pack of Lies
★ 6.81987
MovieThrillerTV Movie
A British couple are shocked out of their suburban malaise when British intelligence agent Stewart shows up at their door and wants to use their house for a stakeout. Stewart reveals that their neighbors are undercover Russian KGB spies, part of a Soviet espionage network.
Monte CarloMonte Carlo · 1986
Monte Carlo
★ 6.71986
SeriesDrama
An American writer on the Riviera courts a Russian singer who is spying on Nazis for revenge.
Not INot I · 1973
Not I
★ 6.61973
MovieDrama
Performed at the Royal Court Theatre on 16th January 1973
Play for TodayPlay for Today · 1970
Play for Today
★ 6.61970
SeriesDrama
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.
AbsolutionAbsolution · 1978
Absolution
★ 6.51978
MovieDramaThriller
At a Catholic boys' school, domineering disciplinarian Father Goddard rules over his pupils with an iron hand. When one of his teenage charges confesses to murder, the dogmatic but deeply repressed Goddard finds his faith challenged and his life spiralling dangerously out of control.
The Patricia Neal StoryThe Patricia Neal Story · 1981
The Patricia Neal Story
★ 6.51981
MovieDramaTV Movie
The dramatic account of actress Patricia Neal's miraculous recovery from a near-fatal stroke in 1966 with the help of her then-husband, author Roald Dahl, and their close friend, veteran actress Mildred Dunnock.

More Like This

The TrapThe Trap · 2007
The Trap
★ 7.32007
MovieCrimeDrama
Mladen and Marija are an ordinary and happy married couple of the "middle class" of the society in which they live as tenants. Mladen works as a civil engineer in a state company, and Marija is an English teacher in primary school. The couple finds joy in their only son, Nemanja. They discover that Nemanja has a rare heart disease and healing is possible with an operation in a foreign medical center, which costs €26,000.
Pather PanchaliPather Panchali · 1955
Pather Panchali
★ 7.81955
MovieDramaHistory
Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. Alone, his wife, Sarbojaya, looks after her rebellious daughter, Durga, and her young son, Apu, as well as Harihar's elderly aunt Indir. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life, while their parents suffer the daily indignities heaped upon them.
One Eight SevenOne Eight Seven · 1997
One Eight Seven
★ 6.71997
MovieDramaThriller
When a Brooklyn high school student writes the police code for homicide, 187, inside a textbook owned by teacher Trevor Garfield, Garfield feels threatened. The principal dismisses the incident, but the same student stabs Trevor soon after. Fifteen months later, a physically and emotionally scarred Trevor relocates to California and takes up substitute teaching. To his dismay, his new school is as full of dangerously undisciplined students as his old one—including four Latin Americans and a European American claiming membership in tagging gang K.O.S. (Kappin' Off Suckers)—driving him over the edge.
Terribly HappyTerribly Happy · 2008
Terribly Happy
★ 6.32008
MovieDramaThriller
Robert Hansen, 34, a young police officer from Copenhagen, is transferred against his will to the small town of Skarrild in Southern Jutland as a substitute Marshall. The transfer is Robert’s chance to start over. Whether he is allowed to return to his job in Copenhagen, all depends on how well he performs in this frontier town.
Class ActionClass Action · 1991
Class Action
★ 6.31991
MovieDramaCrime
A liberal activist lawyer alienated his daughter Maggie years ago when she discovered his many affairs. Now a conservative corporate lawyer, Maggie agrees to go up against her father in court. To gain promotion, she must defend an auto manufacturer against charges that their explosion-prone station wagons are unsafe. As her mother begs for peace, Maggie takes on her dad in a trial that turns increasingly personal and nasty.
MartyMarty · 1955
Marty
★ 7.51955
MovieDramaRomance
Marty, a butcher who lives in the Bronx with his mother, is unmarried at 34. Good-natured but socially awkward, he faces constant badgering from family and friends to get married but has reluctantly resigned himself to bachelorhood. He then meets Clara, an unattractive school teacher. Realising their emotional connection, Marty promises to call, but family and friends try to convince him not to.
Kinky BootsKinky Boots · 2005
Kinky Boots
★ 6.72005
MovieComedyDrama
Charles Price may have grown up with his father in the family shoe business in Northampton, central England, but he never thought that he would take his father's place. Charles has a chance encounter with the flamboyant drag queen cabaret singer Lola and everything changes.
Meet the BrownsMeet the Browns · 2008
Meet the Browns
★ 6.62008
MovieDramaComedy
A single mother living in inner city Chicago, Brenda has been struggling for years to make ends meet and keep her three kids off the street. When she's laid off with no warning, she starts losing hope for the first time - until a letter arrives announcing the death of a father she's never met. Desperate for any kind of help, Brenda takes her family to Georgia for the funeral, but nothing could have prepared her for the Browns, her father's fun-loving, crass Southern clan. In a small-town world full of long afternoons and country fairs, Brenda struggles to get to know the family she never knew existed... and finds a brand new romance that just might change her life.
Madea's Family ReunionMadea's Family Reunion · 2006
Madea's Family Reunion
★ 6.32006
MovieDramaComedy
Southern matriarch Madea has a lot on her plate. Her nieces, Vanessa and Lisa, have relationship troubles - Vanessa moves into Madea's house with her 2 young children and Lisa is engaged to a controlling man that her mother set her up with. In addition, Madea has just been court-ordered to become the guardian of Nikki, a rebellious runaway teenager. Madea must keep the peace and her family together while simultaneously planning her clan's reunion.
The King and IThe King and I · 1956
The King and I
★ 7.11956
MovieRomanceHistory
Widowed Welsh mother Anna Leonowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter