Thursday's Children (1955)

Won the Academy Award for the Best Documentary Short of 1954. The subject deals with the children at The Royal School for the Deaf in Margate, Kent. The hearing-handicapped children are ... See full summary »

Directors:

Lindsay Anderson, Guy Brenton

Writers:

Guy Brenton, Lindsay Anderson

Stars:

Richard Burton

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Richard Burton	...	Narrator

Storyline

Won the Academy Award for the Best Documentary Short of 1954. The subject deals with the children at The Royal School for the Deaf in Margate, Kent. The hearing-handicapped children are shown painstakingly learning what words are through exercises and games, practicing lip-reading and finally speech. Richard Burton's calm and sometimes-poetic narration adds to the heartwarming cheerfulness and courage of the children.

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Plot Keywords:

lip reading | school | learning | school for the deaf | deaf | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Short

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

I bambini del giovedì

Filming Locations:

Margate, Kent, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

World Wide Pictures, Morse Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

21 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

User Reviews

Brilliant documentary about a school for deaf children, narrated by Richard Burton

Brilliant Oscar-winning documentary about a school for deaf children. One of - the sometimes slightly grumpy - Lindsay Anderson's more altruistic and poetic moments. The film is almost completely silent (with music and narration, though), which gives you a good sense of how these children must perceive the world around them. For years it was almost impossible to find this wonderful little movie other than on 16mm film, but in 2007 the Criterion edition of Anderson's masterpiece 'if....' included 'Thursday's Children' as a bonus. The film is narrated by Richard Burton and was co-directed by Guy Brenton. Anderson shot this simultaneously with another short, the satirical amusement park portrait 'O Dreamland' (1953).