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Little Ladies of the Night

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Little Ladies of the Night
GenreDrama
Written byHal Sitowitz
Directed byMarvin J. Chomsky
Starring
Music byJerry Fielding
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
ProducerHal Sitowitz
Production locationLos Angeles
CinematographyDennis Dalzell
EditorGeorge W. Brooks
Running time100 minutes
Production companySpelling-Goldberg Productions
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseJanuary 16, 1977 (1977-01-16)

Little Ladies of the Night is a 1977 American made-for-television drama film starring David Soul, Louis Gossett Jr. and Linda Purl.[1][2] When it was broadcast, it became the highest-rated TV movie of all time.

Plot

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Pretty young Hailey Atkins runs away from oblivious father Frank and jealous stepmother Marilyn, eventually arriving in Los Angeles. Ending up on Hollywood Boulevard, she is "befriended" by prostitute Maureen, who eventually "turns out" Hailey as part of Maureen's pimp "Comfort"'s "stable". Hailey comes to the attention of ex-pimp and current Los Angeles Police detective Kyle York, whose sister was murdered while working the streets a few years ago, and his partner Officer Russ Garfield, who are both working to help underage girls working in prostitution. Refused help from her own family, deep down Hailey wants to go straight, but has great difficultly escaping "Comfort" and has nowhere else to go.

Cast

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Production

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The film was one of a series of TV movies about teen prostitutes which followed Taxi Driver, another being Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway.[3]

Reception

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The Los Angeles Times thought it had "wavering credibility".[2] It was the highest-rated program of its night, with a 36.9 rating and 53 share,[4] seen by 26,270,000 households. ABC claimed this made it the highest-rated TV movie of all time as it surpassed the 36.5 average rating for Helter Skelter (although the second part of Helter Skelter had a higher rating of 37.5).[5][4] The rating for a made-for-TV movie was only bettered by 1983's The Day After.[4]

At the time of its broadcast, it was the twelfth-highest-rated movie to air on network television.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Brown, Les (August 29, 1976). "The Networks Are Banking on the 'Super Programs'". The New York Times. p. 77. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522.
  2. ^ a b Thomas, Kevin (January 15, 1977). "Runaway's Plight: Life as Prostitute". Los Angeles Times. p. b4. ISSN 0458-3035. OCLC 3638237.
  3. ^ "Alice Looks Like a Winner". Los Angeles Times. September 1, 1976. p. g13.
  4. ^ a b c d "Hit Movies on U.S. TV Since 1961". Variety. January 24, 1990. p. 160.
  5. ^ "'Little Ladies of the Night' Highest Rated Program". Los Angeles Times. January 19, 1977. p. e15.
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