Unwed Father

Unwed Father is a 1974 American television film.

Unwed Father
Genre	drama
Written by	Carol Evan McKeand
Story by	Carol Sobieski
Directed by	Jeremy Kagan
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Original release
Release	1974 (1974)

It is not to be confused with the 1997 television film of the same name.

Executive producer Lawrence Turman wrote in his memoirs that he was inspired to make the film by reading a news article about a teenage boy who got his girlfriend pregnant and kidnapped her so she would not get an abortion. He later made a film on the same topic, Second Thoughts.^[1]

Premise

A teenage boy fathers a child with his girlfriend. He then fights his parents, the girlfriend, the girl's parents and the courts in an attempt to get custody of the child.

Cast

• Joseph Bottoms
• Kay Lenz
• Beverly Garland
• Kim Hunter
• Joseph Campanella
• Willie Aames
• William Bassett
• William Hansen
• Virginia Paris
• Ed Bernard

Reception

The Los Angeles Times said the film "can stand alongside such excellent films for TV as The Great American Tragedy... and Bloodsport" because it "challenges entrenched middle class values and holds up a mirror to distortion."^[2]