Lies My Father Told Me (1975)

A Jewish boy grows up in 1920s Montreal with a grandfather who tells stories and a father who won't work.

Director:

Ján Kadár

Writers:

Ted Allan (story), Ted Allan (screenplay)

Stars:

Yossi Yadin, Len Birman, Marilyn Lightstone

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yossi Yadin	...	Zaida
Len Birman	...	Harry Herman
Marilyn Lightstone	...	Annie Herman
Jeff Lynas	...	David Herman (as Jeffrey Lynas)
Ted Allan	...	Mr. Baumgarten
Henry Gamer	...	Uncle Benny
Barbara Chilcott	...	Mrs. Tannenbaum
Carol Lazare	...	Edna
Mignon Elkins	...	Mr. Bondy
Cleo Paskal	...	Cleo
Rolland Bédard
Raymond Benoît
Bertrand Gagnon
Guy L'Ecuyer
E.M. Margolese

Storyline

It's the 1920's. The Hermans - Harry Herman, his wife Annie Herman née Elias, their adolescent son David Herman, and Annie's father - are a Jewish family living in a small flat in the working class Jewish neighborhood of Montréal. David loves his "Zaida" (grandfather) with who he spends most Sundays driving around in their horse drawn wagon collecting junk - namely "rags, clothes, bottles" - to earn money. David also loves hearing his Zaida's stories about their Jewish culture, although most of those stories are made up and not based based on religious Jewish beliefs. Those stories are only one bone of contention between religious Zaida and secular Harry, as modern thinking Harry feels the stories are old fashioned hogwash and provide David with no grounding in what is real in life. Another issue of contention is money, as Harry is always dreaming of get rich schemes - the latest being to manufacture permanently creased and thus iron-less trousers - for which Zaida will not provide ...

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Plot Keywords:

baby | cat | horse drawn sleigh | manure | ghetto | 

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Taglines:

Children believe in miracles. Grandfathers make them come true.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English French Hebrew

Release Date:

26 September 1975 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Ahogy én láttam

Filming Locations:

Cinévision, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 1,100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC),Pentacle VIII Productions,Pentimento Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Zero Mostel was originally scheduled to appear in this movie.

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Quotes

Zaida, David Herman: [in a sing-song voice] Rags! Clothes! Bottles!

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Connections

Referenced in Schindler's List (1993)

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Soundtracks

Rags, Clothes, Bottles
Music and Lyrics by Sol Kaplan
Sung by Kenny Karen

User Reviews

From a child's eyes, the truths we see

Lies My Father Told Me.... I may have renamed it Stories My Grandfather Told Me, is a wondrous, delightful movie because it has the simple elegance to state exactly the world as seen through a child's eyes. A child's recognition of what counts in life.....and yet in a few hilarious moments, a child's innocence at repeating grownups' sharp criticism in exactly the way it was meant without the social detours meant for adults. But it is the little boy's feeling for his grandfather and a wise grandfather who in his quiet way... just stays and stays with you.