This 28-minute educational short addresses the pertinent issue of the importance of proper parenting. Fathers who want too much from their sons or mothers who suffer their sons too much are liable to inadvertently produce a kid who grows up to be an angry and miserable wretch. Writer/director William S. Resnick treats the subject matter with appropriate seriousness. Moreover, it's a kick to see Don Murray at the very start of his career as the malcontent grown-up version of our protagonist Michael Thompson. The sharp black and white cinematography by future Oscar-winner Boris Kaufman makes neat use of fades, dissolves, and superimpositions. Nelson Case handles the narrator duties with engaging earnestness. A cool little item.
2 Reviews
Poor Film But Interesting Cast & Crew
Michael_Elliott15 September 2016
Preface to a Life (1950)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
This twenty-eight minute short was produced by the National Institute of Mental Health and tells the story of Michael Thompson. We meet Michael as a baby as the narrator talks about several things his parents does wrong, which might mean Michael will grow up into a bad person. For example, his mother tries to protect him too much while his father is never happy with the good things he does.
Basically this film is a warning to parents about putting too much stress on their kids or punishing the kids for not living up to the parent's dream. This is a pretty boring film mainly because it runs so long. It certainly doesn't help that the narration makes it feel even longer but there are a few things here that makes it worth watching to film buffs. For starters, Don Murray makes his screen debut here playing the older Michael. The cinematography was also done by Boris Kaufman who would soon be shooting movies like 12 ANGRY MEN, THE FUGITIVE KIND, BABY DOLL and several other classics.
Those two things will make this a curio to film buffs but there are so many of these "warning" films out there that it's hard to really enjoy them unless they've fallen into the "so bad they're good" type of film. That's not the case here as this one is mainly just boring.
* 1/2 (out of 4)
This twenty-eight minute short was produced by the National Institute of Mental Health and tells the story of Michael Thompson. We meet Michael as a baby as the narrator talks about several things his parents does wrong, which might mean Michael will grow up into a bad person. For example, his mother tries to protect him too much while his father is never happy with the good things he does.
Basically this film is a warning to parents about putting too much stress on their kids or punishing the kids for not living up to the parent's dream. This is a pretty boring film mainly because it runs so long. It certainly doesn't help that the narration makes it feel even longer but there are a few things here that makes it worth watching to film buffs. For starters, Don Murray makes his screen debut here playing the older Michael. The cinematography was also done by Boris Kaufman who would soon be shooting movies like 12 ANGRY MEN, THE FUGITIVE KIND, BABY DOLL and several other classics.
Those two things will make this a curio to film buffs but there are so many of these "warning" films out there that it's hard to really enjoy them unless they've fallen into the "so bad they're good" type of film. That's not the case here as this one is mainly just boring.
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