Illustration : Unknown

Hush Little Baby Don’t You Cry
 

Don Hawks | US | 1984

This lengthy and little-known drama concerns a small American community which becomes gripped by a series of brutal child murders. Produced in 1984, the film takes a serious dialogue-heavy tone, focussing squarely on a predatory paedophile who murders his victims. The video offers the unsuspecting viewer what must surely qualify as some of the most controversial images ever passed by the BBFC. The ‘15’ certificate belies the inclusion of a startling (and shocking) on-stage lecture which shows actual slides of violently abused children, aggravated by horrific accompanying commentary.

Emery L Kedocia (who also wrote the screenplay), stars as Jim Taylor, a softly-spoken, rotund, middle-aged teacher and father; his wife Margaret (Sharon Grady) gives private piano lessons to local children. The small town in which they live is soon rocked by the discovery of a dead girl — one of Margaret’s pupils — found raped and murdered. The anguished Margaret takes to drink, as the dead girl brings back memories of another one of her pupils, also found raped and murdered at the time the family lived in Chicago. After a second young girl is found dead, Jim decides to send Margaret and the family out of town while he stays on alone.

That night, teenager Donna Tuner (Debbie Telgen) is attacked on her way home from Church by a masked assailant; she manages to escape as the attacker leaves traces of strong cologne on her scarf and inadvertently drops an initialled pen during the mêlée. The investigating police trace the cologne and pen back to Jim and he is promptly arrested, but the charges are dropped owing to a botched search warrant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the community treat Jim and his wife as outcasts, so they quickly decide to pack up and leave town. Whilst Margaret is moving one of the packed boxes, the contents spill out, revealing the sordid contents Jim had been hiding. Shocked to the core, she confronts her warped husband who, after a prolonged and demented outburst, takes his own life with a revolver.

After Deathstalker, this was the second video film handled by the massive Stablecane Home Video, here distributing for the UK rights holder Palan Entertainment. Released at the turn of the year 1985/86, the sleeve sported a strangely arresting design — its main focus being upon a seemingly grinning skull, partially clad in an olive-green balaclava. It appears that part of its overall design may have been too much for Stablecane, removing from the foreground the artist’s rendering of a prostrate dead child — clearly visible within the miniature image on the spine. 

It appears that Stablecane had the sleeves printed anticipating an ‘18’ certificate, but were awarded an uncut ‘15’ from the BBFC. Unless removed, versions of this tape will most certainly have ‘15’ certificate stickers placed over the printed ‘18’ certificates.
 

 

aka :  Hush Little Baby; Molester, The

cast : Emery L. Kedocia, Burt Douglas, Gary Giem, Sharon Grady, Tony Grant, John Silckney, Karen Hutter, Debbie Telgen, Cliff Willis, Helen Singer, Vern Porter, Carol Hawks, Chip Page, Larry Martin, Amy Willhof