Born Innocent

1974 "A Young Girl Behind Bars... The Pain. The Abuse. The Revenge."
6.2| 1h38m| en
Details

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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Reviews

Alicia I love this movie so much
FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
Sisophous This films is far better than I expected. For a low budget film I found the acting to be above average. The story-line is depressing about a young teen girl with no one really caring about her and a history of running away from home. My local library in Westchester County, New York has it available to rent so I did not have to purchase it or bother with Netflix. Check your on-line library system to see if they carry it on DVD. About the rape scene it is not very graphic but is on the shocking side. It's about a bunch of girls holding down a teen and using a toilet plunger to penetrate her- that's it. If you have grade school kids you may not want them to see this title. There is a fair share of other violence mixed in too. I viewed this solely to see Linda Blair. She is only age 15 when this was shot and released in 1974.
lorcan-61881 Born Innocent is a 1974 crime drama film starring Linda Blair. It focuses on a girl called Chris Parker is sent to a juvenile detention center after running away countless times from her abusive father and her unfeeling mother's home,there she learns about sexual abuse of a teenage girl and soon turns to a whole new person. The film I think either premiered on Fox or CBS. The film's rape scene was banned in most country's after it influenced a few girls to rape an eight year old with a Coca Cola bottle. I really enjoyed this film,I sadly watched it when I was only 9 years of age but lookley I didn't see the whole film so that's good. Linda Blair(The Exorcist,Savage Streets)was very good in this film.Born Innocent is a very good film that people should watch if they have problems and stuff...no children should see this.
Noirdame79 Linda Blair, immediately following her triumph in ''The Exorcist'' was cast in this then controversial TV movie. Christine Parker is a young runaway from an abusive home whose parents hand her over to the state. She finds herself in a detention home, where she discovers the even harsher realities of the young girls who reside there - unloved, troubled, and angry, who have the tendency to vent all their aggression onto newcomers. She finds herself as the target of their rage on evening in the shower room, where five of her fellow inmates gang up on her and violate her with a toilet plunger handle. Considered overly graphic at the time of its original airing in 1974, the scene was cut for later airings, but has been restored on DVD. Blair's nipple can be briefly seen for a few moments and that may explain why the scene was cut in subsequent TV broadcasts. As disturbing as it is, the rape is essential to the film's plot and adds to the anguish that Chris and her peers experience. When she has the chance to go home for a brief stay, her abusive father (Richard Jaeckel, magnificent) slaps her and her mother, leading the teen to run away again, taking her right back to where she started. Kim Hunter is effective as the passive, meek mother who endures her husband's insensitivity and mistreatment. Blair went on to give some more great performances in the late 70s, such as another TV movie, "Sarah T: Portrait Of A Teenage Alcoholic" and the theatrical releases "Sweet Hostage", "Summer Of Fear" and "Hell Night". Not long after, she found herself in exploitation flick hell. She is an outstanding actress, giving her all to every project, and it would have been nice if she had found some more mainstream material. Joanna Miles as the compassionate teacher, is the voice of reason and perhaps of caring in a system that does not want to take a bigger step towards actually considering the welfare of these troubled youths. Allyn Ann McLerie, as the well-meaning but ineffectual housemother Lasko, conveys the frustration and defeatist attitude of a woman who keeps things together but can't bring herself to actually make a difference in the lives of her girls. The portrayals of the other adolescents are right on target, a diverse group who all share the same pain, so much so that they become bonded in a hardened, indifferent way. Chris becomes one of the gang, and in a sadly realistic conclusion, has lost sight of any goals or aspirations she may have had to change her life.Worth viewing, still relevant today.
moonspinner55 Disturbing, controversial NBC TV-movie, one of the most popular television-made dramas from the 1970s (regularly shown right into the '80s) has young Linda Blair fresh off "The Exorcist" and well-cast as a teen runaway facing hard time in a girls reform school. Gritty, documentary-like production filmed on a low-budget in New Mexico has (intentionally?) fuzzy sound and photography which may put some viewers off. The performances by the troubled girls, including Blair, are natural and compelling; Joanna Miles (a Carrie Snodgress look-alike) is sympathetic as a well-meaning teacher; Allyn Ann McLerie does a bravura dramatic turn in a clichéd part as a hardened housemother. The film's downbeat theme can be disheartening and difficult as an entertainment, but there are sensitive and moving sequences, and Fred Karlin contributes an evocative score. The sequence with Blair being raped by a group of girls using a toilet-brush handle caused so much controversy after its initial airing that the scene was dropped for the repeat (intact on DVD). Blair followed this up with a handful of other television stunners, and gained confidence as an actress with each one.