The Children Nobody Wanted (1981)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Please can this film be released on DVD. A true heartwarming ambassador to human kindness. If only we could all be like this man. Please please I need the book /dvd. It is madness to think how children throughout time have been thrown away, unloved, uncared for, if only they could all have a tom Butterfield. This story has every emotion on edge. But most of all a true overwhelming sense of love. It opened my heart to a true love story between Mr and Mrs Butterfield.the love and support of friends. Most of all the love the boys had for each other. We forget how growing up within a family is so important. This film shows that money does nor Bring happiness but love. Nurture is greater than nature. I think everyone should watch this film, it may open peoples eyes and hearts to each other. Hale sir tom Butterfield a true saint. God bless you and your family

Frederic Lehne stars as the real-life Tom Butterfield, a college student distressed by the plight of homeless children. He'd like to adopt a few of these kids, but Missouri law prohibits such a circumstance for an unmarried man. At great personal cost to himself both financially and emotionally, the 21-year-old Butterfield becomes the youngest single adult ever to be granted a foster-parent license, using this privilege to set up a Boy's Town-like home for unwanted youngsters. Lehne's costar is Michelle Pfeiffer, on the threshold of bigger things. Tom Butterfield, the subject of The Children Nobody Wanted, died less than a year after this TV movie's debut. I wonderful real life movie, showing the difference one man can do.

This movie is the true story of my uncle, Tom Butterfield. I wanted to clarify that the reason the black character was introduced in the movie, is because there really was a black boy that Tom adopted into the boys ranch. Tom truly had a heart for all youth, and never even considered their race to be a factor. I even met the "real" black boy while visiting the ranch, and he was such a joy. So please know that when watching this film, it was not a fake scene just to be politically correct. The Butterfield Youth Services in Marshall, Missouri, still exists today, and has expanded into several more group homes that also include boys and girls ranches and inpatient/outpatient treatment centers. Even though my uncle Tom is in heaven now, his legacy continues to live on. Thank you for continuing to pay tribute to him by watching this film. He worked so hard to get this story out so that others would be helped, that might have been forgotten. Thank you for listening.

I am surprised that there are not more comments about this film, and indeed it does not appear to have been the object of an issue on DVD or VHS. I have a copy on tape which I have watched two or three times, unfortunately it is dubbed into French, which spoils it considerably and some of the voices are almost laughable ! This considerable handicap aside, the story itself is more than laudable and I was very touched by this young man's determination to go ahead with his plan to harbour orphaned and brutalized children in spite of the various authorities trying to gum up the works at every possible opportunity. Michèle Pfeiffer ( who appears very very young ) is very beautiful and provides welcome support for our friend Butterfield who is at times a little too tied up with his kids to the point of neglecting his dear girlfriend ! At times the film is just too moralistic and politically correct ( seems typical of Hollywood films nowadays ) for my liking, we see one of the kids ticked off for smoking in the basement as if it was some terrible crime, completely ridiculous and there's the introduction of a black kid into the family presumably to be even more politically correct and to show that Butterworth was not racist ! It all seems a little artificial ! These misgivings aside, the whole work makes for most enjoyable watching and all of the kids are cute, it says it is based on a true life story, if this is really the case, all I can say is Bravo ! I think an issue on DVD may well help the film to become better known as the subject matter is quite original and is likely to touch a large number of hearts !