The Children Nobody Wanted

What an eye opening film makes you wonder why . There are not a lot more people like tom in this world .Brilliant true story good on you tom.Shows you that there are people out there that do care for our young and vulnerable. But for such a young man two take so much responsibility at such a young age without thought for his self and just for others puts us all two shame .The performance by both main characters was tear jerking.May be we can all learn something from this film. I have that it is for us all two help out in this world no matter how big or how small it all helps in the end .So my message two a lot of people is two watch this truly amazing film you wont regret it trust me .

If Tom lived and did what he did here in England he would be Sir Tom now. What a wonderful man I watched the film and was extremely moved. If there were other great men/women like Tom the world would be a happier place. We should hear more about Tom although the film says it all. The USA should have given him The Con Medal of Honour. Plus any other honors they could find. What a great, great man. Such courage and determination I will always be a great admirer. I have recorded the film it has been shown in the UK on 01 January 2013. I am sure many many people here in England were moved by the film too and will write many comments. Here's to you Sir Thomas

This movie is the true story of my uncle, Tom Butterfield. I wanted to clarify that the reason the black character was introduced in the movie, is because there really was a black boy that Tom adopted into the boys ranch. Tom truly had a heart for all youth, and never even considered their race to be a factor. I even met the "real" black boy while visiting the ranch, and he was such a joy. So please know that when watching this film, it was not a fake scene just to be politically correct. The Butterfield Youth Services in Marshall, Missouri, still exists today, and has expanded into several more group homes that also include boys and girls ranches and inpatient/outpatient treatment centers. Even though my uncle Tom is in heaven now, his legacy continues to live on. Thank you for continuing to pay tribute to him by watching this film. He worked so hard to get this story out so that others would be helped, that might have been forgotten. Thank you for listening.

Frederic Lehne stars as the real-life Tom Butterfield, a college student distressed by the plight of homeless children. He'd like to adopt a few of these kids, but Missouri law prohibits such a circumstance for an unmarried man. At great personal cost to himself both financially and emotionally, the 21-year-old Butterfield becomes the youngest single adult ever to be granted a foster-parent license, using this privilege to set up a Boy's Town-like home for unwanted youngsters. Lehne's costar is Michelle Pfeiffer, on the threshold of bigger things. Tom Butterfield, the subject of The Children Nobody Wanted, died less than a year after this TV movie's debut. I wonderful real life movie, showing the difference one man can do.

My mom worked with Tom Butterfield at the mental health institution where he worked. I went to school with many of the kids from the ranch, including the real "Zim." Another kid from the ranch invited me out to the ranch for a Saturday of horseback riding (each kid had their own horse at the time) in 1963 when I was 8 and I met and was quite impressed by Tom Butterfield. The movie was not over-dramatized at all as these were pretty much how events transpired. In Marshall, I was close friends with the family of Joey Turley, who played Tom's first kid in the movie and even remember his birth. This movie depicts a very interesting time in Marshall, though I was too young to understand all that was going on at the time. It always seems strange for me to see in it many of the real people that I knew in town, as characters portrayed by actors and it was quite interesting to see the filming of the movie in our fair town. I do have many memories of the kids at the original ranch, including Johnny Kates and the great work that Tom Butterfield was performing and what he stood for. Tom's passing was a very sad occasion.