Born Innocent

**Born Innocent** is a 1974 American television drama film directed by Donald Wrye.

The film aired on September 10, 1974 on the NBC network.

## Plot

The film follows Chris Parker (Linda Blair), a 14-year-old girl who ends up in a juvenile detention facility for girls after constantly running away from her abusive family where she is terrorized by her peers at the facility.

## Cast

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

## Production

Filming for "Born Innocent" took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Algodones, New Mexico.

## Controversy

The original cut of "Born Innocent" contained a scene where several girls, led by Moco (Nora Heflin) and Denny (Janit Baldwin), use a plunger handle to rape Chris in the communal showers.

The film is credited with being one of the catalysts for the National Association of Broadcasters creating a family viewing policy.

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee educator Elena Levine has noted that the film was initially advertised in The New York Times (alongside the television show, "Born Free") which she felt may have encouraged viewers to believe the film to be family friendly.

"Born Innocent" also made several negative references to lesbianism throughout the film and one version of the script contained a character description of Moco, heavily implying that her lesbianism was a result of her surroundings as well as what prompts her abuse of Chris and others.

The film was criticized by the National Organization for Women, the New York Rape Coalition, and numerous gay and lesbian rights organizations for its depiction of female-on-female sexual abuse; the Lesbian Feminist Liberation dismissed the film, stating: *"Men rape, women don't"* and regarded it as *"propaganda against lesbians."*

The shower scene was eventually pulled from the film due to multiple complaints.

In a 2003 interview with E!, Linda Blair confessed that the rape scene was very difficult for her to do, stating: *"You go through all the motions of being raped... you come out of it feeling pretty raped. That did not sit well with me at all. That was just plain really hard to do. Didn't like that. But, you know, I hoped it would make a difference, and it did. It really drove people to change their course in life."*

## Lawsuit over copycat crime

"Born Innocent" was also blamed for the rape of 9-year-old Olivia Niemi, who was assaulted by some of her peers with a glass soda pop bottle on Baker's Beach in San Francisco, California after being tormented & humiliated along with her 7-year-old friend.

Olivia's mother, Valeria Niemi sued NBC, asking for damages up to $11 million based on the fact that 15-year-old Sharon Smith (who held the bottle and was sentenced to three years in federal prison) envoked the film when she was arrested and the boy, 14-year-old William Thomas (who provided the bottle) asked if it will be *"like it was done in the picture",* sued NBC and asked for damages up to $11 million. Two other girls (who were 10 and 15 years old) and the boy who served as the lookout saw charges dropped.

In 1981, the California Supreme Court would declare "Born Innocent" was not obscene and that the NBC network was not liable for the actions of the persons who committed the crime. In a response to the incident, re-airings of the film in the late 1970s and 1980s did not air any of the rape sequence.

The assault on Olivia Niemi helped establish the Family Viewing Hour which became briefly mandatory for the networks in the late 1970s, as the movie was aired at 8:00 to 9:00 pm Eastern Time (when some children may not have been in bed).

## Critical Reception

The New York Times said: *"Born Innocent deserves credit on several levels. It refuses to follow the rules of prime‐time entertainment. It is not upbeat. It provides no pat answers or superficial comfort. And it refuses to put its characters into white hats and black hats. The sympathetic teacher (Joanna Miles) is counterbalanced with a cynical matron (Allyn Ann McLerie) but both are treated with compassion. And both roles are performed brilliantly."*

Donald Guarisco from AllMovie called the film *"one of the more powerful made-for-television efforts of the 1970s."*

Andy Webb of The Movie Scene wrote: *"What is also strong about "Born Innocent" is the performance of the then 15 year old Linda Blair who takes us on a journey from being an innocent victim of her family and the system to one who is what she is because of the system."*