I saw this movie "by accident" as it appeared on TV as "Movie of the Week" back in 1980. I had no intention of watching this particular movie, it was just "on" as I was walking through the room. I was an active alcoholic at the time, and although I was full of denial about my drinking I just couldn't tear myself away. Things went from bad to worse when a friend watching it with me said, "Check it out. She (Sarah T) drinks just like you do", which was of course true but also horrifying as Sarah was clearly an alcoholic.

This movie haunted me for several years, and planted a seed that led me to AA about 4 years later. If you are an alcoholic, or wondering if you might be, see this movie!

The legendary Elaine Stritch described her first taste of a whiskey sour as the night that a star was born, and that is obviously true to life as evidenced by the changes in Linda Blair as she gets a taste for booze in this cult TV movie that kids in my school all talked about for days when it first aired. Maybe it was because it was a possession movie of another kind for Blair, more popular at the time than either Jodie or Tatum because she was more identifiable as an adolescent with lots of problems. She was the product of a broken marriage with father Larry Hagman hundreds of miles away and mom Verna Bloom now married to a high paid executive, veteran actor William Daniels.

With the adults distracted by their own problems and busy social life, the insecure Blair is vulnerable to the adult beverage, especially when mom arranges for her to go out with cool kid Mark Hamill. The only way Blair can feel comfortable with the A crowd is to get hammered, and this completely changes her personality. Blair suddenly bursts out of her shell, and it's this boost of confidence makes her more self assured and confident, although alcohol creates a false sense of esteem that ends once the hangover starts. But quietly crafty, Blair manipulates the liquor delivery man in leaving booze for her mom and hides it in her closet. Blair is excellent in showing Sara's changes due to booze, and of course, this is a roller-coaster ride for her that could destroy her life before it's even begun.

This could have been a typical teen exploitation film, but it only provides a subtle warning to the dangers of teens and booze. It shows how parental neglect can be detrimental to the mental and physical health of a teenager, and both Hagman and Daniels are excellent. Unfortunately, Bloom seems to be from the Elizabeth Taylor school of braying and delivers a rather obnoxious performance that should have been reigned in. Hamill is charming as her love interest with a horse. Hilda Haynes offers Sara fine support as the family maid, the only person in her household whom she can be herself with. A good script and tight direction (memorable even with dated 70's concepts of filmmaking and story telling) turns this into a TV drama that has stood the test of time, especially since this seems to be a problem that won't go away.

The last film Richard Donner would make before The Omen, Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic is a hard-hitting made for TV movie all about how easily teens in the 1970's could become full-fledged alcoholics before they even graduated high school. It's written by Richard and Esther Shapiro, who would go on to create Dynasty.

Sarah Travis (Linda Blair!) is fifteen and feels all alone. Her parents are divorced, with her drunk father (Larry Hagman!) being pretty much absent and her mother (Vera Bloom, Animal House) concentrating on her new marriage (William Daniels - the voice of KITT from Knight Rider - plays the stepfather).

Sarah feels overshadowed by her older sister Nancy (Laurette Spang-McCook, Cassiopeia from the original Battlestar Galactica) and tries to live with her father, but he can barely take care of himself.

As the movie starts, she's already drinking at her mother's parties and is dealing with major feelings of anxiety and feeling out of place. And when her mother sets up a blind date with Ken (Mark Hamill!),she really shows off how much she can handle at a series of parties. While her parents disapprove of the boy, they bond over his horse Daisy and become friends.

But Sarah's alcoholism starts to impact others. She gets a maid fired who her mother blames for watering down their booze. And she already started to drink to get through school.

Things get much worse when Sarah tells Ken that she's in love with him. He gently tells her that he's not interested - honestly he looks and feels ten years older than her - and when her father rebuffs her again, Sarah goes off the deep end. From getting hammered while babysitting to riding Ken's horse into traffic, our heroine is trapped in a downward spiral.

This is a great reminder of how made for TV movies once looked as good or better than theatrical films, particularly if they had a message like this one. Blair is quite good at conveying the tailspin that her character endures, another of her "girl in danger" roles like another great made for TV movie she made, Born Innocent.