Child Bride of Short Creek (1981): Cast & Plot

In 1953 Arizona, the teenage lives of Jessie Jacobs Diane Lane and her friend Naomi Helen Hunt unfold within Short Creek, a small and tightly controlled, patriarchal polygamist community led by President Frank King Conrad Bain. The residents dress in old-fashioned outfits and spend long hours on domestic and agricultural chores using traditional tools, with limited access to modern conveniences. Women are trained to serve and be subservient to their husbands, and travel beyond the enclave is rare while outside influences such as magazines and radio are kept at bay. Jessie’s father, Jay Jacobs Warren Vanders, is married to three women, including Jessie’s mother Mary Jacobs Dee Wallace, who views the arrangement with a mix of resignation and concern as she only sees her husband on certain days.