Child's Play

Apparently at this exclusive Catholic prep school even the civilian teachers have to be officially celibate. In Child's Play the focus of the film is on an intense rivalry between a pair of civilian teachers who have no outside attachments, save for James Mason and his dying mother. So they indulge in this rivalry for the approval of the students. And Robert Preston who dusts off a bit of his Harold Hill persona from The Music Man is winning hands down.

Child's Play, a David Merrick Production on stage ran 342 performances during the 1970 season and starred Pat Hingle and Fritz Weaver in the roles that Preston and Mason essay here. Preston is a charmer as Professor Harold Hill was, but his charm is laced with malevolence. For reasons I'm not sure whether for money or prestige Preston turns the students against Mason, he wants Mason out to move up in some kind of seniority system.

Mason makes it real easy. A stiff demanding pedagogue he's Mr. Chips before Robert Donat's marriage to Greer Garson humanized him. He's way past the age of retirement, but other than a terminally ill mother this guy has no life. Going to teach gives him an excuse to get up in the morning.

Both these guys are a pair of real closet cases. Both are obsessed with the young male preppy kids they teach, Mason just does not know how to relate to them. Preston does and he uses his influence with them to produce some terrible consequences.

Caught in the middle of all this is new gym teacher Beau Bridges who once went to this school. He knows both men from his years there, but learns a whole lot more once he becomes a faculty member and learns disturbing stuff about both.

Child's Play is smartly directed and photographed by Sidney Lumet. Pay attention to some of the deep focus cinematography involving all three of the players I've named in joint scenes. All three register facial expressions that help move the story along immensely.

I think a lot was left out of the play coming over from Broadway, but still Child's Play is a fine film with great performances from the leads.

Trouble is brewing at St. Charles, a Catholic Boy's School. Random acts of violence break out between the students nearly every week, seemingly escalating in intensity. Joe Dobbs, the popular, easy-going English teacher, and Paul Reis, the new gym teacher, aim to find out what's causing the brutality. Meanwhile, Jerome Malley, the grievous Latin teacher who despises Dobbs, begins receiving strange, obscene messages and packages at his home. Will Dobbs, Reis and Malley be able to discover the reason behind the violence at St. Charles, or will the savagery continue?

Directed by Sidney Lumet, and based on Robert Marasco's play of the same name, 'Child's Play' is an intriguing thriller that starts well and has many commendable elements, though fumbles its landing. Leon Prochnik's screenplay- like the source material- examines some interesting themes, such as the psychology of group dynamics, the nature of evil and the power structures within educational institutions. The film deftly navigates these complex ideas through its tight-knit narrative, though it occasionally loses momentum in its latter half, and the ambiguous ending- where nothing at all is concluded- is underwhelming.

However, the principal characters are believable and multifaceted; watching them wade through the seedy, intriguing plot is engaging. The idealistic Reis- an ex-student of St. Charles- serves as a conduit for the audience, taking us on a trip into the macabre. Dobbs seems to be the ideal teacher, warm and kind- though might have darkness beneath his light exterior. Malley, meanwhile, is fascinating, stern and severe with his students, yet he treasures it when ex-pupils send him letters, and always keeps clippings of them if they make the papers. He is, to quote Kris Kristofferson, "a walking contradiction," and a compelling character.

The dichotomy between Malley and Dobbs is the driving force of the film's tension. Malley's severity and isolation are contrasted sharply with Dobbs' affability and popularity, creating a dynamic that is as much a clash of ideologies as it is of personalities. The film uses these characters to explore the impact of authority figures on young minds, and how their differing approaches to education and discipline influence the students' behaviour.

Reis is a relatable character, whose journey back to St. Charles is a poignant reflection on the loss of innocence and the realization that the institutions one once revered may have dark underbellies. The students themselves, though less prominently featured, are essential to the narrative. They are not merely victims or perpetrators of violence; they are shown as complex individuals, shaped by the environment they are in. Their actions, though extreme, are presented not as anomalies but as symptoms of a deeper malaise within the school's culture.

The film's portrayal of these characters is subtle yet powerful, leaving the audience to ponder the nature of evil: is it inherent, or is it fostered by circumstance? Easy answers are not provided- in fact, no answers are provided at all- instead, the film offers a mirror to society's own struggles with these questions. Perhaps, considering the rumination it inspires and the interest it engenders, a more conclusive ending would have made it even better.

On the other hand, Gerald Hirschfeld's atmospheric cinematography cannot be faulted. His expert use of close-ups brings an intimacy to the characters, allowing the audience to see the subtle nuances of their emotions. His utilisation of shadows, meanwhile, creates a sense of foreboding, visually representing the darkness that lurks within the school and its inhabitants. Moreover, Hirschfeld's interplay between light and darkness not only sets the mood but also serves as a metaphor for the film's central themes. The way shadows creep across the walls of St. Charles reflects the insidious nature of the violence pervading the school.

The film's use of space is also noteworthy. The claustrophobic corridors of St. Charles mirror the oppressive nature of the institution and the entrapment felt by both teachers and students. The visuals are complemented by the sound design and Michael Small's eerie score. The echoes in the hallways, the murmurs of the students and the silence that punctuates the violence all contribute to an unsettling auditory experience, heightening the tension and underscoring the film's themes. Small's work, meanwhile, full of demonic-sounding chants, is evocative, stirring and unsettling.

Beau Bridges stars as Reis, alongside Robert Preston as Dobbs and James Mason as Malley. Bridges does fine work, astutely displaying the emotions felt by one who sees the truth behind the curtain, as it were. Preston is brilliant as Dobbs, making him congenial and likable; though not without a certain seediness. Mason, however, steals the show as the pathetic, mentally disturbed Malley. Delivering a beautifully realized, complex performance; he has rarely been better. Furthermore, David Rounds excels in the smaller role as the disillusioned Father Penny, bringing a touch of levity to an otherwise tense situation.

Engaging and intriguing, though ultimately a little underwhelming, Sidney Lumet's adaptation of Robert Marasco's 'Child's Play' has a lot going for it. The narrative touches on some interesting themes, while Gerald Hirschfeld's cinematography and the excellent sound design are atmospheric and evocative. The cast all give strong performances, especially James Mason, but the ending is anticlimactic. Turns out, unfortunately, it wasn't child's play adapting 'Child's Play' for the cinema.

Sidney Lumet manages to engender great tension in this curious tale about a group of satan like kids and one of their masters. Reasonable acting with an intelligent script produces satisfactory results.

The only thing missing here is a lack of focus on the mechanics of how the boys behaviour is merely down to a local cult or if something more sinister is at work; however it may have been the writers intention to leave us in two minds regarding this aspect.

Definitely worth watching

Among Lumet' s monumental filmography ,"child's play" must be ,even more than the overlooked "the group" ,the movie nobody knows or loves to hate .

Personally, I have always thought that Lumet is particularly at ease when he directs films the action of which takes place in an enclosed space: a tribunal in "12 angry men" ,a bank in "dog day afternoon" a train in "murder on the orient express" a house in "deathtrap" or "long day's journey into night" the Strategic Air Command in "fail safe" ,a prisoners camp in "the hill".....

"Child's play " happens entirely in a boys high school but the students are not often on the screen ;unlike some naive works such as "dead poets society" ,the nice modern beloved teacher (Robert Preston) is not the one you think he is ;he is a distant relative of the "good" teacher Miss Brodie in "the prime of miss Jean Brodie ";whereas the old maid was urging her students to fight for "noble " causes such as Spanish fascism,her

colleague uses them to put his old "pal" James Mason down,to drive him crazy;his motives are very obscure (the fact that he wants to teach the twelfth graders is not really convincing and one could write that "some people who do not fit get the only fun they get by putting people down ",as John Prine sings ."So cold ,sometimes it looks so cold" .Women (apart from a nurse) are completely absent and no one among the secular staff has a girlfriend or a wife ,even the young naive gym teacher.Beau Bridges is a bit clumsy and as a sports teacher ,well...besides he lacks charisma and his dramatic range is ineffective in the scene when he blames his colleague (just compare with young Pamela Franklin playing opposite Maggie Smith in a similar scene at the end of "Miss Jean Brodie").

All in all,when you cannot mention it in the same breath as Lumet's works I mention above ,if you like this director,you should catch it :James Mason is excellent in his part of a fallen pitiful Latin teacher (you can also notice his subject had already begun to lose the prestige it used to have in ancient times) and Robert Preston is all the more scary since he remains cheerful or straight-faced.A flawed but nonetheless worthy work .

Like this ? try these.....

"Unman,Wittering and Zigo" (McKenzie,1971)

"The prime of miss Jean Brodie (Neame,1970)

If you're the type of movie watcher who prefers to be entertained without having to really invest in the film (and that's absolutely fine) then this movie is probably not for you.

I'm fortunate in that I enjoy all types of film from juvenile slapstick such as Top Secret to classic epics like The Godfather.

This particular film builds very slowly and although there's little "action" in the first third, it's well written and acted and the you can feel the tension build.

Without giving too much away, it's brilliant how convincing one of the main protagonists is due to the quality of the lines attributed to him in the screenplay.

Although I personally believe this movie deserves a wider audience, I fully understand that it will not appeal to a significant number of viewers.

Recommend if you appreciate slow paced, well acted drama.