Broken Promises: Taking Emily Back

Last updated
Broken Promises: Taking Emily Back
Screenplay by
  • Vickie Patik
  • Christopher Canaan
Story byVickie Patik
Directed by Donald Wrye
Starring
ComposerChris Boardman
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producer Larry Thompson
Producer Donald Wrye
CinematographyRick Bota
EditorDavid Siegel
Running time93 minutes
Production companyLarry Thompson Entertainment
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseDecember 26, 1993 (1993-12-26)

Broken Promises: Taking Emily Back is a 1993 American drama television film directed and produced by Donald Wrye. The film stars Cheryl Ladd, Polly Draper, Robert Desiderio, D. David Morin, Kathleen Wilhoite, and Ted Levine. It premiered on CBS on December 26, 1993.

Contents

Plot

Ever since Pam Cheney (Cheryl Ladd) lost her baby during labor, she has been struggling with depression. She is not only supported by her loving, but hard-working husband Sean (Robert Desiderio), but also by her friends Ella (Polly Draper) and Terry Sabin (D. David Morin), who have also lost a baby at age three. One year after labor, Pam decides to finally take a proposal to adopt a toddler. Going through official agencies proves unsuccessful, partly due to Pam's age, partly due to the growing demand of adoption. She is advised to take care of an orphaned teenager instead, but Sean refuses this option.

Instead, she meets a lawyer she knows nothing about, and, without going through the legal business, pays him a large sum of money to meet with a homeless couple, Gary (Ted Levine) and Lily Ward (Kathleen Wilhoite), who are selling their daughter Emily (Amanda and Megan Braun). Even though Sean has severe doubts about the lawyer and the morality of this kind of adoption, he allows his wife to meet with the couple. During this, it immediately becomes clear to Pam that Lily is unwilling to give up Emily, though Lily insists that she wants the best for her daughter. At the end of the conversation, Gary allows Pam and Sean to adopt Emily.

Pam is delighted and soon grows used to raising a child. Trouble starts when Gary and Lily, having recently been thrown out of their shelter, demand to take back Emily, pointing out that the contract allows them to change their minds for the first thirty days after the adoption. Pam is desperate to prevent this, and grants Gary his one wish: she buys him a car, even though the contract forbids her to support Gary and Lily financially. Hoping that this has changed Gary's mind, she keeps the deal a secret from her husband. However, when Gary returns, demanding more, Sean feels that his doubts are confirmed: Gary and Lily are con artists. He wants to give up Emily before he and Pam get involved too much emotionally, but it proves too late: Pam is unwilling to leave Emily.

Alternatively, she recognizes Gary as the source of all trouble and persuades Lily to leave him. Though Gary is able to seduce Lily - now pregnant again - back, he agrees on leaving alone the Cheneys and Emily. Meanwhile, Ella, who accompanied Pam to the shelter where she met with Lily and became moved by a poor orphan, convinces Terry to give parenthood another chance. They meet with an attorney to legally adopt Lily's unborn child. Lily commits to the deal but later finds out that Gary has granted the adoption to another couple outside the law. Realizing that her husband is no good, she leaves him to be beaten by another man.

Sometime later, Lily gives birth to a baby boy. Gary shows up at the hospital with a new lawyer to claim Emily and the boy. Lily, however, convinces him that they are bad parents and should be brought up by the Cheneys and Sabins. In the end, Gary leaves the hospital, leaving his children behind with the adoptive parents.

Cast

Production

In a 1993 interview, Ladd commented on the film: "This particular story really grabbed me, and I think that's partly because there's been so much of this in the news. What I loved about it is that there really are no heroes and no villains, just humans with all of their gifts and all of their difficulties." She furthermore praised her colleagues for their acting performances and recalled the film as "some of the best work I've done on television." [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben and Polly (Doctor Who)</span> Fictional characters in the TV series Doctor Who

Benjamin "Ben" Jackson and Polly, sometimes called Polly Wright in spin-off material, are fictional characters played by Michael Craze and Anneke Wills, in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.

<i>All Night Long</i> (1981 film) 1981 film directed by Jean-Claude Tramont

All Night Long is a 1981 American romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Claude Tramont and starring Barbra Streisand, Gene Hackman, Diane Ladd, Dennis Quaid, Kevin Dobson, and William Daniels. It was written by W. D. Richter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belle Dingle</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Belle King is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Eden Taylor-Draper. Belle made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 25 December 1998, originally played by twins Emily and James Mather. James stopped appearing in the role in 2000 and Emily in 2005, at which point Taylor-Draper took over, remaining ever since. Belle has featured in various storylines throughout her time on the soap, such as falling down a mineshaft, killing her best friend Gemma Andrews, having an affair with doctor Jermaine Bailey, faking a pregnancy to prevent Jermaine from leaving after their affair is revealed, being diagnosed with schizophrenia, a relationship with Lachlan White, which ends after discovering he is a serial killer, and her mental health relapses. Belle married Thomas King in 2024, and it was announced that Belle would become part of a coercive control storyline.

"Polar Bears" is the 26th, 27th and 28th episodes of the second season of the television series The Naked Brothers Band which premiered on June 6, 2008 on Nickelodeon. The episode is in the format of a rockumentary-mockumentary musical episode. The episode was written and directed by Polly Draper and stars her musical prodigious sons Nat Wolff and Alex Wolff, real life brothers who portray themselves. It tells of the siblings' who, along with their bandmates, take a ride on their tour bus to New Orleans, Louisiana. The plot chronicles around Alex's ambitions to save the polar bears by preserving the environment, as well as a conflict in which Rosalina is suspicious of Nat when he becomes very close to his childhood friend "Little" Grace.

The following is a list of members of the families of Archie's Gang appearing in Archie Comics. Primarily featured are the parents of Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge and Jughead Jones.

<i>Romance on the Orient Express</i> 1985 television film by Lawrence Gordon Clark

Romance on the Orient Express is a 1985 British romantic drama television film directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark. It premiered on NBC in the United States on 4 March and aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 17 November. The film stars Cheryl Ladd and Stuart Wilson, with John Gielgud, Renée Asherson, Ralph Michael, Ruby Wax, and Julian Sands in supporting roles.

"Ducky Tie" is the third episode of the seventh season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and the 139th episode overall. It aired on September 26, 2011.

<i>Michael Landon, the Father I Knew</i> American TV series or program

Michael Landon, the Father I Knew is a 1999 American made-for-television biographical drama film directed by Michael Landon Jr. documenting his privileged, but often troubled, childhood as the son of beloved television actor, writer and director, Michael Landon. The film stars John Schneider as Michael Landon, Cheryl Ladd as his second wife Lynn Noe Landon, and Joel Berti, Trever O'Brien and Shawn Pyfrom sharing the role of their eldest son, Michael Landon Jr. throughout his childhood years. The film originally premiered on CBS on May 23, 1999.

<i>Meet the Missus</i> (1940 film) 1940 film

Meet the Missus is an American comedy film released in 1940. The eighth in the 1938–41 nine-film Higgins Family series, this entry features Alan Ladd in a small role.

<i>A Sort of Homecoming</i> (film) 2015 film by Maria Burton

A Sort of Homecoming is an American drama film directed by Maria Burton and starring Katherine McNamara, Laura Marano, Parker Mack, Michelle Clunie and Kathleen Wilhoite. It premiered March 14, 2015 at the Omaha Film Festival.

<i>Mothers Day</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by Garry Marshall

Mother's Day is a 2016 American romantic dramedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Marshall, Tom Hines, Lily Hollander, Anya Kochoff-Romano, and Matt Walker. It features an ensemble cast including Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Shay Mitchell, Julia Roberts, Jason Sudeikis, Timothy Olyphant, Britt Robertson, Jack Whitehall, Héctor Elizondo, and Margo Martindale. Filming began on August 18, 2015, in Atlanta. It was the final film of Marshall's career prior to his death in July 2016 as well as the final film appearance of his sister Penny before her death in December 2018.

<i>Unforgettable</i> (2017 film) 2017 film directed by Denise Di Novi

Unforgettable is a 2017 American drama thriller film directed by Denise Di Novi and written by Christina Hodson. The film stars Rosario Dawson, Katherine Heigl, Geoff Stults, Isabella Rice, and Cheryl Ladd, and follows a divorcée who begins to torment her ex-husband's new fiancée.

Cathy is a 1987 animated television special based on the Cathy comic strip by Cathy Guisewite. It features Kathleen Wilhoite as the voice of Cathy Andrews, and was written by Guisewite, executive-produced by Lee Mendelson, produced by Bill Melendez, and directed by Evert Brown.

<i>Polly Pocket</i> (TV series) 2018 TV series

Polly Pocket is a 2D-animated adventure fantasy children's television series based on Mattel's doll of the same name. It features Polly having a magical locket that allows her and her friends to shrink down to tiny sizes.

Baby Brokers is a 1994 American true-life-event drama film directed by Mimi Leder and written by Susan Nanus. The film stars Cybill Shepherd, Nina Siemaszko, Anna Maria Horsford, Jeffrey Nordling, Tom O'Brien, Joseph Maher and Shirley Knight. The film premiered on NBC on February 21, 1994.

References

  1. "Cheryl Ladd threatened by 'Broken Promises'" by Jay Bobbin, Rome News-Tribune , December 24, 1993. p. 3