Lies My Father Told Me (1975)

A Jewish boy grows up in 1920s Montreal (in Canada), 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 (in Canada). 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

cat | horse drawn sleigh | manure | ghetto | search | 

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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:

CAD1,100,000 (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

Remake of Lies My Father Told Me (1960)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Sticky Syrup

Ted Allen wrote a wonderful short story, about 4 pages long, called "Lies My Father Told Me" which was short on plot but very evocative of the Jewish ghetto in Montreal in the 1920s. It reminisced about a young boy who accompanied his grandfather on a horse-drawn cart collecting rags and bottles.

This is the third attempt to fill out the story into a film. Allen wrote the screenplay, which was nominated for an Oscar. He also wrote the screenplay for the 1960 film, which I haven't seen.

Pretty much everything that can go wrong with a film has happened here. The story is melodramatic and predictable. The characters are one-dimensional caricatures rather than human beings. The main character, a young boy, is so tousle-haired and gap-toothed and sweet that you want to kick him. His father is a total loser (or "schlemiel") who keeps thinking up get-rich-quick schemes, and wastes his money on the races. The mother is noble, loving, self-sacrificing, etc. The boy's wise old grandfather (the other main character) has a gruff exterior but a twinkle in his eye. You expect the characters to break into song at any minute. The only believable character in this film is the horse!

The acting is way over-the-top, the actors striking poses like in a silent film, rather than acting like people.

Most of the film takes place in an obvious stage set of Montreal's slum. There are a few nice exterior glimpses of the real Montreal.

The whole thing is sentimental and mawkish and embarrassing.