''Lies and Lullabies'' is a

Rod Hardy Rod Hardy (born 1949) is an Australian film and television director. Career His interest in film began before the age of 12, when he shot several short films on his brother's 8 mm film camera. Hardy has over 350 hours of credits directing tel ...

-directed 1993

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television movie about a pregnant cocaine addict, played by

Susan Dey Susan Hallock Dey (born December 10, 1952) is an American retired actress, known for her television roles as Laurie Partridge on the sitcom ''The Partridge Family'' from 1970 to 1974, and as Grace Van Owen on the drama series ''L.A. Law'' from ...

. The film was released on DVD as ''Sad Inheritance'' in 2005 and is also sometimes known as ''Love, Lies and Lullabies''.

Plot

Christina is the adult daughter of an alcoholic. A habitual cocaine user, she continues to abuse the drug after she becomes pregnant by her boyfriend. When the baby is born addicted, she is kept away from Christina based on the recommendation of a social worker, who deems her an unfit mother. Christina, distraught, battles to end her addiction and regain custody of her baby.

History

The script for ''Lies and Lullabies'' initially cast Dey as the sister of a closet-cocaine addict who dies during

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy, where one or more Fetus, fetuses exits the Womb, internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section and becomes a newborn to ...

. Dey's character was then charged with raising the baby, ignorant to the developmental delays that would follow. However, after visiting a treatment facility and meeting mothers who were in the process of seeking treatment to regain custody of their children, Dey (who also acted as the producer of the film), asked that the script be rewritten. Speaking to ''

The Post and Courier ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...

'', she stated that early in the production, "we all had very little compassion for these women," but that after meeting them they learned "the reality is that these women can be helped and if given a chance for treatment and a choice between drugs and their children, many choose their children."

Cast

as Christina Kinsey *

Lorraine Toussaint Lorraine Toussaint ( born April 4, 1960) is a Trinidadian–born actress based in the United States. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Black Reel Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. To ...

as Florence Crawford * D.W. Moffett as Gabriel *

Piper Laurie Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932 – October 14, 2023) was an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films '' The Hustler'' (1961), '' Carrie'' (1976), and '' Children of a Lesser God'' (1986), and the miniseries ...

as Margaret Kinsey *

Lisa Rieffel Lisa Rieffel (born January 12, 1975) is an American actress and singer. Life and career Rieffel was born in Denville, New Jersey. As a child actress, she starred on Broadway and at The Kennedy Center in '' Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure''. ...

as Rachel *

Kathleen York Kathleen "Bird" York is an American actress, screenwriter, and Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter recording artist. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "In the Deep" from the 2004 film '' Crash.'' Life and career E ...

as Terry * Guy Boyd as Walter *

Andy Romano Andrew RomaSanta, known professionally as Andy Romano, (April 16, 1936 – September 14, 2022) was an American actor, known for playing "J.D.", an outlaw motorcyclist and right-hand henchman of the character Eric von Zipper (played by Harvey L ...

as Judge Windt *

Lawrence Monoson Lawrence Monoson is an American film and television actor. Career Monoson's first film was the 1982 comedy '' The Last American Virgin'', in which he starred as Gary," a "girl-hungry" teen despite himself being gay. Other well-known film roles i ...

as Christopher Bentlage *

Allyce Beasley Allyce Beasley ( Tannenberg; born July 6, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as rhyming, love-struck receptionist Agnes DiPesto in the television series '' Moonlighting''. From 2001 to 2007, she was the announcer on Pla ...

as Cindy * A.J. Johnson as Grandpa Simmington * Tim Kelleher as Duke Gibson-Lampiassi * Neal Lerner as Victor * Sondra Blake as Mrs. Sweetser *

Brandon Hammond Brandon La Ron Hammond (born February 6, 1984) is an American former child actor who appeared in several movie and television roles mainly during the 1990s. He appeared in the feature films ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995), ''Mars Attacks!'' (1996) an ...

as Kenny * María Díaz as Sandra * Yvette Cruise as Sadie *

Ashley Gardner Ashley Gardner is an American actress. She provided the voices of Nancy Gribble and Didi Hill in the animated series ''King of the Hill''. Career She appeared in the sitcom ''Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom cre ...

as Fran * Mary Anne McGarry as Pediatrician * Paul Perri as Dr. Boardman * Liz Vassey as Chloe * Gigi Bermingham as Kim * Perla Walter as Sadie's Mother * Jeanne Mori as Nurse * Carrie Stauber as Nurse * Brandon Hammond as Kenny * Jennifer Gertsman as Nurse * Ace Mask as Clerk * Bernardo Rosa Jr. as Sadie's Husband * Ericka Bryce as Party Girl * Amber Adelmann as Orphan girl

References

External links

{{Rod Hardy 1993 films 1993 television films 1993 drama films ABC Movie of the Week Films about drugs American docudrama films American films based on actual events Films shot in California Films directed by Rod Hardy American drama television films 1990s American films