Log 12: He Was Trying to Kill Me (15 Mar. 1969)

A "child-left-alone" call turns up a horrifying case of child neglect. A 6-year-old girl is left home with her baby brother and both parents are unable to provide for their children.

Director:

Hollingsworth Morse

Writers:

Robert A. Cinader (creator), Jack Webb (creator),

Stars:

Martin Milner, Kent McCord, Hampton Fancher

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Martin Milner	...	Officer Pete Malloy
Kent McCord	...	Officer Jim Reed
Hampton Fancher	...	Philip Bartell
Dawn Lyn	...	Charlie Phelps
Bambi Allen	...	Jeanette Phelps
Conny Van Dyke	...	Abbie Jenks
James Driskill	...	William Phelps (as Jim Driskill)
Lew Brown	...	Officer
Ron Pinkard	...	Police Photographer
Sydney Soule	...	Policewoman Betty Owens (as Sydney Soulé)
Chuck Bowman	...	Juvenile Officer Rogers

Storyline

A call regarding stolen milk turns into a call about child neglect. When the officers knock on the door to question a suspect, they find a 6 year old girl Charlie alone. She says she doesn't know where her mother is and her dad no longer lives there. When the officers tell her they are removing her, she tells them she can't leave Sissy an infant in the bathtub. A man arrives she calls daddy but he is only a friend of the mother. He is arrested on outstanding traffic warrants and juvenile finds the kids have been beaten. Charlie says daddy did it. They are called back to the apartment to find the father beating the mother and they learn the mother is beating the kids.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 1969 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mark VII Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

A Powerful Episode, Adam 12 at Its Best

A Powerful Episode, Adam 12 at Its Best, thats how I would summarize what I just watched. The synopsis is inaccurate by the way, the baby is not dead but one could just assume it could have happened with a 6 year old to care for it, that was just way too real for 1968 TV. Can I confess that at times Adam 12 makes me cry? Well it does, probably because of my own past but I hate to see anyone as sweet and innocent as the girl in this episode who is to fend for herself with no adult to care or feed her and on top of that, has to care for a baby as well. I know the feelings the girl had also for her mother, I unfortunately was visited by the police as a child in an utterly neglected household and I would always fear losing my mother just like the little girl does. Yes, if you thought Adam 12 was a corny Jack Webb vehicle that was out of date being made 40 years ago, I suggest you look at some of the recent headlines where the 2 year old lives for days alone in the house until Police arrive. Like they say in this episode "how can 3 adults not care for those kids?" Its amazing but its very true. In my case my mother died when I was 13 and I lived with my older half brother (my father could'nt support me, he was a wreck as well at that time). It was hell up until that time, insanity comes to mind if I'm looking for a word, just like the mother in this episode seems insane. This stuff does happen, and Adam 12 had the guts to tell it in a very powerful way not just for its time, 1968, but within a half hour format. This show should have won several Emmies, its a shame that it didn't.