Case of Patty Smith

A highly newsworthy topic, this movie deals with the topic of whether abortion should be legal. In this highly socially conscious, groundbreaking film, Patty Smith is raped by three hoodlums on a Los Angeles beach. Young, inexperienced, and away from her Kansas home, she is afraid to tell the police. Finding herself pregnant, she contacts Dr. Miller, who tells her that it is legally impossible for him to give her an abortion.

She then seeks counsel from Priest Father O'Brian, who criticizes her desire not to have the baby. Another physician, Dr. Fridden, offers to perform the abortion, but she does not have the $600 he wants for the procedure.

As her pregnancy becomes obvious, most of her friends discard her. Desperate, she finds an associate of an abortion ring. He tells her the operation can be arranged for $200. She agrees to it, and the abortion is done in a massage parlor. As a result of the sleazy back alley job, Patty is rushed to a hospital suffering great pain, and she dies from the botched procedure.

Her roommate Mary is determined to have the rapists and the illegal, back alley abortion ring brought to justice.

Additional Info

Genre: Drama
Starring: Dani Lynn, Merry Anders, Edward McKinley, Leo A. Handel
Year: 1952
Duration: 93 Minutes
Note: (B&W)