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Not Without My Daughter (1991)
Starring Sally Field, Alfred Molina, Sheila Rosenthal
based on the book "Not Without My Daughter" by Betty Mahmoody |
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Sally Field
Born:
November 6, 1946
Birthplace: Pasadena, California, USA |
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Betty Mahmoody
Born: June 9, 1945
Birthplace: Alma, Michigan, USA
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Alfred Molina
Born:
May 24, 1953
Birthplace: London, England, UK |
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Sayyed Bozorg 'Moody' Mahmoody
Born: 1939
Birthplace: Shushtar, Iran
Death: August 23, 2009, Tehran, Iran
(kidney failure) |
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Sheila Rosenthal
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Mahtob Maryam Mahmoody
Born: September 4, 1979
Birthplace: Houston, Texas, USA
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 There was so much snow on the route we took even drug smugglers didn’t use that route. -Mahtob Mahmoody (The Culpeper Star Exponent, November 2, 2008)
Questioning the Story:
Did the Mahmoody family really have a house on the water in Alpena, Michigan?
 The real Mahtob Mahmoody in the USA, circa 1984.
Was Betty’s dad really ill?
Yes. The Not Without My Daughter true story reveals that her father, Harold Lover, had colon cancer. He died on August 3, 1986, about six months after Betty and Mahtob Mahmoody arrived back in America. - NWMD book
 Shah of Iran
Many Iranians were unhappy under Emperor Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi because of his allegiance to the West during the Cold War and his extravagant lifestyle and political reforms, including women’s voting rights. Religious leaders and followers believed that the Shah was overstepping his constitutional boundaries and was being subservient to the United States. Many of his actions were considered anti-Islamic and the cause of the loss of Iranian traditions. His policies were also blamed for the widening gap between the rich and the poor. In the late 1970s, Islamic leaders rallied for change to get rid of the westernization and get back to their religious ideals, which resulted in the beginning of the Iranian revolution. In January of  Ayatollah Khomeini
Were Moody, Mahtob and Betty really greeted by so many family members upon arrival in Tehran?
Yes. According to the real story told by Betty Mahmoody today, over a hundred people greeted Moody and his family after they exited the airport in Tehran. Like in the movie, they were presented with tons of flowers and the cars were adorned with flowers as well. - Not Without My Daughter book
Was Betty given a gift from Ameh Bozorg upon arrival?
Yes. She was given a long coat called a montoe and a long heavy scarf called a roosarie. They were required attire in order for women to go outside in Iran. - NWMD book
Was an animal sacrificed in their honor?
Yes. Moody’s family bought a sheep to have it slaughtered and distributed to the poor, however, it was not killed soon enough for Betty, Mahtob and Moody to cross over it before entering the house. They went back outside a little while later to complete the tradition of crossing over it to be respectful. Since this ritual frightened Betty Mahmoody's daughter Mahtob, she carried her over instead. - NWMD book
Did Betty Mahmoody really get stopped by the pasdar for showing her hair in public?
Yes. The real Betty Mahmoody was actually addressed by the pasdar (a patrol group that monitors women’s attire) three times while in Tehran, although none were in the first two weeks of their stay. The first time she was pulled aside was because her roosarie (large head scarf) was not covering the hair on her forehead. Her second infraction was because her socks were wrinkled and her third was because her sock was falling down, which exposed a small portion of her knee from under her coat. - NWMD book
Was Betty really told that the passports needed to be approved three days prior to leaving the country?
Yes. Mammal told her that the passports had to be taken to the airport three days before departure for approval. However, later, when Betty was supposed to go visit her father, they took the passports to the airline two days in advance but only to hold for safe keeping, not for approval. This draws into question whether the three day waiting period was actually required or was a tactic used by the family to keep Betty from leaving Iran.
- NWMD book
Did Moody tell Betty that they would only be in Iran for a two week visit?
 Betty Mahmoody today (2009).
- Without My Daughter documentary
Was Moody really picked on by other doctors?
Yes. The real story reveals that some doctors were referring to him as Dr. Khomeini, and he had numerous threatening phone calls because he did not conceal his happiness over what was occurring in Iran. - Not Without My Daughter book
Is it true that if a woman marries an Iranian man, the wife is automatically an Iranian citizen?
Yes. If you are not Iranian and marry an Iranian man, you automatically become an Iranian citizen. If the marriage occurs in Iran, your national passport will be taken from you. If you divorce or your husband dies, you can renounce your citizenship but your children will be unable to do so. - US Passport Service Guide
Did they really stay with his sister Ameh Bozorg?
Yes. The Not Without My Daughter true story confirms that Moody, Betty and Mahtob stayed with Ameh Bozorg their first couple months in Tehran. Eventually Betty and Ameh Bozorg’s differences became too stressful, so Betty convinced Moody that they needed to move out to work out their relationship without her interfering. - Not Without My Daughter book
Where did they move to when they left Ameh Bozorg’s?
 Betty and Mahtob posing for a book cover in 1993.
Did his family really keep a watchful eye on her?
Yes. As depicted in the Not Without My Daughter movie, every family member and friend was to report to Moody any phone calls, outings or times his wife was late. - NWMD book
Did they really celebrate Christmas in Iran?
The first Christmas they spent in Tehran was not celebrated at all. The following Christmas, in 1985, was recognized. On Christmas Day, Betty Mahmoody's daughter Mahtob woke up early to unwrap all her presents and then went to school despite being allowed to stay home. They had dinner with friends that night, and the following day, Moody’s family came over with presents for Mahtob and Betty. - NWMD book
Did the owner of a menswear store let Betty use his phone?
Yes. The man sympathized with Betty and was not fond of the revolution in Iran. Since he had visited America a few times and was trying to relocate himself and his family there, he decided to aid Betty despite the risks involved. - NWMD book
Did the owner of the men’s store introduce her to the person that helped her escape?
Maybe. For the safety of those involved, the real Betty Mahmoody does not reveal who put her in contact with the man who helped her escape. “Someone” slipped her an address on a scrap of paper and instructed her on how to get there. When she arrived at the office building she was directed to a man that she referred to as Amahl. - NWMD book
Did Moody really lock Betty in their home and take Mahtob away for weeks?
 Mahtob Mahmoody as an adult in 2009.
Did Betty Mahmoody really meet an American woman in Koran class?
Yes. After her second class, she was introduced to Ellen Rafaie, a native of Owosso, Michigan. Betty and Moody became friends with her and her husband Hormoz. Mahtob played with their children, a daughter named Maryam who was a few years older than her and a son named Ali who was around her age. - Not Without My Daughter book
Did she ask Ellen to mail a letter for her?
No. Unlike what is shown in the Not Without My Daughter movie, Betty did not ask Ellen to mail a letter for her, however, she did ask her to arrange outings. Betty wanted to use these outings as a cover to go to the Swiss Embassy, where she was sending and receiving mail from her family. Unfortunately, after arranging the first outing, Ellen backed out and told her husband Hormoz everything. - NWMD book
Did Moody really have trouble getting a job in Iran?
Yes. This was mainly due to Moody not having the necessary paperwork to be employed as a doctor in Iran. Eventually, a local hospital agreed to hire him despite this issue but refused to pay him until his paperwork was approved. After a few months, he was still not approved but demanded to be paid anyway. The hospital did so but Moody soon found out that it was not the wage they had agreed on. After being forced out of Mammal and Nasserine’s home, they bought a new place to live and used part of the space as a clinic for Moody to work. By the time Betty escaped, Moody still did not have the required paperwork to legally work as a doctor in Iran. - NWMD book
Was Mahtob Mahmoody really sent home from school because she was crying so much?
Yes. The true story behind Not Without My Daughter confirms that the school called Moody to pick up Mahtob the first few days of school because she was making too much noise. They would not let her come back unless Betty stayed in the office all day to keep Mahtob calm and cooperative. - NWMD book
Did Betty really just sit around in the school office all day reading?
No. Soon after Betty began spending the day at school, some of the office women asked to be taught English. She spent her days teaching them English and they returned the favor by teaching her Farsi. - NWMD book
Were they at school when the bombing occurred?
No. When researching the Not Without My Daughter real story, it was discovered that while they did encounter a number of air raids, none occurred during school hours. A bombing did occur near the school, wiping out entire city blocks, but that happened during the night when no one was in attendance. - NWMD book
Were basketball players really taken away in trucks?
Not exactly. A group of teenage boys playing volleyball were taken away in trucks at gunpoint. Although Moody and Reza’s wife Essey told Betty that they must have been doing something wrong, Betty relayed what happened to a woman working at the school the next day. The woman informed her that it was common. Groups of boys were often picked up at parks and schools to be put in the war. - NWMD book
Was the original plan to escape through Turkey?
No. Amahl’s original plan was for Betty and Mahtob to fly from Tehran to Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, then have them taken by speedboat across the Persian Gulf to one of the Arab emirates. Since they escaped from Moody early, these plans could not be solidified  Escape Routes from Iran ( click to enlarge).
Did Betty and Mahtob really escape when Moody was called to an emergency?
Yes. Moody was answering an emergency call to the hospital about a warfare patient with difficulty breathing. After intubating the patient, he returned home to find them both gone. - Without My Daughter documentary
Did Betty say she wanted to buy gifts for her father in order to get out of the house and escape?
No. Since they had been invited to dinner at a neighbor’s house, she said she needed to go buy flowers to take to them, since it is a tradition in Iran. In addition, Betty was actually driven to the market area by her friend (a patient of Moody's) Fereshteh Noroozi and claimed she would like to walk back to get some fresh air. Despite the orders of Moody that she not be left unattended, her friend accepted this and let her go. - Not Without My Daughter book
Was the heat and wind an issue during the escape?
No. The real story reveals that they had the opposite problem to what is shown in the movie; the route was covered in snow and ice. - NWMD book
Was she really almost raped when trying to escape?
No. This appears to be Hollywood’s way of explaining why the end of their escape plan had to be changed. - NWMD book
How long were Betty and Mahtob Mahmoody in Iran?
They arrived in Tehran with Moody on August 3, 1984. On January 29, 1986, Betty and Mahtob escaped. They spent the next two nights hidden in an apartment in Tehran. On
the night of January 31,  'Moody' Mahmoody
Has Moody seen his daughter Mahtob since she fled from Iran?
No. Despite trying to call and e-mail Mahtob, Sayyed Bozorg ‘Moody’ Mahmoody did not see her again before he died on August 23, 2009. She refused contact with him. The last time they were together was January 29, 1986.
What does Betty Mahmoody do today?
In addition to writing several books about her experience and the experiences of women in similar situations, including the For the Love of a Child book (see right column), Betty Mahmoody today is a member of the AEI Speakers Bureau and she travels the country telling her story. She is also the President and co-founder of ONE WORLD: FOR CHILDREN, an organization created to promote understanding between cultures and to protect children from the potential dark side of bi-cultural marriages. - AEI Speakers Bureau
Not Without My Daughter Interviews & Related Video
Watch interviews and video exploring the Not Without My Daughter true story. Watch an interview with the real Betty Mahmoody and then view each segment of a 2002 Finnish documentary film that offers Sayyed Bozorg Mahmoody's side of the story.
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