I put the tape in, made a quick trip to the refrigerator, and returned to find six guys acting like they were animals, being massacred by hunters. Curses! I thought the tape hadn't been re-wound -- and, I was watching the ending. BUT, it was only a nightmare. This IS how the film begins... Barry Robins (as "Cotton") wakes up, all right, in his "Box Canyon Boys Camp" cabin. Mr. Robins rounds up his troops; then, they head out to save the buffalo
and civilization.
The opening "flashback" is appropriately disturbing. More importantly, it clearly and directly relates the teenagers at the "Boys Camp" to caged animals. Further flashbacks tell the story of how the six "emotionally disturbed" kids are put out, by failed parents, to be either housed or "corrected". The camp's motto is: "Send Us A Boy
We'll Send You A Cowboy"! The prospective cowboys, corralled by leader Robins, are: stoner Bill Mumy (as "Teft"), comedian Miles Chapin (as "Shecker"), fairy Darel Glaser (as Goodenow), and feuding siblings Bob Kramer (as "Lolly 1") and Marc Vahanian (as "Lolly 2"). The entire cast performs well, with Robins and Mr. Mumy more obviously standing out.
Watch for a great scene, after the travelers' "Pest Control" truck, hot-wired by Mumy, runs out of gas. Robins tries to start the truck; and, his hopeless efforts trigger an important "flashback". Imaginatively directed, by Stanley Kramer, we see Robins through his mother's vanity mirror, applying make-up for a young date. When Robins threatens to reveal his mother's age, she responds, "I'll kill you..."
Telling.
Another important, well-played, sequence occurs with Mr. Glaser's last "flashback" -- to when he was "cast out" of his cabin. Branded a "sissy" for bed wetting, Glaser is humiliated, and attempts suicide. Robins is the boy's Savior; he raises "Goodenow" from a drowning pool to the "Bedwetters" cabin, where introductions are made. This part of the film might have been better placed earlier, as it so effectively "introduces" the individual characters, and cinematically ties them together as a team.
While this is a "non-linear" film, there are editing/continuity problems (real and speculative); hopefully, a better cut version of "Bless the Beasts & Children" can be found. The music is outstanding: both the instrumental theme by Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin Jr., and the vocals "Bless the Beasts and the Children" (by Carpenters) and the ill-titled "It's a Beautiful Day" by co-star Mumy (written with Paul Gordon).
********* Bless the Beasts & Children (7/30/71) Stanley Kramer ~ Barry Robins, Bill Mumy, Darel Glaser, Miles Chapin
6 out of 8 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink