I Never Sang for My Father (1970)

Director:

Gilbert Cates

Writers:

Robert Anderson (play)
Robert Anderson (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 November 1971 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Hackman plays a New York professor who wants a change in his life, and plans to get married to his girlfriend and move to California...

Plot Keywords:

California | Professor | Aged Person | Generation Gap | Anti Semitism

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Melvyn Douglas	...	Tom Garrison
Gene Hackman	...	Gene Garrison
Dorothy Stickney	...	Margaret Garrison
Estelle Parsons	...	Alice
Elizabeth Hubbard	...	Dr. Margaret 'Peggy' Thayer
Lovelady Powell	...	Norma
Daniel Keyes	...	Dr. Mayberry
Conrad Bain	...	Rev. Sam Pell
Jon Richards	...	Marvin Scott
Nikki Counselman	...	Waitress
Carol Peterson	...	Nurse #1
Sloane Shelton	...	Nurse #2
James Karen	...	Mr. Tucker (old age home director)
Gene Williams	...	Dr. Jensen (state hospital director)

Also Known As:

Strangers (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 (video) | Sweden:Btl | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Quotes:

Margaret Garrison: Look how he walks. Like a brigadier general. He may not always remember where he is going, but he always goes there with a firm step.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Fame: I Never Danced for My Father (#4.4)" (1984)

Soundtrack:

Strangers

Amazing

I find myself recommending this movie to people all the time. It is such a clear picture of the challenges faced by anyone trying to help an aging parent.

But there is another aspect to it that I love. It is one of the few serious films I've seen that shows the effect of a character being viewed as the salt of the earth, heroic and charming by outsiders, but who is nasty, judgmental and selfish with his own family. Whatever has happened due to Douglas' character aging and beginning to lose his mental faculties, you know that this particular pain has been part of his children's lives forever.

Such a relationship is always difficult -- it is especially so with an older relative who has truly done heroic things, and who is respected and loved even by those he abuses. It puts everyone who knows his darker side in a bizarre and awkward position, seeming like villains for ever saying a word against a much-admired person.

This movie captures the agony and poignancy of such a relationship perfectly, and shows the various levels of maturity with which one's family can choose to respond. The character's daughter needs to stay away, his son takes it with a grain of salt, as evidenced by his wry smile and mild answer when his fiancée finds his father "charming." This is a must-see film, for more reasons than I can list here.