johnericketts

Loved Azimov for 45 years. Couldn't BELIEVE how awful a movie could be made from the highest quality material. The worst issue: stunningly horrible acting from the whole ensemble, as if forced emotion and stilted delivery were contagious. I had to stop after ten minutes, tried again the next day, stopped after another ten minutes solely due to the acting. I have loved movies all my life and own 1475 movies. First impression is that this was the worst acting I ever saw in my life.

I'm sure there are other areas I could address, but I couldn't get interested enough to carry on. I also looked in this website to see if most people saw that same travesty I did. THEY did too.

This movie has the most tear-jerking moment I ever saw on a movie screen: "Reuben's mother isn't coming." You'd have to see it in context.

Later we find out why Reuben's mother (Gena Rowlands) won't come and she's right: it would be cruel to a retarded boy and we learn a real-life lesson in great parenthood.

I was in college in the '60s looking for anything to do besides study for an exam. I saw this movie listed and wouldn't have watched it if Burt Lancaster weren't in it. Then as the credits rolled the hits just kept on happening. I couldn't believe this many major people were involved including Stanley Kramer as producer and John Cassavetes directing. As a supporting actor, few people ever choose scripts better than Paul Stewart.

Gena Rowlands is one of the all-time people I'd love to meet. I have 1400 movies on tape and I show them in retirement homes. The first movie I show in all of them is "Lonely Are the Brave," Kirk Douglas's favorite thing he ever did, with Gena as support. Best line: "If it didn't take men to have babies I wouldn't have anything to do with any of you."

"Gloria" is the first movie I ever rented. In the retirement homes I show the scene where she suddenly shoots up a car to defend a child and the old people say "Good for her!"

Back to "A Child Is Waiting," maybe it's just my love of children, I don't know why this movie isn't more famous.

No, radio characters often don't lend themselves to a visual medium, and this no exception.

Bergen and McCarthy look ridiculous. Bergen was always an obvious ventriloquist who kept moving his head to distract people from seeing his lips move so obviously. And then the worst, acting as if Charlie McCarthy is able to sit by himself and even answer the phone. Waaaaay better on radio.

Gildersleeve probably comes off better on screen than on radio because he's such a buoyant character to behold.

Lucy at the time was eye candy, and later it became harder to view her as so feminine.

Nevertheless, the audience of the day got to see people they loved for years. It was probably well worth it in the day. They likely suspended all of the shortcomings and came away feeling warm.