The Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story (1994) (TV)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Arlene Sanford

Writers (WGA):

Phil Penningroth (written by) and
Sharon Elizabeth Doyle (written by)

Release Date:

8 February 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Married couples, unable to conceive, are thrilled to find they are going to become parents, thanks to...

Plot Keywords:

Artificial Insemination | Medical Malpractice | Deception | What Happened To Epilogue | Sperm Donor

Cast

Melissa Gilbert	...	Mary Bennett
Shanna Reed	...	Sue Castellano
Tom Verica	...	Greg Bennett
Shannon Lawson	...	Nita
Geoffrey Bowes	...	Dr. Mason
James B. Douglas
Jesse Collins	...	Peter Fowler
Michael Charles Roman	...	Jesse
R.H. Thomson	...	Bill Castellano
George Dzundza	...	Dr. Cecil Jacobson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Damir Andrei	...	Investigative Reporter (as Damir Andre)
Yank Azman	...	Medical Board Member
Liza Balkan	...	Mrs. Black
David Blocker	...	Jake
Marilyn Boyle	...	Receptionist
Deborah Burgess	...	Anchorwoman
Donny Burns	...	DJ
John Dolan	...	Ultrasound Specialist
Victor Erdos	...	Customer
Richard W. Farrell	...	Judge
Kate Hennig	...	Nurse
Alexander James Kenny	...	Nita's Baby
Colin Francis Kenny	...	Nita's Baby
Noah Long	...	Nita's Baby
Jane Luk	...	HCG Technician
Ann-Marie MacDonald	...	Mrs. Smith
Yanna McIntosh	...	Lab Technician
Jacqueline McLeod	...	Radiology Clerk
Melanie Nicholls-King	...	Court Clerk
Tim Progosh	...	Mr. Black
Mairlyn Smith	...	Forewoman
Caroline Yeager	...	Mary's Ob-Gyn

Also Known As:

Seeds of Deception

Runtime:

USA:120 min (including commercials) | Argentina:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Jaffe/Braunstein Films

seeds of Cecil

Melissa Gilbert is Mary Bennett, a housewife in Oak Ridge Virginia who becomes pregnant from the artificial insemination program of Dr Cecil Jacobson (George Dzundza). However Mary testifies in a fraud suit against Jacobson, accused on 46 counts of using his own sperm to impregnate patients.

Gilbert's Mary rides a motorbike and her hair is short in the second half of the movie when the narrative jumps 5 years. She has a camp appearance in blonde wig as `Mrs Jones' in disguised testimony, has a touching moment crying in the arms of her friend Sue Castellano (Shanna Reed), and supplies a sly smile when Jacobson yells at her `I am not the father of that woman's child!'

The teleplay by Phil Penningroth and Sharon Elizabeth Doyle, based on a true story, begins with Sue's story of Jacobson using the hormone HCG to create a false pregnancy, another fraud count. When Mary consults Jacobson, this sets up the expectation that she too will be duped, so when she gives birth it's a surprise. It is that her son Jesse (Michael Charles Roman) suffers from a lazy eye condition that other children of Jacobson's patients also suffer from that makes Mary question the identity of his donors. Although it is used to allow Mary a chance to talk about her experience, a talk back radio program's initial parody of Jacobson's behaviour scores a laugh.

Director Arlene Stanford uses a bad music score by James McVay, black and white replays of previous scenes as flashbacks, and allows Reed to make as strong an impression as Gilbert.