The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe

The late Peter Gerretsen only made three movies, this television one being his first and while not a great piece of work it is not without merit. I am also reluctant to slam this one as I get the feeling he scripted it from a personal level and the subject is a rather serious one. Baby is born with down syndrome and an intestinal problem. Father does not want a retarded child and conives to have nature take it's course by not permitting corrective surgery for the gut to be performed and that is all I will tell you of the plot. While it runs slow there are moments and the moral aspects are of interest. The great character actress Jayne Eastwood takes the lead as the mother and she is well known to us here at Ink Casualty as the voice of the caller to the Nicki Brand Show (as Debbie Harry says "you need help lover, you need it bad") in VIDEODROME and while not credited Kenneth Welsh or a damn good look alike seems to appear as an extra in the court scene at the end.