Customer Reviews

Born Innocent

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a powerful and moving film about a young girl's rejection by an unloving family and her odyssey through jail, court and a State Home for Girls. But mainly it is about the loss of innocence, loss of faith in self and in others, and of optimism and of hope.

When this made for television film first aired on NBC in 1974, it produced a storm of controversy due to its graphic depiction of abuses in a State Home for Girls. Filmed on location in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the story chronicles the imprisonment and family life of 14 year old runaway Christine Parker, played by Linda Blair in an almost flawless performance. Intelligent and a good student, but confronted with an abusive father and alcoholic mother, she is a chronic runaway and is ultimately made a ward of the State at the behest of her parents. Christine is arrested by the local police and placed overnight in an adult jail, sharing a dormitory with adult inmates, an unfortunate practice that still continues to this day in some jurisdictions. From here she is transferred to a jail for juveniles, made a ward of the court and ulimately sent to a State Home for Girls, where she is subjected to numerous abuses, mainly by other residents at the Home, and culminating in her rape with the handle of a toilet scrubber brush by other female residents in her dormitory. The film manages to avoid predictable stereotypes in its portrayal of even the most predatory teenage residents. They are presented as multi-dimensional characters, disfunctional yet human.

Christine tries unsuccessfully to escape and is placed in the isolation unit. Here she confides to her teacher, played with exceptional ability by Joanna Miles, that she had been raped. The scene in which the teacher helps Christine to confide in her, talking to and holding Christine through the small opening in the isolation cell, is directed and performed with much sensitivity and skill, and is one of the most powerful scenes in the film.

Christine's teacher manages to obtain permission for Christine to be returned to her family on a trial basis, but her father becomes abusive again and Christine runs away to her brother who, preoccupied with his new wife and child, turns Christine over to the authorities. Returned to the State Home for Girls, Christine is disillusioned and almost without hope, but Christine's teacher has Christine paired off with another girl resident who is pregnant, and Christine's faith is briefly restored as she helps her friend with her pregnancy. This too ends tragically, as her friend hemorrhages while the two are in the isolation unit, after they are mistakenly believed to have started a fight in the messhall.

By the end of the film, there is little if anything for Christine to believe in, and seemingly no where to go. She becomes indistinguishable from the other residents in the institution, begins to manipulate staff, loses faith in her suppotive teacher and apparently with life as well.

It is to the film's credit that there are no typical villainous characters that can be conveniently blamed. The staff in the institution is portrayed without stereotype and as people who, for the most part, are well intentioned and supportive. Even the dormitory matron, played by Allyn Ann McLerie, who has Christine and her pregnant friend placed in isolation, is treated compassionately in the film as someone who is trying under very difficult conditions to maintain a semblance of order and to protect her charges. It is only clear that the circumstances of confinement and family life are at fault, but the film offers no easy or predictable answers.

Unfortunately, the packaging of the film on VHS and now on DVD does little to convey the quality and seriousness of the film. While its release on DVD is overdue, the film and actress deserve better than the DVD jacket with the drawing (which is not based on any scene in the movie) of Linda Blair as Christine posing seductively with her fly half open. Nonetheless, this is an outstanding and important film that is committed to uncompromising realism and honesty, and is not afraid to deviate from the typical formulas for movie making.

I was really lucky to be able to find a new copy of this movie on VHS. I remember it well from it's first broadcast in 1974 on NBC, and all the controversy it generated due to [a rape] scene. This scene was edited from reruns, but is in tact on video. Linda Blair plays a teenage runaway that ends up in juvenile hall due to her parents request & constant running away. It was made during an era on Network TV when they were trying to convey a message in the movies they broadcast. The fashions, the hairstyles and the classic acting by Linda Blair, make this a must own for anyone that appreciates the classic made-for-tv movies of the '70s.

No one mentions the other inmates of the juvenile asylum, but the young actresses playing Denny and Moco are scarily effective, and Tina Andrews, the young girl playing Josie(who can also be seen as one of Marcia Brady's school-friends in the 'Davy Jones' episode on 'The Brady Bunch' as well as a student in 'Conrack'), gives a tightly-controlled performance; when her mother comes for a visit, Josie cries, mocking her: 'When ya comin' home? I miss you, Josie'." That's good acting. As for Linda Blair: she's always reliable and solid, but here it takes her a little while to warm up. In the admissions office near the beginning, Linda is a bit too somnambulistic("I don't think I need to be here"), but minutes later, when she has discovered her father brought her suitcase from home, Linda gets the juices going: "Who brought it? Why didn't you tell me he was here?" This is a wrenching moment. In this horrible place, with ugly walls and sterile decor, Chris is being jerked this way and that--and then come to find out, her own father was just there and didn't even want to talk to her. It's a powerful movie, and should touch anyone who's had a troubled youth. The low-budget, documentary quality of the movie was deliberate(it looked this way even on it's first TV airing), and the DVD will only enhance its 'dated' look, but at the time it was a ratings bonanza and made Linda Blair one of the highest paid actresses working in telefilms. Her next two, "Sarah T. Portrait of a Teenage Alcholic" and "Sweet Hostage" are even better than this one, but are, sadly, still in the DVD vaults.

In this gritty and uncomprimising look at the violent and dark
world of girl's reform schools.

Linda Blair gives her best screen performance as a frightened and all too trusting teen.Who deals with her father's abuse and her mother's drinking by running away.

Eventually,"Chris Parker's"(Ms.Blair's)Parents have had enough of their daughter's supposedly uncontrollable behavior and the thoughless and neglegent pair send the poor girl to a juvenile insitution
for teenage girls.

Where Poor Ms.Blair is abused and raped by some of the dangerous and insane inmates and she recieves no mercy from
the school's equally abusive and thoughtless housemother:"Mrs.
Emma Lasko"(Allyn Ann McClaire..Best remembered for playing
another authoritative lout:"Mrs.Rubner"on the short lived:"Tony
Randall Show").

Yet?

Ms.Blair's"Chris Parker"is not without at least one friend.

A kindly teacher,who tries to get the young girl to improve her-self.So that she can impress the school officals to the
point.Where she can go home for a brief visit and hopefully
she can remain with her family.

But once at home,"Chris"finds out that nothing has changed.

Her father:"Ben Parker"(played by the late Richard Jakel..best
remembered as the obnoxious federal agent in the movie version
of"Starman")is still an abusive and vicious lout.

Who feels that her daughter belongs in that school and that he
has done nothing wrong..that he is not reasonsible for her daughter's difficulty in staying home and the mother(played by
Ms.Kim Hunter.."Dr.Zeria"in "The Planet Of The Apes"movies)can
only deal with her husband's mean sprirted attitude by reaching
for the bottle.

"Chris"heads for Tucson,in the hopes that she can find refuge
with her brother(played by Mitch Vogel..Best remembered as"Jamie
Hunter Cartwright"on"Bonannza!").Sadly.."Chris"finds out that her brother doesn't care and she returns to the school.Where she

becomes an angry and distrustful cynic.

The plot is good and the acting is top notch.

Ms.Blair's performance is real and heartfelt..especially.

When she meets her brother at the bus stop..only to find out
that the unfaifthful creep has turned her in to the cops.

Ms.Jakel's performance as "Mr.Parker"is also riveting.
As he goes from overbearing nice guy to violent and unreasonable
rage.

There are also some fine performances from The actors..who
play the girls in the schools and from the lady.Who plays the
supportive teacher.Even Ms.McClaire's role of the bullying
housemother is worth watching.(Ms.Hunter's role is small but still worth watching)
The one scene that is brilliantly filmed(But hard to watch
by very young children and by those..whose strict morals and weak
hearts have trouble viewing this scene)is the scene .

Where Ms.Blair's character is raped in the shower room by
the more dangerous inmates of the insitution.

The scene ,while well executed is still difficult for some people

to watch and should not be seen by very young children.

Despite the negitive outcome of this scene(and I'm not as
badly effect by the rape scene as some other viewers of this
film are?)"Born Inocent!"is Ms.Linda Blair's best tv performance!

Bravo Ms.Blair!

For a television movie from the 1970's, this movie really surprised me with how well done it actually is. Linda's character (Chris Parker) is believable in the sense that you actually feel for her. While I've never been, nor do I ever want to be, in a detention center like that, you start to feel for her in that you would not want to find yourself in the same position.

I haven't yet had the time to watch it all the way through, but what I HAVE seen is very well done! I have to address one issue in particular though, and that is the rape scene people normally talk about when discussing this movie:

The scene in itself is not a particularly graphic scene in terms of what we would think of if we saw a scene like that in a movie today. However, Linda's ability to act, along with the implications that the audience receives of her being raped, makes the scene that much more powerful. Something that I thought was especially moving about that scene was the fact that they pinned her down and muffled her screams so no one could hear her. They pretty much treated her like some sort of animal, and that made you feel for her that much more.

All in all, when discussing this movie, that scene almost always comes up (at least in what I've read), and by today's standards, as I said, it's not that graphic, but if anyone who does not understand properly watches this, someone will want to explain to them what's happening.

It is a pretty powerful movie, and for having the courage to take on a controversial role like this (and others) after her success with "The Exorcist", I have to give Linda props. To those who have said this movie isn't that good, I don't know exactly what you were expecting (perhaps more from the rape scene or another scene), but this movie is good, and more people deserve to know about it.

Thank God that someone had the courage enough to tackle issues like this back then, cause the Lord knows no one has the guts enough to do it these days.

Linda Blair, immediately following her triumph in ''The Exorcist'' was cast in this then controversial TV movie. Christine Parker is a young runaway from an abusive home whose parents hand her over to the state. She finds herself in a detention home, where she discovers the even harsher realities of the young girls who reside there - unloved, troubled, and angry, who have the tendency to vent all their aggression onto newcomers. She finds herself as the target of their rage on evening in the shower room, where five of her fellow inmates gang up on her and violate her with a toilet plunger handle. Considered overly graphic at the time of its original airing in 1974, the scene was cut for later airings, but has been restored on DVD. Blair's nipple can be briefly seen for a few moments and that may explain why the scene was cut in subsequent TV broadcasts. As disturbing as it is, the rape is essential to the film's plot and adds to the anguish that Chris and her peers experience. When she has the chance to go home for a brief stay, her abusive father (Richard Jaeckel, magnificent) slaps her and her mother, leading the teen to run away again, taking her right back to where she started. Kim Hunter is effective as the passive, meek mother who endures her husband's insensitivity and mistreatment. Blair went on to give some more great performances in the late 70s, such as another TV movie, "Sarah T: Portrait Of A Teenage Alcoholic" and the theatrical releases "Sweet Hostage", "Summer Of Fear" and "Hell Night". Not long after, she found herself in exploitation flick hell. She is an outstanding actress, giving her all to every project, and it would have been nice if she had found some more mainstream material. Joanna Miles as the compassionate teacher, is the voice of reason and perhaps of caring in a system that does not want to take a bigger step towards actually considering the welfare of these troubled youths. Allyn Ann McLerie, as the well-meaning but ineffectual housemother Lasko, conveys the frustration and defeatist attitude of a woman who keeps things together but can't bring herself to actually make a difference in the lives of her girls. The portrayals of the other adolescents are right on target, a diverse group who all share the same pain, so much so that they become bonded in a hardened, indifferent way. Chris becomes one of the gang, and in a sadly realistic conclusion, has lost sight of any goals or aspirations she may have had to change her life.

"Sarah T: Portrait Of A Teenage Alcoholic" and "Sweet Hostage" are long overdue for DVD releases.

Worth viewing, still relevant today.

This film made TV history in 1974 for the explicit gang rape scene, since edited from subsequent network-airings. I saw it in its entirety recently, and found that, although dated, the movie still has some emotional power.
Linda Blair plays Christine Parker, an incorrigible runaway, who falls victim to the uncaring juvenile legal system and winds up in a reform school. Frightened and naive, Chris becomes easy prey for the more street-wise girls in the school, culminating in the controversial rape scene. Traumatized, she tries to escape the school, only to find herself placed in isolation. Frustrated by a disastrous reunion with her family, and a thwarted attempt to make it on the outside, she goes back to the school hardened and hostile. Eventually, Chris turns inward and by the end has become as apathetic and hopeless as her peers.
Filmed as a type of "Scared Straight", there is a gritty, non-flinching quality about the film that is like a kick in the gut.
Blair gives one of her best performances in the movie, and creates a realistic portrayal. Unfortunately, there are a few dated scenes and some situations that are not very believable. But overall, the film holds up as a powerful and rather sad statement on the juvenile justice system.

Being a boy growing up in the 70's meant you had the hots for Linda Blair! After her breakthrough role as Regan in 'The Exorcist' Linda Blair was cast in a couple of TV films starting with 'Born Innocent' and then on to 'Sweet Hostage'. This film had a shocking and controversial scene of her being gang raped by a group of girls with a plunger! The scene is tame by today's standards, but it was something in the 70's especially in a TV movie.

The film is pretty good by TV standard of the era and it's amazing that studio executives would allow a 14 year old girl to be subjected to such a thing on screen....I guess after she got her privates invaded by a holy cross in 'The Exorcist' a plunger was the next best thing!? The DVD transfer looks pretty good and there some bios for the main actor. The trailer extras for some low budget horror films are a hoot!

This is a movie about a girl trying to get out of the Hell called home.
Unfortunately, this makes her seen as a criminal to the state. Sending her to a correctional facility with the worst kids her age possible. People who will never(!) get out of system. Another Hell.
Guess who`s the new favorite victim.
Slowly her hopes to get out is picked away, leaving her alone. Except for the other inmates.
Strong scenes of abuse and emotion.
The last sceen is one of the really rare, sweet moments of movies. Complete despair, and possibilities lost.
This is an excellent movie everyone should see. Reminds me a little of Lord of the flies.

I laugh at people who write things like "good for 70s made for television." This movie is better written than the last 10 Best Pictures combined. There are literary novels not as well characterized.

I was not surprised to learn that the person who wrote this movie is one of the highest paid and most sought after screenwriters working today. I was floored, however, to find out that he wrote movies like message in a bottle. Maybe this says something about the indusry.