Message to My Daughter

amazing i saw this film when i was 14 and still remember it today.was very moving and as it was on in the afternoon was quite shocking for the year ,wish i could buy it on DVD.excellent acting from all party's and a real tear jerker,I've always been a film buff and even at a early age i kept a log of films i would like to see again ,unfortunatly I've never seen it aired again,we get American love stories here on TV here every afternoon now(england) and i always check the listings for it,sadly no sign of it yet.any body with imfo please e mail me,batcavehotline@aol.com or if you have any comments about my view,thanks for taking time to read my comment,steve

The story in "Message to My Daughter" is very, very maudlin...so I am warning you. If you are depressed, it's NOT a good film to see and it's definitely a film to watch with a box of Kleenex nearby!

When the film begins, young Miranda (Kitty Winn) is driving like she would just as soon die...and she nearly does! She winds up in the hospital and her father (Martin Sheen) is scared but only seems to know how to yell at her. Later, after trying very unsuccessfully to communicate with her about her problems, he offers her a VERY strange gift--a stack of audio recordings her mother made specifically to be given to Miranda when she is older. What is this all about anyway? Well, it seems that Miranda's mom, Janet (Bonnie Bedelia) died when Miranda was only a toddler...and the tapes consist of her mother talking to her, talking about her life and giving her nuggets of wisdom (such as a sex talk, dealing with parents, struggling with wanting to get an abortion, etc.). The plot is a bit contrived and odd, that's for sure! But it IS something will suck you into the film as Miranda goes through a journey of self-discovery.

Overall, this is a very good and very manipulative film...with a theme song that might just annoy the heck out of you. In the 1970s it worked...today...not so much. A great film if you're looking for a good cry. And, quite daring since it deals with abortion...which was hardly ever talked about at the time or even now.

By the way, wouldn't the tapes have been reel to reel since the mother died in 1956? Cassettes weren't invented until 1962. Yet, oddly, it's all on cassettes.

Message To My Daughter is a movie you will only find in the archives of movie making. A creative, thoughtful, and absorbing film with enough meaning to touch even the most disconnected soul. One can only wish that these performances were captured on better quality film and sound recordings. The acting was real and full of genuineness that anyone who lived through those years could relate to. The story is heart wrenching and sad but also carries with it a thread of hope for a happy ending which doesn't disappoint. The idea of a dying mother to leave recordings for her daughter is beautiful and touching. May we all be so thoughtful. 7.3/10.

I'm watching it as I type.

Bonnie Bedelia. I am always reminded of how beautiful she is and that she looks like Molly Shannon, formerly of Saturday Night Live, I think, anyway.

I had heard of her Oscar nominated performance in "Heart Like A Wheel" a movie about race car driver Shirley Muldowney, and I knew Bedelia was in the Die-hard movies, two of them anyway.

I looked her name up to see what else she might have done that I had seen.

Message to My Daughter, a 1973 telemovie.

About the right time. A quick read of the plot confirmed it. This is what I saw way back then.

I didn't watch all of it, but it seemed incredibly intriguing, and I do remember the abortion attempt, but she changed her mind.

It was the year of Roe v. Wade.

So was this movie pro abortion or anti abortion? 1973 wasn't a tame year for subject matter, but it is astonishing that more isn't heard about this film.

I was so drawn to this then. I remember it so well. Miraculously my search on YouTube with very little information was spot on!! Now I want to Rewatch The Panic in Needle Park. This picture is dated a little. But, when the mother says "My baby!" I was a blubbering mess. ABC TV Movies in those days are GREAT. Reccomendation. Watch The Jericho Mile, with Peter Strauss 1979.