Toys Are Not for Children 1972

Jamie Godard is a naive, emotionally-stunted young woman who grows up under the care of her single mother, Edna Godard, after her philandering father abandons the family. Although her father was absent, he still sends her toys, feeding a persistent fixation on those objects and a father figure complex. As an adult, she works in a toy store in upstate New York and marries her coworker, Charlie Belmond, but finds herself unable to consummate the marriage, which unsettles Charlie who is troubled by Jamie’s enduring attachment to the toys he sent her.

At the toy store, Pearl Valdi—a middle-aged shopper from Manhattan who buys a toy oven for her daughter—strikes up a conversation with Jamie. Their bond grows, and Pearl offers to meet again in the city. Jamie remains oblivious to Pearl’s true profession, though Edna suspects Pearl was one of her husband’s companions. When Edna learns Jamie has visited Pearl, she throws her out of the house.

During one of Jamie’s visits to Pearl’s, Pearl’s pimp, Eddie, attempts to rape Jamie, but Pearl intervenes and saves her. Later, frustrated by Jamie’s persistent lack of intimacy, Charlie visits a local bar to pursue sex, only to be chastised by their boss for flirting with other women.

Pearl eventually reveals to Jamie that she is a prostitute and admits to knowing Jamie’s father, who was one of Pearl’s clients. After moving in with Pearl and Eddie, Jamie reluctantly allows Eddie to take her virginity in Pearl’s absence, engaging in a sexually charged roleplay in which Jamie refers to Eddie as her “daddy.” Eddie then installs Jamie as one of his new prostitutes, much to Pearl’s dismay, as she feels protective of Jamie.

Charlie visits Edna seeking Jamie’s whereabouts; Edna provides Pearl’s address and disowns Jamie. Undeterred, Jamie bravely enters a new world, beginning her prostitution career and continuing the father-daughter roleplay with various men. Charlie soon reaches Pearl’s apartment, and Jamie arrives shortly after; the two finally have sex, despite Jamie’s initial reluctance.

Jamie’s newfound earnings grow, much to Pearl’s dismay, who begs Eddie to put a stop to it. In a desperate bid to rescue Jamie from a life of prostitution, Pearl arranges a meeting between Jamie and her father, Phillip. Jamie believes it will be a simple family reunion, while Phillip—unaware that Jamie is his daughter—imagines a casual encounter with a prostitute.

Jamie goes to Phillip’s hotel room, with Pearl regrettably trying to call and stop the arrangement but unable to reach him. Jamie regresses to her childhood, lying in bed and asking Phillip to tuck her in, a childlike demeanor that Phillip mistakes for mere roleplay. They then have sex. Afterward, Jamie reveals she has kept all the toys Phillip sent over the years; a shocked Phillip realizes he has just had incest with his daughter. Phillip orders Jamie to leave, triggering a psychological breakdown that culminates when she pushes him out of a window to his death. Jamie collapses onto the floor in a catatonic state.