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Born Innocent (TV) More at IMDbPro »

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20 reviews in total

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11 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Haunting and Heartbreaking...., 18 February 2006

Author: babeth_jr from United States

I was 13 years old when I first saw this movie on TV in 1974 and just recently had the chance to watch it again for the first time. After 32 years I was surprised at how well this made for TV movie had held up. The film centers around Chris Parker, a 14 year old girl played by the excellent young actress Linda Blair, who after running away from home several times due to her dysfunctional home life ends up in a state "home" for girls. The facility she is in is in reality a reform school for young women with varying degrees of mental problems due to their lack of love and guidance at home. It is very apparent that Chris doesn't belong there, she is not a criminal, just a troubled young girl who desperately wants the love and attention she was denied at home. I remember being shocked 32 years ago when I watched the infamous rape scene in the shower, and the DVD I rented from Netflix has this scene still intact. Seeing it after all the years didn't lessen the impact of the brutality and reality of this rape. I have read where this pivotal scene has been edited out of some viewings of "Born Innocent", and as awful as this sounds, the scene is central to the movie, and in explaining how Chris ends up being no longer innocent, as she was before she went to the "home". This is one of the best made for TV movies ever made. This DVD can be rented from Netflix, and I highly recommend it, even though it will leave you feeling sad in the end.

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9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
"Christine Parker, hardened criminal...", 5 February 2006

Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

Disturbing, controversial NBC TV-movie, one of the most popular television-made dramas from the 1970s (regularly shown right into the '80s) has young Linda Blair fresh off "The Exorcist" and well-cast as a teen runaway facing hard time in a girls reform school. Gritty, documentary-like production filmed on a low-budget in New Mexico has (intentionally?) fuzzy sound and photography which may put some viewers off. The performances by the troubled girls, including Blair, are natural and compelling; Joanna Miles (a Carrie Snodgress look-alike) is sympathetic as a well-meaning teacher; Allyn Ann McLerie does a bravura dramatic turn in a clichéd part as a hardened housemother. The film's downbeat theme can be disheartening and difficult as an entertainment, but there are sensitive and moving sequences, and Fred Karlin contributes an evocative score. The sequence with Blair being raped by a group of girls using a toilet-brush handle caused so much controversy after its initial airing that the scene was dropped for the repeat (intact on DVD). Blair followed this up with a handful of other television stunners, and gained confidence as an actress with each one.

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9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
A sad and gritty drama of innocence lost!, 17 November 2002
Author: bruce johnson (bfjrnski@hotmail.com)

"BORN INNOCENT" remains one of the more "controversial" TV movies of the 1970s.Setting the path for Linda Blair's future in trashy,women-behind-bars,skin-flicks.This is a shame because Born Innocent is a realistic and straight-forward expose'of life in "reformatories" and the people who try to make a difference there! The well-known story concerns a 14-year-old girl,branded an "incorrigible"runaway,sent to the state school for girls after being relinquished by her parents.At the "school" we meet girls with a variety of problems and behaviors-most of whom seem simply unloved aqnd unwanted!Of course we learn otherwise but the question still remains:Can having loving parents and a "normal" life in middle-class suburbia really solve everyone's problems?Are some people just not capable of functioning within the structure of a family and becomming productive in society? I think the most couragious step that the filmakers have taken is to show the school's "inmates" as both criminals and yet still "kids" who crave acceptance from each other and yes,the adults around them!This is especially evident in the scenes in which Chris Parker(the central character) befriends those same girls who "raped" her earlier in the story!Or when Moco(the tough lesbian) actually cries when Janet(Chris' friend) loses her baby during her stint in isolation(as punishment for fighting with Moco!) By the movies' end nothing has really been resolved!After injuring their housemother during a protest riot Chris joins her friends at the school and has undoubtedly become the new "leader".We the viewers are left to wonder:Will Chris ever get out and lead a productive life?Will any of these girls "make it" out "there"? It would be interesting to have made a "follow-up" sequel-something like "Born Innocent-25 years later!" Well...maybe not!!!

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12 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Blair can really act, I mean, really act and it is because she has that very special talent..., 12 May 2003
Author: lbworshiper (lbworshiper@boxfrog.com)

I first saw this movie on television during the fall of 1974 and I really enjoyed watching this very much. This is about a 14-year-old girl who is already in trouble with the law and has to spend time in prison.

Linda Blair plays the role of Chris Parker, who is supposedly a good kid, but does not seem to stay out of trouble. She is picked up by law enforcement officers and is sent to a women's prison where she gets her first experience at being physically assaulted. She did get out of prison on parole, but is soon sent back because her parents (Kim Hunter and Richard Jaeckel) could not trust her because money was missing from her mother's wallet and Blair is immediately suspected. At that point, Blair becomes very hardened and not because of her parent's accusations, but because of spending time in prison.

Blair comes in contact with a counselor, (Mary Murphy) who she confides in and began telling her stories of how she was treated very badly and had that woman in tears, but soon enough, the woman learns that this young girl is not what she claims to be after learning what happened while she was on parole and confronted her about this.

Kim Hunter played the role of Blair's movie mom Mrs. Parker and has done a very superb job in playing this role. She was a housewife who stayed at home and sat in her recliner watching television and smoking cigarettes.

Richard Jaeckel played the role of Blair's movie dad and did a very superb job in playing this. He behaved much like any father to his own daughter. He was the one who played in the 1976 movie "Jaws Of Death." He played the role of the sociopath who raised approximately 20 sharks and commanding them to kill.

Mary Murphy did a superb job in playing the role of the prison counselor Miss Murphy. She did her lines to perfection and nothing was out of place.

I do have to say that Linda Blair did a superb job in her role as young Chris Parker. She was only 15 years old, but played as a 14-year-old and everything she did was perfect! She has starred in other movies like "The Exorcist," and "Sara T." In her other 1974 movie "Sara T" she played the role of a very young alcoholic who experienced alot of problems in her life. Blair can really act, I mean, really act and it is because she has that very special talent. This is the beginning of something very special for miss Blair. Now she will do some nice films like Savage Streets, Chained Heat, Night Patrol, Savage Island and many others. I like when she is nude.

Director Donald Wrye has really done a great job in directing this movie. He has directed all of the scenes very well and despite of the scenes that were violent, they were well managed.

This is a movie that teenagers and their parents should watch. This gives insight of how even parents who have provided a very good home for their teenagers can wind up in the same situation as Chris Parker's parents.

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Controversial TV Movie with Bold Statements, 15 May 2008

Author: VWstarwars from United States

This very sad story of Chris Parker(Linda Blair) makes all the statements about state institutions and then some without ever giving the soap box speech. The meaning is drawn by the events of the film and ultimate conclusion. The only time anything about the facilities is mentioned is through logical dialog and never to be addressing the audience. Some of the acting in the film is definite TV Movie one takers. However, that works with this film because it makes it seem as though these are the real people, real setting and real situation. The movie ends on a down note, but that is awesome because the meaning of this film would have been lost concluding in any other way. You are compelled to watch this film to see what will happen to Chris and will she escape this place that is worse than the home she ran away from.

Very different from the book that is written in the first person of the teacher/author Creighton Brown Burnham, but name changed to Barbara Clark who the girls call "Mom" in the film. The character of "Chris Parker" does not exist in the book, but is instead a mixture of girls described by the teacher. Also, events taking place in the movie are not in the book. Instead the themes, setting and general feel of the book are present in the film as a new narrative.

Fred Karlin's music completely envelopes the feel and mood of this film, making the story even more affecting. Great score!

This film with being a TV movie and obviously well shot by NBC productions has a very naturalistic feel to it, almost like a documentary in many ways. That is really the best way to describe it. With so many current films being made with diretors trying to get that 70's rawness and realness incorporated into their films, this is an awesome reason why. It can certainly be strongly affecting and it is impossible to watch this film without really feeling something for Linda Blair's character - unless you are just a really jacked up person.

An interesting thing to note here is that NBC never said anything about the infamous "Plunger" scene in this movie before it aired. I find that awesome in letting the impact of this scene being allowed to happen without some kind of dumb "warning" to either deter viewers or entice them. Any parent watching this film had to have known that there were adult themes in this film way before this scene came about. I mean drugs, prostitution, lesbianism, self-mutilation and much more had been across the screen before this scene.

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Have Never Looked At A Toilet Plunger The Same!, 11 March 2002

Author: dgordon-1 from Toronto, Canada

I remember this movie clearly when it debuted in September '74, and all of the controversy due to the rape with the toilet plunger. It ran on reruns, with the rape scene deleted, throughout the late '70s & '80s, but then this movie seemed to disappear in the '90s. Recently I was able to find a copy and view this made-for-tv classic. Being a fan of Linda Blair, this movie has withstood the test of time. It follows the story of a 14 year old girl that's unwanted by her messed up parents. The parents were the ones that should have been sent to reform school! If this movie was to be released today, it would still have controversy. Not only for the "toilet plunger" scene, but the fact that 14 year old characters are smoking cigarettes throughout the movie. When this movie was made, this was not mentioned due to the social stigma to smoking was not established yet. In some ways this movie is pretty tame compared to todays standards, it's still a slice of '70s fare TV, when there was less channels, but more to watch on TV. If you are a fan of '70s made-for-tv movies, then this one should be at the top of your list.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Childhood movie Number 3., 3 December 2003

Author: Miyagis_Sweaty_wifebeater (sirjosephu@aol.com) from Sacramento, CA

Born Innocent (1974) is a made for T.V. movie that I caught on the old Black and white many years ago. A sad film about a young girl (Linda Blair) and all the trouble she went through while she was in reform school. Her parents seem oblivious to her problems when a social worker tries to find out about her family life. I am disappointed that this movie is not availible for viewing anywhere. A shame because it's a great made for television film.

Strongly recommended.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
She was "Born Innocent" but didn't stay that way for long!!!, 16 June 2005
Author: tamstrat from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I saw this movie when it was originally shown on TV in 1974. It was controversial and shocking to say the least!!!! I was 13 years old and had never seen anything like that on TV before and the rape scene in the shower was all me and my friends talked about for days afterward. The storyline is fairly simple, Linda Blair, as "Chris Parker" gets in some minor scrapes with the law and is sent to a girl's reform school. There she goes from being "Born Innocent" to a swaggering thug over a period of time. The apathy of her parents was sad and the earnest counselor at the reform school tries to save her without much success. I have not seen the movie since the original airing but from what I am reading here the rape scene is deleted or radically edited. That is a shame because that scene, graphic as it was, really set the tone of the movie and let the viewer understand why Chris no longer remains "innocent". I wish I could get my hands on an unedited copy of this movie that made such an impression on me at the age of 13.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Ms.Blair's first tv movie performance is her best!, 1 June 2003
Author: Stanbabe from Mamaroneck, New York, USA

Linda Blair gives a chilling but pogient performance in this harsh,realistic look into the abusive world of juvenile justice.As "Chris Parker", she tries to flee from her abusive father and her drunken,irresponsible mother.But her running away only leads to her being unjustly placed in a girls reform school.Where she is abused and condemmed even further by the school's insane and dangerous students and by the insensitive and corrupt school officals(The main villian in this dramatic tale is Allyn Ann McClaire.Who plays the evil housemother:"Mrs.Emma Lasko").Ms.Blair's character goes from being a gentle,navie'and put upon young innocent to becoming a tough,violent young punk.Who distrusts and attacks anything that is phoney or authoritative.The most memorable but forgotten scene is Ms.Blair being raped by four perverse girls in the shower room with a brush handle.The scene has since been edited,due to the complaints from one girl's family.That she was raped in a similar manner.Despite the editing of this graphic scene."Born Innocent"is Linda Blair's best tv performance.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
I felt like I was watching a documentary, 13 February 2008

Author: lastliberal from United States

This was New Mexico, but I have seen many such facilities during my time as a foster caseworker over nine years in Texas. The only thing that was outside my knowledge was the isolation. I cannot imagine that any facility has a solitary confinement room.

The terrible tragedy of young women depicted in this film was real. Abuse and neglect by parents who cannot and will not take the time to raise their children properly and are surprised when they rebel.

Christine never had a chance. She was kicked out by an abusive father and a mother who could not defend her. She was probably getting beaten herself. She was thrown in with too many others who had problems of their own that were not being addressed.

After abuse at home and in the system, she hardened just like prisoners do and was forever lost.

15-year-old Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Linda Blair was magnificent in this realistic film.

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