| Genre: | Drama |
| Story: | Dorothea G. Petrie |
| Director: | William A. Graham |
| Starring: | Jill Eikenberry Kevin Dobson Linda Manz Melissa Michaelsen |
| Music: | Laurence Rosenthal |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Producer: | Tony Converse Roger Gimbel Dorothea G. Petrie Marian Rees |
| Location: | Black Hills of South Dakota Savannah, Georgia |
| Cinematography: | Terry K. Meade |
| Editor: | Aaron Stell |
| Runtime: | 153 minutes |
| Company: | EMI Television |
| Network: | CBS |
Orphan Train is an American TV movie directed by William Graham which was broadcast on CBS on December 22, 1979.[1] It is based on the Orphan Train Movement, associated with the early days of Children's Aid and similar organizations.
Emma Simms, niece of the late Reverend Simms, witnesses the execution by hanging of a teenage boy for theft and assaulting a policeman. Miss Simms is mortified that the city would kill someone that young and remembers her uncle's dream to take such children out west for a better life. She decides that she will raise the funds and take the children herself. She acquires a train car with the help of Frank Carlin, a reporter who wants to travel with them and chronicle the story of the orphan train.
The children traveling include Ben and Tony, Liverpool, JP (who is in fact a girl named Josephine), Sara, Mouse, Bruce, Annie, and Dutch, a young boy who speaks no English. As the train travels, they are delighted to see the mountains and hills, but Mr. Carlin informs them that the west will not be the fantasy life they dreamed it would be.
The train approaches its first stop of Kilgore, only to find that the Reverend Miss Simms wrote to about the children has left the area and that there are no families waiting for the children. They are very disappointed and are about to get back on the train, when Liverpool takes off running. Mr. Carlin chases and catches him, and Miss Simms tries to convince him to stay.
The next day, the train reaches the next train station, at which many people are gathered to see the children. Mouse, Dutch, and Bruce find homes. Meanwhile, JP seems uninterested in looking for a family, preferring to help Mr. Carlin take more photographs. She is disappointed that he will be going to California soon, and hints that she would like to come with him. That night, Sara talks to Miss Simms, who reveals that her parents are both dead, and Sara concludes that she is an orphan just like the children on the train.
The train soon reaches its next stop, Clayhorn, where a line of townspeople await their arrival, but before they can get off the train, Mr. Jed Clayhorn states that none of the children will be welcome in his town. He tells the townspeople that the children are beggars and troublemakers.
The next night, a fire starts in the children's car, which Carlin puts out. He returns to see Miss Simms crying as she proclaims that she has put the children in danger by bringing them on the train, to which he assures her she is bringing them to a better life than they had on the streets of the city.
At the next stop, Deer Creek, Illinois, the town is having a celebration of their arrival with music, food, and dancing. Several more children are adopted, including Annie. Liverpool and Sara agree that they should both try to find families until they are grown up. A family wants to take Ben, but he will not leave Tony. Mr. Carlin gives JP a dress to wear as a gift and nicknames her Josie. The visit ends with a town square dance. Mr. Carlin leaves to take a stage to St Louis, promising to write a good story with a happy ending and saying a tearful goodbye to JP.
Soon after the train pulls away, a thunderstorm begins. Ahead, the tracks are severely damaged, and the conductor tells Miss Simms that a key part of the train is broken, and help may not arrive for days. The town of Mildred is only fifteen miles ahead. Miss Simms and the children decide to walk there for one last chance to get a family and get help. The six walk along the railroad tracks until they reach the town. The townspeople hurry to meet them, embracing the children and welcoming them into their town.
The film's budget was $2.85 million. It was filmed on location in Georgia and South Dakota.[2]