WFLD Channel 32 - Scared Straight! (Part 6, 1979)

Here's Part 6 (the final part) of the controversial Academy Award-winning documentary Scared Straight! (hosted and narrated by Peter Falk) as aired on WFLD Channel 32. This was from an "encore presentation." Includes:

Scared Straight! zooming title bumper, with shot of a cell door with inmate inside closing

Inside the room where the three-hour session took place, Falk (employing some of the same mannerisms he used in his portrayal of Lieutenant Columbo) starts out by mentioning that over 8,000 juvenile delinquents had sat on the hardened benches, where they heard the brutal realities of crime and prison for the first time; and according to official statistics, 80 - 90% of those who attend these sessions "go straight" - a record unmatched by conventional rehabilitation methods of the time.

Next, we see testimony from a teen who was "scared straight" 2 years previous, saying he'd still be living a life of crime (and not finishing school) if not for the program; a young woman "scared straight" 1-1/2 years prior who got off drugs thanks to this approach; another young man, an ex-dropout "scared straight" 1-1/2 years before, who went back to school and putting his life back together.

But the "lifers" say they were likewise helped by the program, with one saying that it's time that would otherwise have been wasted in prison; another, a self-described "rough, tough throwdown" who slowed down; and a third, who describes himself as a Christian, characterizes his work in the program as "apostle" work (after which we see more clips of him scaring the living daylights of delinquents).

Afterwards, we see interviews with Robert S. Hatrak, Superindendent of Rahway State Prison, who says he tries to "stay out of the way" of the program's implementation; and George J. Nicola, Juvenile Court Judge of New Brunswick, NJ, who speaks of the impact of the program and the statistics of those who have been affected.

Another shot of the teens entering the prison is accompanied by Falk explaining how the 17 teens, subsequent to their participation in this program, "broke the mold": numbers 1-5 and 7-17 went straight, but number 6 was busted for a street crime five weeks later.

Back to Falk inside the room where the session took place, who makes some final comments including how 16 out of 17 troubled teens going straight is "a real success story"; then with outside footage including police cars going by and street scenes, he says contributory factors to them getting into trouble include high unemployment, poverty, drugs, peer pressure, and "strife-torn" families, and that unless the "root causes" are attacked, the problem will remain with us, yet as long as there are convicts who care to make a difference (at no cost to the taxpayer) - or as he puts it, "prisoners of today helping prevent today's children from becoming tomorrow's convicts" - it's a start.

Next we see slamming prison doors, followed by people going through corridors of stairs (in a layout which almost resembles the "tic-tac-toe" squares of the old Hollywood Squares TV series), which ends this part.

"Three months isn't a lifetime, but it's a pretty good start."

This aired on local Chicago TV on Sunday, May 20th 1979 during the 10:00pm to 11:30pm timeframe.

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