Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic

Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic is a 1975 American psychological drama television film directed by Richard Donner and written by Richard and Esther Shapiro.^[1] The film stars Linda Blair as the title character Sarah Travis. It also stars Mark Hamill, Larry Hagman, Verna Bloom, and William Daniels.

Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic
Written by	Richard and Esther Shapiro
Directed by	Richard Donner
Starring	Linda Blair Mark Hamill Larry Hagman Verna Bloom William Daniels Michael Lerner
Composer	James Di Pasquale
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	David Levinson
Cinematography	Gayne Rescher
Editor	Richard Bracken
Running time	96 minutes
Production company	Universal Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	February 11, 1975 (1975-02-11)

Plot

Sarah Travis is a 15-year-old girl dealing with feelings of isolation and inadequacy. Her parents are divorced and she has minimal contact with her unemployed, alcoholic father, Jerry. Sarah lives with her mother Jean Hodges, and stepfather Matt, neither of whom notice how lonely Sarah is. She feels overshadowed by her sister, Nancy, and wishes to live with her father.

Sarah begins drinking alcohol at her mother's party after becoming uncomfortable with personal questions from the guests. She soon associates happiness with drinking and surprises herself by singing, which everyone at the party appreciates. When Sarah becomes inebriated at the party, her parents wrongly blame her teenage friend, Ken Newkirk. Jean is more concerned with what others think than the welfare of her daughter.

Ken invites Sarah to join him riding his horse Daisy, and Sarah becomes more popular at school. However, her home life continues to be confusing and erratic. Jean decides to fire their housekeeper Margaret for raiding the liquor cabinet, but it was actually Sarah who was watering down the scotch after taking illicit drinks.

Sarah starts drinking at school, misses classes and forges notes from her mother. The school counselor tells Jean that something is wrong in Sarah's life. The counselor characterizes Sarah as a student with a high I.Q. who once took a diligent approach to her schoolwork. Jean resents the counselor's intervention and feels that she is being targeted because of the divorce.

Sarah confesses to Ken that she drinks to make things easier. After she is unable to contact her father by telephone, she passes out from drinking while babysitting. In a confrontation with Matt and Jean, Sarah says she has been drinking almost daily for two years.

Dr. Marvin Kittredge's visit fails to convince Jean that Sarah has a problem. Sarah attends an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where she meets Bobby, who is even younger than Sarah. What Bobby tells the group resonates with Sarah, and she recognizes herself in what Bobby says such as constant lying.

During her family therapy sessions, Sarah expresses a desire for her family to be complete again and for her parents to stop fighting. When Jerry says he cannot assume full custody of Sarah because of the nature of his job, Sarah again feels the irresistible urge to drink. She asks a group of rough-looking teenagers to purchase vodka for her, inviting them to do anything to her. They tease her by drinking most of the bottle themselves. After drinking the remaining vodka, she takes Daisy for a ride. Though Ken tries to stop Sarah, she rides the horse into oncoming traffic on a busy street. As a result, Daisy is mortally wounded in an automobile accident, and the police euthanize Daisy.

Sarah spends time in a hospital, where she expresses remorse for the way she has acted. She realizes how much she has loved her family and her friends at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and admits that she is an alcoholic.

Cast

• Linda Blair as Sarah Travis
• Larry Hagman as Jerry Travis
• Verna Bloom as Jean Hodges
• William Daniels as Matt Hodges
• Michael Lerner as Dr. Marvin Kittredge
• Mark Hamill as Ken Newkirk
• Eric Olson as Bobby
• Laurette Spang as Nancy Travis
• M. Emmet Walsh as Mr. Peterson
• Steve Benedict as Ray Peterson
• Richard Roat as Fred Tyler
• Marian Collier as Mrs. Peterson
• Hilda Haynes as Margaret
• Jessica Rains as Mrs. Tyler
• Sheila Larken as Vice Principal

Release

Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic premiered on NBC on February 11, 1975.^[1] After its release, NBC aired several television films over the next few years under the title Portrait of a..., including:

• Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (aired September 26, 1976, starring Eve Plumb)
• Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn (aired May 16, 1977, starring Leigh McCloskey)
• Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid (aired September 12, 1977, starring LeVar Burton)
• Sharon: Portrait of a Mistress (aired October 31, 1977, starring Trish Van Devere)
• Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold (aired October 23, 1978, starring Kim Basinger)