Themes: Fighting the System, Mothers and Sons, Kids in Trouble
Main Cast: Julie Christie, John Polson, Hugo Weaving, Victor Banerjee, Sarah Jessica Parker
Release Year: 1988
Country: AU/US
Run Time: 189 minutes
Plot
This two-part TV movie, produced in Australia, was based on the tragically true story of an Australian teenager (John Polson) condemned to death for dealing in drugs in Malaysia. Part One set up the circumstances which landed Polson and his friend Hugo Weaving on Malaysia's death row. In Part Two, Polson's mother, played by Julie Christie, races desperately against time to save her son from the gallows. She enlists the support of the Queen of England, the Pope, and a large international organization of concerned citizens--but the Malaysian government remains unmoved. Evocatively filmed in Macao, Dadah Is Death had the bad luck to premiere on American TV opposite the highly rated miniseries Favorite Son. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Kerry Armstrong - Shawn; David Bracks; Liddy Clark; Hugh Keays-Byrne; Gandhi MacIntyre; Warwick Moss; Frederick Parslow; Steve Rackman; Jeremy Shadlow; Noah Taylor; Jeff Truman; David Field; John Orcsik; Maggie King; Neela Dey; Georgie Parker; Robin Ramsay; Monroe Reimers; Gerry Skilton; Peggy Thompson; Bruce Venables
Credit
Jerry London - Director, Michael Brown - Editor, Steve Krantz - Executive Producer, Fred Karlin - Composer (Music Score), Brian Thomson - Production Designer
