First Step/She Drinks a Little -- Afterschool Special -- 1981
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- čas přidán 20. 11. 2018
- Her mother's drunkenness turns Cindy's life into a nightmare, a misery almost unbroken until Cindy finds solace in a organization for children of alcoholic parents (Alateen). Explores painfully and tenderly the complex feelings of a teenage girl trying to deal with her mother's alcoholism and the anger and guilt she feels over her mother's condition. The ending offers what life offers all of us, hope without an easy resolution.
I would come home from school do homework and watch an after school special these are the little things that make me wish i was a kid again that and saturday cartoons and soul train😄👍
@Angie Bega
Same here I look forward to those Wednesday when it would come on channel 7 New York station. thing's we're more simple back then, I do miss the 70s and the 80s.
1.27.2023
I would come home from school to get punched by my drunk dad.
Yesssssss🙏😭💔
@@johnpabst6101Liar.
The Sooouuull Train!
I was raised by alcoholics, I’m in my 50s and I still feel traumatized.
This movie really hit home for me. I grew up with an alcoholic father who I ended up having to take care of because he was unable to take care of himself due to his being drunk or going through withdraws all the time. I ended becoming an alcoholic myself. I am in recovery now by the grace of God.
I have the same story as you. But fortunately I didn't drink. I don't know you but I'm proud of you ❤️. Stay strong 💪
Hope you are doing well Billie
@@danny-li6io Thanks!
@@danny-li6io Awe! Thank You! I am doing better then I was.
@@billiedeffenbaugh7450 I’m so happy to hear that. My mother went through the same thing with her father and I have heard many very painful stories. My heart goes out to you. ❤️
They need to bring these after school specials back...in a major way!
They need be redone
Yes they do.
True but they won’t. 🇺🇸 wants us to kill ourselves. Ever wonder why there’s a lot of local liquor and Smoke 💨 Shops 🏬 in your hometown???
That is what You Tube is for. I remember when they were released the first time around.
Society has reached a whole new level of dysfunction, so the writers would never run out of material.
My husband was an alcoholic. There were countless beer cans and champagne bottles all over the house. He died of liver cirrohsis in 1997. We were only married seven and a half years. Never really dated after that. I had my daughter Victoria to raise. Today she's a fine young lady.
How old is Victoria? 😢
@@WizardOfHumor1989 she is thirty
My deepest condolences to you.
I remember watching these after school. I wish they'd bring these types of movies back. Today's youth could really learn something.
I really don’t think many kids would watch them. Most kids these days don’t watch much tv. Too busy with their gaming boxes and getting into trouble.
I myself was an alcoholic for many years I was homeless on drugs and I just didn't care about nothing or no one however one day I decided to get my life together now I am alcohol free drug free I've been sober now 11 years I give all the praise and glory and honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Amen!! Praise the Lord!!
La Drena Jenkins Amen honey
La Drena Jenkins Well done, cos i am sure it was not easy.
La Drena Jenkins G-d bless and keep you strong
Your will saved you first then your spirituality. You did it to yourself and YOU decided to get help not God.
This was spot-on. I was a teen with alcoholic parents in the early 80s. This movie got everything exactly right. I wish they'd had Alateen at my school.
The house and yard are too clean and tidy for a drunk but I guess other than that it's accurate
@@NiecieSavoTrue.
This really helped me come to some unresolved feelings about my dad. I'm 46, and he died 3 years ago. I still needed this movie.
Wow we're the same age and my father also die 3yrs ago from alcohol, but I really miss him so much
I hope you found some closure and are doing better now
I'm so sorry for your loss. ❤🙏
The old man used to pass out in the front yard and we'd leave him there. We weren't trying to bring that in.
I was in a convenience store once and he came in, stood there at the door, plastered. Didn't even realize I was there. I don't know if the guy behind the counter knew I was his son, but my mother told me he knew about the old guy's drinking problem (and no, I don't call him my father).
I made my purchases and casually walked right past him out the door and took off running to join some friends.
Ah, now those are memories. And people ask me why I don't drink. Ha! Don't need to.
That’s a big house for a drunk single mother
Yes. Who pays the bills?
@@joyceanthony-huff2914 probably the dad through alimony
No kidding. A single UNEMPLOYED drunk.
@pippishortstocking7913 she was divorced. Alimony, child support a d she probably got the house in the divorce which means he paid or pays for it.
MOM! Actually, in all seriousness, this is the story of my teen years back then '81 and in high school *dreading* anyone in the neighborhood having a chance encounter with my mom. She never became sober before her passing. The best choice I made in my adult years was going no contact. Awful at first, but as time went on - it was the right decision. I spoke to her a few years before her passing and for *my* peace of mind, 'forgave' her. No sense crying over spilled vodka for the rest of my life. Sad but true.
For me it was my dad. Glad you made the right decision for you♥️
@@lauraskitchen5706 Hugs to you for making it through as well!
the mother is a great actress.
These are some really good acting performances for an Afterschool Special.
They are
100%
I LOVED these movies! I turned 60 today and as a kid I always watched them! They made you feel like you weren’t the only one in a lot of situations. God where did the time go???
Happy belated birthday Cathy 🎉❤
It's fleeting isn't it?
A little triva: this was Amanda Wyss' (Cindy's) first acting role. Bonnie Bartlett (the mother) is 93 years old.
These are wonderful movies...I used to watch them.... they were called “After School Movies” I would learn a lot. I have worked with addictions and have patients who have these problems... I’m soo glad when people reach their limit ...crash as low as they can get and realize....”It’s upwards from here...let me get help!”
I loved Bonnie Bartlett on "Little House On The Prairie" as Grace Snider Edwards 🥰🥰
I loved her in Boy Meets World. She's married to William Daniels, one of the most talented actors.
Yes she is and they both also stared in St. Elsewhere they played married couple Mark and Ellen Craig@@DawnKellyPhotography
I really miss these aft school specials they always had a good message and they were good conversation starters with the parents 😢❤
These after school specials touched on the topics that are forbidden to be discussed in many schools today.
3 drunks in my family and I have stayed as far away as possible from them throughout my life. I was only 12 when one of my brothers' used to beat the hell out of me when he was in a drunken rage. An excellent film. Thanks so much for uploading
Glad your ok😊😊
Skygazer-there were 3 alcoholics in my family.. 1 sister was the worst.. Dad was not abusive to me,was my best friend.. It was a shame that he smoked and drank.So,I can relate to you--and the girl in this film
I had four alcoholic grandparents and I don't want it to effect me. I have had to cut family members out of my life due to their behaviors and what their families said and did to me. Then they wonder why I have nothing to do with them. DUH!😠
@@triciajohansen9295 lead your life away from them as they will spoil things for you. good luck
@@johnmoran1317 best of luck John as having family members like this can destroy you too.
I'm from the Hopi reservation northeastern Arizona and I too grew up with an alcoholic step father and just about the whole village, each family had an alcoholic but, its even worse now, there's no jobs out here so everyone get caught up in alcohol and drugs bootlegging and dealing drugs just to make ends meet. I could go on and on. I watched my stepdad and my mom fight each other ever since my sister and I were very little. Then my mom took it all out on us and it was extremely horrible and years later I became an extremely heavy drinker. Lost my leg in a horrific motorcycle accident and almost died three times in the hospital. Later on I wrecked three trucks, and my very first brand-new car in Flagstaff Az. I could've killed myself and my passengers or even a pedestrian. I am extremely fortunate to still be alive. Especially that of my passengers. I have two CZcams channels where I talk about my new life of sobriety and no more drugs. Plus our music 🎶 I'm a musician artist writer 😎 check it out. I pray those who have overcame their alcoholism and drug abuse, I pray for those who are still out there suffering.
MAY THE GREAT SPIRIT BE WITH YOU ALL ALWAYS
Sobriety date 1/26/2012
We need more series like this back
After School Special. Wish they still produced these.
Me too!😉
Being Drunk is like having your own personal version of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.
Hmmm...
Phew, I can't watch this. Just like my school days. I NEVER told my mother about school functions. My life was a nightmare due to alcoholism and everything else.
Yeah, kinda sucked, missing out on things and yet having the horror in the back of my mind - gosh, I hope to heck she doesn't show up!
@@SashaRed1 Exactly! We got cheated!
I'm so sorry, my friend. Been there.
@@KristenHammerback-pk5wy I am sorry you 'have been there'. You did not deserve that or cause it. My best to you~
@@SashaRed1 My father was a drunk and beat my mother and me, she is still a drunk at 72, I used to dread going home from School...
I wonder if many of you commenting remember 1981, a different mindframe in life, alcoholism was treated so much different than today, now it's more associated with childhood trauma, then, an self inflected addiction.
I've ALWAYS ENJOYING watching these ABC's After School 🏫🎒 Specials when I was a kid! 🥃🍷🥃🍻🍺🖤💙❤️
Wow! That "mom" actress plays progressively tipsy at school really well. She seems so ageless, like she hasn't changed that much over the years. Good for her! 👍😊
This was good and still relevant today!
I was in high school when this first came out. I remember it.
I just watched "franscesca baby" which practically same movie from 1976. Was good too 👌
Cindy had to take on a lot of responsibility.
After school special. Brings back good memories
For me it was my mother with her lambrusco. She passed out while watching my baby daughter and the dog woke her just in time to prevent my daughter from falling out of the second story window.. no contact after that.
😢
I’m sorry but if you knew she was drinking why would you leave your daughter with her? I’m glad she didn’t fall
Really sad when the kids are the parents
I was one year old in '81 when I this came out, and I remember seeing this when I was around 10, in the early 90s. They aird this after school special for years.
How often do children get to blame for how much they have to work to raise their children and how munch it cost but always remember that children did not ask to be born
Good point lol
A very touching film which I understand, thank you .........
My dad drank at night and had not much spine around my step mom who was a day/24 hour drunk . She'd drink vodka that was poured to the top of a water glass, to make it seem like she was drinking "water" . I guess it "tricked" my dad . He was in denial she had a major problem , and in denial of his own issues.
She could be quite angry, physically volatile, and paranoid. I don't miss those times . Even going on a trip with them to Disneyland or watching a movie as a family at home, was a major downer, and really stressful. Anything was stressful aside from getting to read in bed at night. We weren't allowed to be awake if we were put to bed, but that is when we read books.. also in the morning before the parents got up was relatively peaceful, but the fear was always there. You couldn't even have the "wrong" expression on your face, let alone say anything "wrong". Basically being alive in their presence was the "wrong" thing to do 99% of the time.
😢
Same. My mum was shouting at the actors on television and I switched it off.
WRONG!!
What
I loved watching these after school specials.
Excellent presentation! Very helpful & hopeful!
Love these movies😍😚
Thank you so much for posting this episode. I have been looking for it for a while now.
The first step is to stop pretending things are okay when they obviously are not okay.
the lady that plays the mom used to play on little house on the prairie she worked in the post office then latter on married mr edwards.
OMGosh good eye!!
I knew that she looked familiar!!
And she was Tim mom on Home Improvement
@@robertrodriguez787 didnt know that
I remember this one!
Bring these back!
These after school specials were ahead of their time. My dad was a weekend drunk...wouldn't come home from work until maybe Sunday morning, or sometimes Sunday evening. I never had friends over, actually I didnt have many friends, could never have sleep overs as a kid, and I never went on sleep overs either, I didnt want to leave my mom alone. No one knew about my dad. I never shared with anyone. And he was a mean drunk too. If he did come home all he did was yell and verbally abuse us. Very traumatizing. Yet when he was sober he was the nicest guy walking the face of the earth. Would give you the shirt off of his back. The friends I had loved him. I thought "if you only knew". Yet I still loved him. Bur I hated the drunk. I stay far away from any guy that drinks excessively. And I dont drink either
My mom was a prescription drug addict my first five years. My older sister missed so much school because she was afraid if she went to school no one would take care of us, and we’d be taken away. Four kids under five. She was our mother those years, and just like this kid
The little girls room…we all know what that means
The private shot/drink room.
I remember 1981. I was there
This film helped me recognize codependent signs and nature in people eairly. As a young child I was prepared for Jr High and friends personal challenges by watching this.
Love this. Todays tv movies are utter shinola compared. Why won't they make good movies anymore?
today's movie are mostly about killing, sex and partying
, bad example for teenagers!
True
My mum loved alotof things even me and my little sister but the bottle just seemed to call her more growing up was just normal but getting older put life in to spectate for us I was born alcoholic and I drank anything I could with alcohol in it ii have begun to turn my life around too a point where I can safely say I have beaten the bottle if anyone is reading this there is always hope with anything focus on your goals hardwood and determination good luck xxxxx
Sad wish they had stuff like this tv now days .
Aside from the very important point that there is no crosstalk in these meetings, is a very good film. I hope it helps a lot of people.
You had your 5 seconds give somebody else a chance
Yeah that was super weird
The mother actor really got into the character very realistic, i would have gave her an award for the performance. I use to hang out at bars in my early 20's and saw how drinkers behave and life their lives. Its a horrible lifestyle and even being around it because you're a victim which its called "Co-Alcoholism" which I had no idea that I was one.
My stepmother was alcoholic & abusive. She never gave up drinking. It was terrible living around her. I pray for those who have to live with people with addictions. Thank you for sharing this. God Bless You & stay safe.
You said 'was;' is she dead now?
@@retroguy9494 Yes
@@tj921able I see. Was it the drinking that killed her? I'm just curious is all. My grandfather was an alcoholic. However, my grandmother had the courage to leave him when my mother and her siblings were still children. This was around 1940ish when women simply did not do that and were expected to stay in the marriage and endure the suffering and abuse. I only met him once when I was 2 years old. My mother wouldn't even let me go to his funeral when he died and I was 14 at the time.
@@retroguy9494 Basically, yes. She eventually got cancer & I suspect it was from all her drinking vodka heavily over the years. It was stomach cancer. Sorry for the loss of your grandfather to this. I was 25 when she passed away and did attend her funeral.
I love watching these after school specials again in my 50s. Been married to a drunk since 1992. Separated since 2009. I don’t call alcoholism a disease. It’s not like cancer which I didn’t have a choice to have!
I love the doggie!!!!!
TV used to be so good back n the day. Our generation needs to pass along good teaching to the younger generation. Keep the good teachings alive through time and many generations of kids.
This movie was hard to watch. Being a recovering alcoholic to watch this mother drink her life away. It's so sad.
The best thing about this movie is that it didn't end like i thought it would - mom stops drinking, everybody embracing. This was a really realistic show and as one who was helped a LOT by Al Anon, i was so happy to see the healing was through Ala Teen. They should put this on the tv today!
Crazy watching these old after school specials and recognizing certain young actors. First thing I thought was “hey, it’s the body bag chick from A Nightmare On Elm Street!”
@andirandolph8830
Did you see the one called "Am I gay?" and recognize the curly haired friend? Lol!!!
Amanda Wyss is an actress playing Cindy, who is an actress in the high school play, playing Sally, who wants to be an actress. So many levels of reality.
She’s one of my favorite actress who starred in My Mother’s Secret Life, Nightmare on Elm Street, Silverado and Shakma.
The teenagers in this movie must be in their mid fifties now if they are still around.
Strangers with Candy totally did an episode based on this!
The young actors did an amazing job in telling like it is.
I remember riding in my step dad's truck while he was drinking and driving back in the mid-80s. Got stopped by a cop, and he just let us go.
The mom was the snobb country club lady on Golden Girls...Barbara Thorndyke lol
Amanda Wyss (Cindy) was in the original 'Nightmare on Elm Street' (1984). She also starred in 'Firefighter' (1986), as Nancy McKeon's best friend, Marilyn.
And Lisa in Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Thank you!! I thought she was in both Nightmare and Fast Times!! LOL
@@rocknroller77
@@rocknroller77 And the Movie Better Off Dead
My twin brother drank himself to death. We were 47 years old at the time.
That's so sad.
I'm so sorry to hear that, my sister has been doing this for years
So sorry. # my friend’s husband. They still loved each other but Carrie refused to play 2nd fiddle to booze. They lived four blocks apart. One day the kids were supposed to go to his house after class. Jerry, age 10, found him dead on the floor. His cirrhosis and heart gave out.
I’m so sorry 😢
Omg what a good movie!
Mommy Drunkest.
Everyone is so thin all the time in these old things
We were thin back then! Things have changed.
People didn't eat McDonalds three times a day, everyone ate at home, going out was a real treat and portions were MUCH smaller... no such thing as "super sized" and Big Gulps.
@@sayitloudblcknproud I remember when I was a kid back in the 80s, going out to McDonalds was a special treat.
The new alcohol is sugar
Not to mention gmo, soybean oil....ect
This remind me of my mom....she was an alcoholic and would always deny it and say she would stop but never did🥺
That's sad.
I'm very lucky and glad that my parents both aren't. However, I have 6 people in my family who are alcoholics... As well as a good friend of mine so ik what it feels like
My aunt and uncle wouldn't stop fighting till bleeding while drunk, but my cousin (male) and my friend Lisa are happy drunks, meaning they never fight or injure none. However they both have health issues and still this doesn't stop them idk what to do...
My friend recently stopped working bcz of health issues (didn't get actually fired thankfully) but just stopped. Her stomach ulcer, moderate hepatitis and mild pancreatitis made her stop bcz of fatigue.
Since then she's been drinking 24/7 waking up heck knows where. Every day I'm worried about her getting hit by a car or dying chocked on her own vomit.
Then another (female) cousin of mine who literally is an alcoholic WITH cocaine issues... Ah I know nothing happy at all
Oh I remember those after school specials.
Mitch was a good guy. It's hard to find a decent teenage boy. I only knew two decent guys during my high school years. I wasn't romantic with them mind you, we were just good friends.
What a piece of work. She is such a mess.
Lisa from Fast Times At Ridgemont High! Best High School movie ever made
good movie .....thanks for sharing
Poor girl. Definitely a “co-dependent “.
What people in that time period did was to focus on the symptoms, not the cause. What started this woman drinking in the first place.
She kind of looks like Kate Hudson when her hair's pulled back.
Love this movie
Hello. I remember that these messages were popular during the 1980s.
Excellent movie ❤thanks for the upload 👍 ❤
The mother was in “I Dream of Jeannie” back in the 60s. Character of “Amanda Bellos”.
Bonniei Bartlette was about to start St Elsewhere a year after this. A part that would earn her an Emmy. She is an amazing actress.
Yup she was Ellen Craig married to Mark Craig who was portrayed by her real life husband William Daniels ☺️
These poor kids. 🙁
I remember watching these too after I had finished all of my homework, some of these had hit me hard too. I miss watching them so glad for CZcams I am able to watch them all over again.
The daughter was the girlfriend in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
True.
I also recognized her from "Nightmare on Elm Street."
I don’t wanna use sex as a tool Brad
Bradley right
@@mercy2084 She was also in in that movie Better Off Dead
If AMY WINEHOUSE SAW THIS SPECIAL BACK IN 1983, MAYBE SHE WOULDN’T HAVE TAKEN ANOTHER DRINK AND DIE FROM POISONING.
Kenneth Huang 7/13/23.
Alcoholism is a horrible disease. My father drank and went all the way down to the point of needing to be “dried out” every nine or ten months. But he quit drinking, thank goodness. However, my brother was worse. He was a nasty person when he drank and he died prematurely at 67. At the end, he lost control of his bodily functions and was drinking a fifth of liquor a day. If you are an alcoholic, get help! Admit you have a problem and deal with it!!!
What is "dried out" ?
@@emnemnem1889Sent to a facility to detox.
good movie👍
My dad couldn't wait to get home to dig in to his Milwaukee's best and Boone's Farm. and sometimes Jack Daniels. Rough Rough Childhood. Boy was he a mean drunk. He was always in a bad mood when he came home from work. I don't know how he functioned at GM drinking everyday.
Dee DeCorte wow.
Dee DeCorte maybe he had so much to drink it was still in his system. I worked there and was hungover a few times. It’s hard. Lol. Sweating, mood swings, dehydrated. Lol.
Dee DeCorte sorry u went through that!
And all the loud noises. Ugh. Lol. But I made it through.
@@prestoncheapbtheadphoneste3010 Thanks. He was a real BStard. UGH!
Watching these takes me back to me growing up. I'd do my homework while watching these. Memories!
Mr. Edwards, wife from Little 🏠 on The Prairie, sad what drink does to a family, Good movie
Mango Roxx it wasn’t her that burned to death it was Mr. Garvey’s wife Alice.
@Mango Roxx
I looked up "Little House on the Prairie" for school once - - in real life, Mary was blind, but she never got married and never had any children.
And, yes, in this movie, the mother was played by the actress who was Grace (Mr. Edwards's wife) on "Little House on the Prairie."
And, I saw two books on Amazon, written by Melissa Gilbert (Laura) and Alison Arngrim (Nellie) - - both of them were alcoholics.
My dad was nothing but a druncken looser. Were talking left us when i was 7. Didnt pay child sopport, lived in rooming houses the whole bad works.
Familia Ingalls
This is Tina from A Nightmare on Elm Street in the lead role : )
39:42-40:23, Your daughter's right, Mrs. Scott. You've got to stop drinking.
Lol Dixie Riddle cups @ the teacher parent meeting !!😃Good times!!🤗