Quite a good short film that I saw on the DVD Experiments in Terror.
A tomboyish little girl angers her strict, elderly mother by ruining her dress and playing with small animals. However, by making the lessons cruel ones, the mother is either pushing the child to the breaking point or making the child cruel herself.
Not having read the short story this was based on, I was a little puzzled by the fact that one of the characters was played by an actor by the first name of "Calvin." The actors' names were given without indicating which played which role. Could the tomboyish little girl who's punished for playing with frogs and climbing trees have been a boy who's being raised as a girl? Looking up information about the story online, it seems that is so. There was also another short film (but much longer than this one) adapting the story and sharing its title: Miss Gentilbelle (1999) directed by Tara Miele. It's not on IMDb at the moment.
I'm rather curious to read some of Charles Beaumont's work now - I see one collection that has his stories introduced by the Mathesons, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Roger Corman, and many other noteworthies. Clearly a well-regarded writer!
A tomboyish little girl angers her strict, elderly mother by ruining her dress and playing with small animals. However, by making the lessons cruel ones, the mother is either pushing the child to the breaking point or making the child cruel herself.
Not having read the short story this was based on, I was a little puzzled by the fact that one of the characters was played by an actor by the first name of "Calvin." The actors' names were given without indicating which played which role. Could the tomboyish little girl who's punished for playing with frogs and climbing trees have been a boy who's being raised as a girl? Looking up information about the story online, it seems that is so. There was also another short film (but much longer than this one) adapting the story and sharing its title: Miss Gentilbelle (1999) directed by Tara Miele. It's not on IMDb at the moment.
I'm rather curious to read some of Charles Beaumont's work now - I see one collection that has his stories introduced by the Mathesons, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Roger Corman, and many other noteworthies. Clearly a well-regarded writer!