''Do I Have to Kill My Child?'' is a 1976 Australian film

Plot

A young mother, Diane, questions in hindsight her choice to have another child. Out of emotional distress and frustration she begins to physically abuse her baby.

Cast

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...

as Dianne * Brendan Lunney as Ross *

Betty Lucas Betty Helen Lucas (31 May 1924 – 7 April 2015), also known as Betty Lucas Peterson, was an Australian character actress and theatre director, known for her numerous roles on stage and television, starting from the post-WWII years in 1945. Biog ...

as Florence * Michelle Jarman as Tracey * Jeremy Letts as Jamie * Cecily Polson as Susan *

Ray Meagher Raymond Francis Meagher (born 4 July 1944) is an Australian actor, who has appeared in Australian film and television since the mid-1970s. He is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, portraying Alf Stewa ...

as Des * Willie Fennell as Rob *

Melissa Jaffer Melissa Jaffer (born 1 December 1936) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her stage and television roles, but has also appeared in many films. Career Jaffer started her career in theatre productions in the mid 1950s has made many ...

as Mrs Hammond *

John Orcsik John Orcsik (born 3 May 1945) credited also variously as Jon Orcsik, John Orschik, John Orscik and John Crosik is an Australian actor, screenwriter, director and producer of Hungarian descent, known for his television roles starting from the l ...

as Fang *

Henri Szeps Henri Szeps OAM, (born 2 October 1943) alternatively Henry Szeps, is an Australian character actor of theatre and television. He has also featured in films and worked in voice roles, and has worked in productions in the United Kingdom. Early ...

as Doctor

Production

Donald Crombie Donald Charles Crombie (born 5 July 1942) is an Australian film and television director and screenwriter. Born in Brisbane, Crombie was educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School and studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. Cr ...

and Anne Deveson had worked together on ''

Who Killed Jenny Langby? ''Who Killed Jenny Langby?'' is a 1974 Australian television documentary directed by Donald Crombie and starring Peter Cummins Peter Cummins (born 2 June 1931 in Melbourne) is an Australian retired character actor of stage and screen and cho ...

''. Crombie says Deveson came up with the idea "because she had a personal interest in child abuse, baby-bashing we should call it, as opposed to sexual abuse... I think with her third child she had felt the impulse to injure the child. She was a young mother with three kids and it was all too much. So being Anne Deveson, she started to explore and discovered there was this hidden syndrome in society. The research that Anne did was quite extraordinary: women admitting that they would literally lock themselves in a room to stop them getting to the kid. Pretty horrific stuff." Anne Deveson said, "As a child Dianne was emotionally damaged, constantly criticized and frustrated, made to feel inadequate and insecure. She longs for society's and her mother's approval, tries too hard to be perfect. She gets by pretty well until a combination of stresses makes her erupt into violence against her third child." Finance was obtained from Film Australia and the Nine Network. The Women's Film Fund invested $25,000. The program was sold for $37,000. (Another account says the film was sold for $48,000.)

Reception

The film was a ratings success. Crombie said, "I think it rated 40 in Sydney and something similar in Melbourne. It did numbers you only get with Test Matches and one-off big sporting events today! Anne received hugee mail from that one film. She said the people rang in and wrote that they thought they were unique, that they were monsters, and then they realised. So that was an extraordinarily satisfying experience. It really worked."

Awards

Jackie Weaver's performance earned her Best Actress at the Logies.

References

External links

* 1976 television films 1976 films Australian drama television films 1976 drama films Films directed by Donald Crombie 1970s English-language films 1970s Australian films {{1970s-Australia-film-stub