To view a Real Video clip, click on each movie's picture!
Frankie Muniz: "My Dog Skip"
Movie Narrator: "Why in childhood and youth do we wish time to pass so quickly-- we want to grow up so fast-- yet as adults we wish just the opposite?"
Unless you dislike dogs and are not too fond of nine-year-olds, you will probably love this autobiographical 1940s story of Willie Morris's childhood in Mississippi.
The movie surprised me in some ways: I suspected some kind of traumatic event in the dad's life as a reason he didn't want the boy to have the dog. Nope, didn't happen. I expected the 'bad news telegram' to come with notification that Willie's hero was killed in action. Didn't happen. The movie 'hints' at social injustice without cramming it into your face. This happens with the little Black boy who throws the football while the White lady relative displays a look of dismay-- and the quick shot of the Black kids in the balcony at the theater. The narrator does mention segregation once, but the movie does not preach. There are good moral lessons, such as: Bullies CAN be dealt with and won over! And there are 'other' reasons for not wanting to be in war other than being afraid of losing your own life.
Younger children may be disturbed by the cemetery scenes and doggie violence. When I saw it in the theatre, one child kept on crying even after Skip came through his physical ordeal.
Bobs Watson: "Boys Town"
The spiritual values promoted in the movie and the kindness of Spencer Tracey, had a profound effect on the then five-year-old. Memories of it all later inspired Bobs to become a minister of the United Methodist Church in 1963, where he did dramatizations and plays within the church.
Our Real Video clip comes as Whitey, who has been defeated in both an election and a boxing match, decides to leave. Right after this scene, Pee Wee is struck by a speeding car-- and Whitey's part in the accident becomes one of the many life-changing experiences which happen to him while in the good Father's care.
The "real" Boys Town A Cappella Choir also sings in this production, which seems to be available only on NTSC VHS. Perhaps much of the world still has not heard of the unique independent community created out on Nebraska's plains.
On a personal note, this was one of the first movies I saw on a 14-inch CRT after television came to Lubbock, Texas in the early 50s. Before seeing this movie, I had never really thought much about Catholics, because probably 90% of my hometown was protestant. Not only did "Boys Town" open my eyes to another faith, it also introduced me to Father Flanagan, who has been one of my heroes ever since.
(Bobs Watson died in 1999, at the age of 68, of prostate cancer.)
Henry Thomas: "E.T."
The 11-year-old Texan's tears flowed, and before the test ended, Spielberg told young Henry that he had the part! The plot of "E.T." was unique-- a visitor from "out there" not only found a boy who believed in him, but this Extra-Terrestrial was also able to *join* with "Elliott" on both physical and emotional levels. "I think we are dying," he tells his mom after E.T. seems to be no longer able to live in Earth's environment. Then when his alien friend has apparently expired, Elliott says, "You MUST be dead, 'cause I don't know how to feel. I can't feel anything anymore."
Yes, I loved the movie-- and took two van loads of some of my 6th Grade students to see it. The only problem I had with the film came at the time the government scientists and medical personnel barged right into a private residence (breathing heavily in space suits) without even announcing who they were-- I DON'T think that would happen in real life.
Clicking on the picture will bring up what was to have been Elliott's last goodbye-- then the *surprise* signaled by dead flowers in a pot which suddenly started coming back to life. Certainly a classic, the movie has now been re-released in a second version which is worth seeing for the extra scenes and the more up-to-date special effects!
Gabriel Thomson: "Enemy At The Gates"
Gabriel Thomson is not in many scenes of this movie which involves a contest of skill and will between snipers. But his scenes are both important and disturbing. At first it is difficult to tell if "Sacha" Filipov really has started helping the Germans. Then it is obviously a very unequal contest between a young cobbler who has not as yet even learned how to lie well-- and an experienced, war-hardened Major Konig. The Russians are using the boy to find Konig, and he in turn is using the boy to find the Russian's hero sniper, Vassili Zaitsev.
Our movie clip (click the picture) is a scene in which Konig has just returned with a hand injury from his last encounter with Zaitsev.
The movie is rated "R" because of all the bloody violence and one steamy sex scene, but there is no frontal nudity. The DVD version comes with a behind-the-scenes featurette, a few deleted scenes and some interviews of cast and crew. I had great difficulty taking the film seriously because both Russians and Germans spoke in a normal BRITISH accent! I would prefer original language with subtitles to this.
Ronny Howard: "The Music Man"
When they saw what a hit Meredith Willson's play was becoming on Broadway, Warner Brothers bought the film rights faster than you can say, "That will be $5 for the small popcorn."
Ronny Howard, who played little Winthrop Paroo, was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, just eight years before the movie was made in 1962. He had made his acting debut at the age of 18 months and had done two movies before this one. He also played Opie Taylor on "The Andy Griffith Show" from 1960 to 1968, and then went on to be Richie Cunningham on "Happy Days" from 1974 to 1980. The very least you can say about Ron Howard today is that he totally disproved the idea that kid stars must develop into drug addicts or nut cases!
"The Music Man" *is* a musical, but also a very colorful story about a "con-man" who hits a small town and attempts to take it for all it's worth. Just before character Howard Hill is tarred and feathered, the townsfolks realize that his scheme has actually produced some fringe benefits-- Not the least of those being the transformation of little Winthrop from a shy, withdrawn child-- into a very happy and exuberant boy (as shown in our clip). The DVD version includes a very interesting 30-minute documentary about how the film was made.
Haley Joel Osment: "Pay It Forward"
Born April 10, 1988, Haley was twelve when he became Trevor 'Trev' McKinney, the only child in a rather strange family. His mother had a typical problem of always giving his biological father 'another chance', and one of his grandmothers had decided she was happier living as a bag lady.
Trevor accepted a challenge from his junior high school social studies teacher-- to come up with an idea which would make the world a better place. Trevor's simple, but very idealistic plan, was to refuse repayment for acts of kindness done, but instead to tell good-deed-doers that they must "pay it forward" (instead of back) to some other person. The resulting chains of events were quite difficult to follow. Near the end we knew that the plan worked for some, but not all. - Another plot, given too much screen time in my opinion, was the teacher conquering his fear of sexual relationships. (He had physical scars from being burned as a teenager, in a murder attempt by his father.)
If you enjoy happy endings, you will hate this one. But it will make you want more done to control gangs and bullying in our schools. The film is rated PG-13, which is sad-- because the movie could have been a motivating film for youngsters. Click on the above picture for the scene in which Trevor dumps all kinds of anger on his mother. When this was filmed, Haley wanted to be given a *real* rather than a 'Hollywood' slap, according to accompanying DVD material, but reason prevailed.
