Child of Pain (12 Feb. 1975)

The Walnut Grove community intervenes after a badly-beaten Graham Stewart is found unconscious on the floor of his cabin, the victim of his father, John's, drunken rage. While Graham ... See full summary »

Director:

Victor French

Writers:

Blanche Hanalis (developed for television by), Laura Ingalls Wilder (based upon the series of books "Little House" by),

Stars:

Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Gilbert

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Landon	...	Charles Ingalls
Karen Grassle	...	Caroline Ingalls
Melissa Gilbert	...	Laura Ingalls
Melissa Sue Anderson	...	Mary Ingalls
Lindsay Greenbush	...	Carrie Ingalls
Sidney Greenbush	...	Carrie Ingalls
Richard Bull	...	Nels Oleson
Dabbs Greer	...	Reverend Robert Alden
Kevin Hagen	...	Dr. Hiram Baker
Scottie MacGregor	...	Harriet Oleson (as Katherine MacGregor)
Charlotte Stewart	...	Eva Beadle
Karl Swenson	...	Lars Hanson
Harris Yulin	...	John Stewart
Johnny Lee	...	Graham Stewart
Wayne Heffley	...	Mr. Kennedy

Storyline

The Walnut Grove community intervenes after a badly-beaten Graham Stewart is found unconscious on the floor of his cabin, the victim of his father, John's, drunken rage. While Graham recovers at the Ingalls' farm, John Stewart reluctantly agrees to let Charles Ingalls help him dry out and, in the process, begins to face the root of the anger that drives him to drink and hurt the son who loves him.

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Romance | Western

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 February 1975 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Big Sky Ranch - 4927 Bennett Road, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ed Friendly Productions, National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Graham Stewart: That big one... he'll probably lay a ton of eggs too.
Mary Ingalls: That's a rooster. A boy chicken. Boy chickens don't lay eggs.
Graham Stewart: Then how do you tell which is which?
Mary Ingalls: Their just... well, they're different. You know... different. Boy chickens are like Pa's and girl chickens are like Ma's and... Well, there's one way to tell. If you lift a girl chicken off the next, there'll be an egg under her.
Graham Stewart: Boy chicken... no egg.

User Reviews

Bitter Sweet

This is a memorable episode. I still cry at the ending.

This episode focuses on the Graham family. John is an alcoholic and a child-beater. These are two harsh topic that are presented together in this episode. In truth, a lot of times they do go hand-in-hand. Apparently the town (Dr. Baker and Miss Beatle) are aware of the problem. Back then, they couldn't do much about it. But as a town, they decided they would.

After Graham is beaten unconscious, the town is ready to give the father a beating he'd never forget. But Caroline and Dr. Baker sees his drinking problem as a disease. I'm not sure this was a concept back in these days as it is now, nor if even the strongest of Christians would have sympathy for the father. Charles is convinced by his wife to try and help the father.

Though the outcome is good - John is "cured" from his disease, and we feel good at the end, I know that this may not be a happy ending. What happened after they went home and the stresses of life came back? They didn't have AA or other support groups to get them through. Except for Charles who wasn't a very good mentor since he hadn't gone through it himself, John had nobody to turn to when things got rough. An alcoholic can't just walk away without temptation. I fear the outcome for this family may be short-lived.

But still, it's nice the problem is solved in sixty minutes. If only it were that easy.