Absence of Malice (1981) movie poster

Absence of Malice (1981)

"In America can a man be guilty until proven innocent?"
ThumbScore
👍 74%audience score Estimated from TMDB user ratings and critic scores, calibrated to Google's former audience score. Google stopped publishing it in 2026.
Critics Score
🎬 73%
DramaRomanceCrime

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Director
Runtime
1h 56m
Country
United States of America
Language
English
TMDB Rating
6.6/10 (262 votes)
Rotten Tomatoes
82%
Metacritic
64

Cast

Sally Field as Megan Carter · 75% avg
Paul Newman as Michael Colin Gallagher · 77% avg
Bob Balaban as Elliott Rosen · 71% avg
Melinda Dillon as Teresa Perrone · 73% avg
Luther Adler as Santos Malderone
Barry Primus as Robert Waddell · 73% avg
Josef Sommer as McAdam · 72% avg
John Harkins as Davidek

Is Absence of Malice good?

Most people think so. 74% audience score, estimated from 262 TMDB ratings. Critics agree, scoring it 73%.

Overview

Megan Carter is a reporter duped into running an untrue story on Michael Gallagher, a suspected racketeer. He has an alibi for the time his crime was allegedly committed—but it involves an innocent party. When he tells Carter the truth and the newspaper runs it, tragedy follows, forcing Carter to face up to the responsibilities of her job when she is confronted by Gallagher. Wikipedia ↗

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