Go Ask Alice (1973)

A 15-year-old girl in late-1960s America is sucked into an odyssey of sex and drugs and eventually seeks help.

Director:

John Korty

Writers:

Beatrice Sparks (book) (as Anonymous), Ellen M. Violett

Stars:

William Shatner, Ruth Roman, Wendell Burton

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Sam
Ruth Roman	...	Psychiatrist
Wendell Burton	...	Joel Clements
Julie Adams	...	Dorothy
Andy Griffith	...	Priest
Ayn Ruymen	...	Jan
Mimi Saffian	...	Beth Baum
Jennifer Edwards	...	Chris
Jamie Smith-Jackson	...	Alice
Danny Michael Mann	...	Richie (as Daniel Michael Mann)
Frederick Herrick	...	Ted
Robert Carradine	...	Bill
Michael Morgan	...	Tim
Gary Marsh	...	Tom
Mackenzie Phillips	...	Doris (as Mackinzie Phillips)

Storyline

15-year-old Alice is a shy girl who has problems relating to her parents; her primary confidante is her new diary. When the family moves for the college-English-professor father's new job, Alice apprehensively approaches the unfamiliar and befriends another shy girl, Beth, who shares her outsider status. But when summer separates them with Beth leaving for camp, Alice finds herself befriended by the "in" crowd, who introduce her to drugs. She likes how drugs make her feel less inhibited and is thrilled to be involved with college-man Richie. But she becomes addicted, taking uppers to deal with her parents, then sleeping pills to get off the drug-induced highs. She abandons Beth and gets to feeling that drugs are the only things that make her happy, until she and her "in" friends all must get involved in pushing drugs to keep themselves in cash. Eventually she realizes she's on a downward spiral and doesn't know how to escape. She eventually gets help from a priest and a psychiatrist. ...

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | 14 year old | drug addiction | mother daughter relationship | braless teen | 

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Taglines:

The moving story of a 16 year old drug addict based on her diary.

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second movie that Charles Martin Smith worked on with Mackenzie Phillips. They both worked on American Graffiti (1973), and would also work on More American Graffiti (1979). In all three movies, they do not share any scenes together.

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Goofs

When Alice is in the hospital drinking from the cup, she holds it with her palms since her fingers are bandaged. Then there's a close-up of the cup and she's cupping it and then palming it again in the next shot.

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Quotes

Richie: This comes from too much talk and not enough smoke.

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Crazy Credits

Opening disclaimer: This motion picture is based on the authentic diary of a 15 year old American girl. The only alterations have been those necessitated by considerations of length and acceptability for family viewing.

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Soundtracks

Good Vibrations
Music and Lyrics by Brian Wilson and Mike Love

User Reviews

pretty bad

Well, I for one actually believed that "go ask alice" was the true story of a teenage girl. But it turns out it was written by an older woman as a cautionary tale on the evils of the day. As a result, for me at least, I had a hard time sitting through the movie. The acting was not very good, either. Though it was interesting to see Mackenzie Phillips in her first starring role. I think she should have written the script, seeing as how she did a lot of drugs at the time.It probably would have been a little more believable.Robert Carradine plays Bill. You may remember him from Revenge of the Nerds and Lizzie McGuire. Or you may not remember him at all. Oh, yes, they DID cast William Shatner as the father. AND Andy Griffith as the priest. But the one thing the movie didn't include was the best line from the book---"another day, another blowjob"

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Go Ask Alice

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metromedia Producers Corporation (MPC)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1