In general I found the story dialog and Robert Montgomery's narration difficult to follow, but I got the gist of it. A mid-Western farming family is banking on a good wheat harvest but is devastated when a major thunderstorm wipes out their crop, putting them in the hole with no way to pay off a three thousand dollar loan. Ellen Zalinka (Dorothy Gish) and her husband Karl (Ed Begley) lament their situation but there's not much they can do, while Mrs. Zalinka's father (Vaughn Taylor), looking forward to his hundredth birthday, doesn't quite make it, adding another touch of melancholy to the production.
Much of the story though has to do with son Paul (James Dean), conflicted about his role in the family and his desire to strike out in the world on his own. When his relationship with girlfriend Arlene (Rebecca Welles) breaks up, the brooding and restless young man reacts spontaneously to a recruitment poster and joins the Navy. As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, mother Ellen seeks to unite her family and offer prayerful thanks for the blessings they share even through hardship.
A few evenings ago, Turner Classics offered up a handful of James Dean's televised anthology programs from the early 1950's, this one among them. This was the first of four in which he did not portray an ex-con or a troubled youth, and by comparison his portrayal here is not as noteworthy as when he was playing a bad boy. For one thing, some of the distinguishing features of his method acting style were missing, things he would do to draw attention to himself were not as apparent in this low key presentation. Nevertheless, if you're a James Dean fan, this minor detail won't make much of a difference.
Watching these old programs today is quite instructional regarding the days of early television. Though nominally this show was called 'Robert Montgomery Presents", when the actor completes his introductory remarks and the story begins the screen makes mention of 'The Johnson's Wax Program' since they were the major sponsor. Other editions of the show would have gone by 'The Lucky Strike Program', as did episodes of the Jack Benny Show that I've happened to catch recently.
This show was originally aired as a Thanksgiving Holiday special on November 11th, 1953. Until it premiered on the Turner Classic Movie Channel this past Friday, September 25th (2015), the show had never been seen since the first time it was shown. That just seems incredibly fascinating to me.
Much of the story though has to do with son Paul (James Dean), conflicted about his role in the family and his desire to strike out in the world on his own. When his relationship with girlfriend Arlene (Rebecca Welles) breaks up, the brooding and restless young man reacts spontaneously to a recruitment poster and joins the Navy. As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, mother Ellen seeks to unite her family and offer prayerful thanks for the blessings they share even through hardship.
A few evenings ago, Turner Classics offered up a handful of James Dean's televised anthology programs from the early 1950's, this one among them. This was the first of four in which he did not portray an ex-con or a troubled youth, and by comparison his portrayal here is not as noteworthy as when he was playing a bad boy. For one thing, some of the distinguishing features of his method acting style were missing, things he would do to draw attention to himself were not as apparent in this low key presentation. Nevertheless, if you're a James Dean fan, this minor detail won't make much of a difference.
Watching these old programs today is quite instructional regarding the days of early television. Though nominally this show was called 'Robert Montgomery Presents", when the actor completes his introductory remarks and the story begins the screen makes mention of 'The Johnson's Wax Program' since they were the major sponsor. Other editions of the show would have gone by 'The Lucky Strike Program', as did episodes of the Jack Benny Show that I've happened to catch recently.
This show was originally aired as a Thanksgiving Holiday special on November 11th, 1953. Until it premiered on the Turner Classic Movie Channel this past Friday, September 25th (2015), the show had never been seen since the first time it was shown. That just seems incredibly fascinating to me.
