The Children Nobody Wanted (TV Movie)

‘‘If there’s nothing wrong with him, why is he here?” college freshman Tom Butterfield asks a doctor about an orphaned little boy. “Rotten luck,” is the reply. “]oey’s mother and father were killed. The court couldn’t find a foster home. They had to put him someplace.” Someplace is the Missouri State Hospital, a facility for mentally ill men.

Tom is appalled then outraged when Joey is brutally raped by a patient, so he and the doctor bend a few dozen rules to release joey into Tom’s care, an act of courage that starts Tom on a mission to provide hope and homes for more unwanted children.

Fred Lehne (Lost) stars as Tom in this inspiring real-life story about the founding of Missouri’s respected Butterfield Youth Ranches. In one of her earliest roles, Michelle Pfeiffer co-stars as Tom’s supportive girlfriend Jennifer. Pfeiffer would later bring a tale of young lives transformed to the big screen when she starred in Dangerous Minds.