Labor of Love: The Arlette Schweitzer Story (TV 1993)

A woman becomes the surrogate for her daughter's baby.

Director:

Jerry London

Writer:

Susan Baskin

Stars:

Ann Jillian, Bill Smitrovich, Diana Scarwid

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ann Jillian	...	Arlette Schweitzer
Bill Smitrovich	...	Dan Schweitzer
Diana Scarwid	...	Darlene
Frances Sternhagen	...	Mary Rafferty
Donal Logue	...	Kevin Uchytil
Robert Curtis Brown	...	Dr. Wardell
Tracey Gold	...	Christa Uchytil
Andy Stahl	...	Dr. Gerald Freedman
Helen Baldwin	...	Dr. Sharon Hagler
Alan Sader	...	Dr. Howard Gilroy
Robert C. Treveiler	...	Curtis Schweitzer
Grady Bowman	...	Lucas Schweitzer
Wells Struble	...	Cole Schweitzer
Brett Kelley	...	Clay Schweitzer
J. Michael Hunter	...	Henry Sedway

Storyline

The true story of Arlette Schweitzer, a middle-aged woman who agrees to be a surrogate for her daughter, who was born without a uterus. Through in vitro fertilization, embryos are created and implanted in Arlette.

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Plot Keywords:

surrogate mother | mother daughter relationship | grandmother

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 May 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ein Kind um jeden Preis - Die Geschichte der Arlette Schweitzer

Filming Locations:

Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Citadel Entertainment, KLM Productions, Lauren Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Arlette labours love

Arlette Schweitzer (Ann Jillian) is a 40-ish Aberdeen, North Dakota librarian who acts as an invitro surrogate for her daughter Christa (Tracey Gold), since it is discovered that Christa has a rare congenital defect where she has no uterus.

Jillian's usual feistiness is made somewhat bland by her being a believer. Her best scenes are sobbing `We both missed him by ourselves' in memory of her dead baby son Chad, comforting her husband Dan (Bill Smitrovich) with a child's voiced `He loved his Daddy', and laughing when she forgets Christa's telephone number to advise her that she is pregnant.

The teleplay by Susan Baskin, based on a true story, has the unfortunate habit of focusing on the least interesting elements of the scenario, which creates a soap opera effect, and director Jerry London doesn't help with the synthesizer music score of Fred Karlin. Perhaps the problem is that, compared to other similar themed movies, the Schweitzer's story is one with less obstacles. Chad's death is offered as the motivation for Arlette's idea, though the notion of trying to rebirth him is soon dropped. Perhaps if Arlette or Christa had wanted Arlette to keep a baby, this might have added some form of psychological damage into all the happiness. As is, Arlette attempts to fulfill Dan's cloying prophecy that `you make dreams come true'. A doctor who opposes Arlette's idea because of her age says `It's a fools idea, I tells ya. A fools idea', his oaky way of speaking making us know that Arlette will seek a second opinion, particularly as her family saying is `Stay out of crutch range, and you won't get hurt'.

London uses the song Take Good Care of My Baby, which sets up an expectation of tone that he does not provide, and a subjective camera for Christa's wedding, and when Arlette climbs a steps when pregnant. The scene which reads as the most dramatic is the one where Christa's eggs are painfully suctioned from her womb. That Baskin has Arlette tell Christa afterward `don't let anyone ever tell you you never went through labor', and that the eggs that are suctioned are Christa's `babies' is a disappointing conclusion. Diana Scarwid is around as Arlette's sister Darlene, and her weight gain seems to be so that she will match up with Jillian's pre-pregnancy stockiness.