''Fallen Angel'' is a 1981 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

which explores

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

. It was directed by Robert Lewis, written by

Lew Hunter Lewis R. Hunter (July 18, 1935 – January 6, 2023) was an American screenwriter, author and educator, and chairman Emeritus and Professor of Screenwriting at the UCLA Department of Film and Television. Over half of the Oscar winning scripts ov ...

, and stars

Melinda Dillon Melinda Dillon (born October 13, 1939) is a retired American actress. She received a 1963 Tony Award nomination for her Broadway debut in the original production of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'', and she was nominated for the Academy Award ...

Richard Masur Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on ''Rhoda'' (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in th ...

Dana Hill Dana Hill (born Dana Lynne Goetz; May 6, 1964 – July 15, 1996) was an American actress. She was known for playing Audrey Griswold in '' National Lampoon's European Vacation'', and also known for her roles in ''Shoot the Moon'' and '' Cross Cre ...

, and

Ronny Cox Daniel Ronald Cox (born July 23, 1938) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. His best-known roles include Drew Ballinger in ''Deliverance'' (1972), George Apple in '' Apple's Way'' (1974–75), Ozark Bule in '' Bound for Glory'' (1976), C ...

. It is a Green/Epstein Production in association with

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

. The film received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Drama Special, and won a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

for star Hill in the category of Best Young Actress. After its initial airing on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, it was later released on VHS by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video in 1983, and turned up occasionally via

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

and

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

into the mid-1990s.

Production

The screenplay for ''Fallen Angel'' was written by

, and went through fourteen rewrites. Jim Green, arguing that he "did not want to make this film ndCBS asked sto make it," was focused on avoiding

sensationalism In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emotio ...

common in too many television films.J. O'Conner, John (February 24, 1981)
"TV – Child Pornography, Social Disease"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Retrieved April 15, 2017.

Plot

As the film opens, a young girl named Michelle refuses to perform for a

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a ...

film shot by

pedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

Howard "Howie" Nichols. The

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Dennis dumps Michelle and threatens to

blow the whistle ''Blow the Whistle'' is the sixteenth studio album by the American rapper Too Short. It was released on August 29, 2006, via Jive Records. It features artists such as Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Tha Dogg Pound, will.i.am, Mistah F.A.B. and David Banne ...

on the operation if Howard does not find a more cooperative actress. On the side, he is a coach for the girls' softball team at the rec center. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Jennifer Phillips, a recent elementary school graduate and aspiring gymnast, is struggling to communicate with her mother and working waitress Sherry following the death of her father, unable to accept her mother's new boyfriend (who was also her father's co-worker), Frank Dawson (Cox). Jennifer encounters Howard posting ads for the softball team at a video arcade, beginning a series of secret conversations between the two. They involve Howard snapping Polaroid photos of Jennifer, comparing her looks to other actresses such as Farrah Fawcett and

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in '' Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hamm ...

and nicknaming her "Angel." He provides her ice cream, a teddy bear, and a puppy named Fred. He also promises prints of her, "like a real movie star". At a shoot near the lake, Howard asks her to lift her knee-length skirt and "show a little skin" while posing. When she proves reluctant to do so, Howard attempts to explain to her about "the beauty of the human body", even showing her some pornographic magazines, but then backs off. Howard arranges Jennifer to come to the house where Dennis does his filming. After a brief meeting, Dennis realizes she's exactly what he's looking for, but Howard attempts to stop him, wanting Jennifer all to himself. However, Dennis reiterates his threat to tip off the authorities and make Howard the fall guy, and Howard backs off. Jennifer is then teamed with a boy about her age named David, and the two start out posing for a variety of fairly innocent shots (mostly depicting the pair kissing and cuddling). However, during a shoot at the lake, Howard asks them to pose nude. A seasoned veteran, David cooperates, but Jennifer refuses. Using manipulative tactics, such as threatening to send Fred back to the pound, a tearful Jennifer reluctantly complies. Frank spots her in a kiddie porn magazine ad that some "idiot sheet metal guys" had on one of his stops, which he informs Sherry of. Jennifer denies everything when confronted before running away from home. Howard provides her a place to stay, an apartment room that also has three young male stars up. Upon returning home, Sherry finds her daughter's goodbye letter, in which Jennifer admits to having been the girl in the magazine ad. She begins searching adult establishments and popular hangouts in the area. Later, she goes to the rec center, where Howard feigns surprise over Jennifer's disappearance and absence at that evening's ballgame. Howard goes back to the apartment to seduce Jennifer. However, he is halted by Sherry, who found the address via a number he had given to her earlier as his "answering service". Howard is put into custody. The prosecution wants Jennifer to testify against Howard. Despite initial skepticism from herself and Sherry, she ultimately presents her story in court, as supported by Frank.

Cast

as Sherry Philips *

as Howard Nichols *

as Jennifer Phillips *

as Frank Dawson * David Hayward as Dennis * Virginia Kiser as Mrs. Foster * Shelby Leverington as Jane Rizzo * Adam Gunn as David * Ronald G. Joseph as Lieutenant John Cooper (as Ron Joseph) * David Rode as Tom * Arthur Rosenberg as Simmons * Sherrie Wills as Heather *

Elizabeth Cheshire Elizabeth Cheshire is an American actress known for appearing in the films as ''Airport '77'' (1977), '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977), ''Sunshine Christmas'' (1977), '' Melvin and Howard'' (1980) and '' Strange Behavior'' (1980), and telev ...

as Michelle * Tamar Cooper as Passing Customer * Buddy Farmer as Customer * Jamie Green as Autoraph Girl * Holly Henderson as Karen * Bert Hinchman as Customer * Tom LeVasseuer as Basketball Player #1 * Carol Lippin as Julie * Richard Lockmiller as Customer * Dan Magiera as Counter Customer * Ralph Meyering Jr. as Attendant * Lawrence Moran as Basketball Player #2 (as Larry Moran) * Angeline Peters as Debbie * Persephanie Silverthorn as Carol *

Penelope Sudrow The ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' series, created by Wes Craven, focuses on several characters who survive attacks by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), the spirit of a child murderer who gains the ability to stalk and kill people in their dreams ( ...

as Sharon

Reception

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'' gave ''Fallen Angel'' a positive review, writing "Though overly long and sometimes contrived, a sober script keeps TV's latest "issue" film from succumbing to pious voyeurism." ''

'' praised the film for being "careful and serious" in expressing its subject matter, writing that it "represents a contribution of substance to the debate that undoubtedly will continue for a long while."

References

External links