Born Innocent (1974)

Young girl runs away from her abusive family only to end up in a juvenile detention center for girls where she's raped and brutalized by her sadistic peers. Only one honest social worker shows interest in helping her.

Director:

Donald Wrye

Writers:

Creighton Brown Burnham (book), Gerald Di Pego

Stars:

Linda Blair, Joanna Miles, Allyn Ann McLerie

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Linda Blair	...	Chris Parker
Joanna Miles	...	Counselor Barbara Clark
Allyn Ann McLerie	...	Emma Lasko
Mary Murphy	...	Miss Murphy
Janit Baldwin	...	Denny
Nora Heflin	...	Moco
Tina Andrews	...	Josie
Sandra Ego	...	Janet
Mitch Vogel	...	Tom Parker
Richard Jaeckel	...	Mr. Parker
Kim Hunter	...	Mrs. Parker

Storyline

A constant runaway is given over to the care of the state and finds herself in a remand centre for girls. She is soon caught between the uncaring bureaucracy, the sometimes brutal treatment from her peers and her own abusive family, and only one care worker sees her potential to rise above her tragic circumstances.

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Plot Keywords:

prison rape | nice girl in prison | rape scene | brutal rape | controversial | 

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Taglines:

Graphic! Raw! And Uncompromising Realism!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aired during what was soon to be called the Family Viewing Hour, the world exploded when the rape scene was shown. Gay and lesbian rights organizations objected to the implied causal connection between homosexuality and rape. The National Organization for Women and the New York Rape Coalition piled on. And from the other end of the political spectrum, family-friendly organizations objected to just about everything about the film. The phone lines lit up, forcing the National Association of Broadcasters to try to stave off government involvement by crafting a more specific policy regarding family viewing and what became the Family Viewing Hour. To no avail because lawsuits started to pile up, and copycat crimes had kids raping peers with various instruments. Eventually, a legal challenge made its way to the California Supreme Court, where the film was found not to be obscene and NBC was held blameless for the inspired-by rapes.

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Goofs

The map used in geography class is that of 1914 Europe.

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Quotes

Chris Parker: [to Moco] Congratulations. The baby is dead.

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Alternate Versions

The rape was by plunger-handle and was cut from the repeat broadcasts by the network; however, all US video prints include the rape scene in it's entirety.

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Connections

Featured in E! True Hollywood Story: Linda Blair (1999)

User Reviews

Childhood movie Number 3.

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nacida inocente

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tomorrow Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1