BORN INNOCENT

US, 1974, 98 minutes, Colour.
Linda Blair, Joanna Miles, Kim Hunter, Richard Jaeckel, Allyn Ann Mc Lerie, Mary Murphy, Nora Heflin.
Directed by Donald Wrye.

Born Innocent is an early telemovie. It features Linda Blair, the year after she made The Exorcist. It also has a strong supporting cast of women character actors including Oscar winner Kim Hunter and musical comedy star Allyn Ann Mc Lerie.

Linda Blair portrays a troubled teenager who is raped. She is abused by her family, goes into care, becomes a victim of the bureaucracy, the uncaring attitudes of the authorities. However, a counsellor has some faith in her and tries to rehabilitate her and set her on a course for life.

There were several films like this in the 1970s, a mixture of exploitation for the time as well as being moralising about the possibilities for a better life. These films acted as a kind of cautionary tale.

1. The impact of the film, as a telemovie, for home viewing?

2. The technical aspects of the film, TV styles, close-ups etc.? The importance of the content for home viewing and the audience ability to take it? American audience, overseas audience?

3. How strong were the themes and presentation for such viewing? How effective the communication, jolting, sympathies, resolution, for social change?

4. Irony of the title and its reference to family, the institution, past, future? The pathos of the title and the ending?

5. The immediate impact of Chris Parker and audience response to her as presented? The background of her
running away, official reaction to her, audience puzzle about her as a person, motivations? Did she elicit sympathy or not? Should she have?

6. The importance of showing what happened to her overnight after her detainment? The details of the prison, the types of people there, beds, the graffiti down the wall, the look on the women's faces? Treatment by police? Interrogation? The fact that she had been signed away by her parents? The importance of the court sequence - sympathy of the judge but his not being able to do anything else? Was this true? The preparation for the institution by Josie and the other girls?

7. The presentation of the institute - was this fair? The buildings, rooms and corridors, dining room, classrooms, work done, group work outside, classes? The personnel - the officials? The staff? The house mother and her attitude, had been in the job so long? Hardness? softness? The tradition of harshness in the past, more humane changes? The humiliation of being searched and the reasons? The rooms, the dormitories, the girls and their suspicions and hostility, capacity for violence and hatred, their varying background - abandonment, prostitution, beating? How credible was this presentation of the institution? What reaction was wanted from viewers?

8. How well did the audience get to know Chris? The reasons for her running away, the relationship with her parents, her revulsion at the institute? The fact that she was still as yet innocent and could be redeemed? The importance of the classes where she knew the answers? The teacher and the possibility of communication? Her beating and being, hurt, the build-up resentment and her running away, her being put in solitary? Audience reaction to solitary?

9. The fact that she could communicate with the teacher, that there was still hope, the discussion with the staff about her going home?

10. How depressing were the sequences at home? Her father, his erratic moods, reaction to his wife, criticism of his son, of Chris? Fights between husband and wife? The weak mother, her love, inability to cope with her daughter, the fact that they offered no help? Chris had hopes and their not being successful? The father’s suspicions of her being out for four hours and hitting her? Her decision to go to her brother and the hurt that he was not able to help her? Should he have, could he have?

11. The inevitability of her return? Her resentment. her hardening? How credible was this?

12. The rejection of the house mother, solitary? The teacher still trying to communicate? The Board trying to decide what should be done?

13. The focus of the pregnant girl, the chance for Christine actually to help her and be kind? Solitary, the death and the pain? The funeral and its bitterness?

14. The build-up to the riot, its violence, communication to the other, hysteria, against the house mother, Christine’s place in it? Denny? Denny and the throwback to the visiting day and her being hurt?

15. Christine’s explanation to the Board, her lying and her hardness, the teacher helping through this?

16. The pathos of the ending? Christine going up hardened like all the other girls? Her future? Bitterness? Who is to blame - parents, society, the institute, the staff, herself? The teacher looking with anxiety and sadness to her? The audience sharing this gaze with the teacher?

17. How vividly portrayed were social themes, American society? Society throughout the world, the defects of family, the plight of the children, influence of the parents, the world of evil and crime?