Nobody Waved Good-bye

The following commercial aired during the April 19th, 1965 broadcast of Jean Shepherd's radio program on WOR: "Unusual news about an unusual, new motion picture. It's called, "Nobody Waved Good-Bye," and here at last is a real, down-to-earth, dramatic film that shows what teenagers feel and never tell; what parents see and never understand. It's a story of what's happening all over America. The story of privileged children, their desperate parents, and the stone wall between them. What's happening on the screen is happening in Derry End (sp?), in Great Neck, in the Bronx. It's what's turning ten millions of homes into battlegrounds. Today's children seem to be growing up so fast, marrying fast, and falling apart fast. Their confused parents ask, "Why?" and confused teenagers ask, "Why not?" The name of this powerful picture is "Nobody Waved Good-Bye," and no parent, no teenager, nobody should miss it. See "Nobody Waved Good-Bye" plus "Lonely Boy" starting Wednesday at Loew's Capitol and Murray Hill theaters."

I saw this film in late 1970 or early 1971. i didn't realize it was from 1964, i thought it was new. It was shown at my university, i am not even sure why i went to see it. I was 21 at the time. I'd been through a very rough time with my parents when i was underage, including my dad putting me in juvenile hall when i was 15, then probation and a foster home. When i saw this film, i was going through a break up with a really nice guy. I had done things to destroy the relationship, rejecting him, trying to be 'uncommitted,' and then when he moved on, i felt very sorry and regretful. the last time i saw him, we were in my car and i dropped him off at a freeway onramp in the rain, him carrying his guitar, and i drove off into the rain, it was night time. Soon after that i saw this movie. And then i wrote a song about the break up of my relationship which i called Nobody Waved Good-bye, which is the chorus. It's loosely based on the movie. I actually do not remember much about the movie, except there was rain and parting and sadness and youth. i would love to see it again. That's why i just googled it. The movie had a deep and lasting effect on me, the characters were very real, the issues were real. Now i need to find how to see this movie again. btw, my then boyfriend left me for another girl who he married and they are still together to this day, happy with kids and grandkids, we are now Facebook friends.

I saw this film in 1965. It is very "Canadian" and depicts Toronto at a time when it was still basically a WASP city (before Yorkville). Note that actors Peter and Julie have the same name as their characters. They play two teens who fall in love, and she becomes pregnant.The treatment of this dilemma and the family dynamics is very realistic, enhanced by the black/white photography. If my memory serves me, there was no set script for this film; the actors developed their own lines. One is left with the feeling of having witnessed the real-life tensions in the lives of the people on the screen. Unlike "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", this story of young love in difficulty is stark and realistic. There is not much sense of romance or beauty. It is gripping.

This is now undoubtedly the oldest feature length Canadian film I've seen- Canadian film didn't really get rolling until the 1970s, with Going' Down the Road and Mon oncle Antoine, which is why this is the oldest non-documentary on the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time when TIFF started the list in 1984. It dropped off the list quickly, with one critic saying it hasn't aged well. Indeed, it's gotten few votes on IMDb and fewer reviews, but it is available to see for free on the National Film Board's website.

At first I could see where the comment about it being aged comes into play; it starts out feeling like something more out of a '50s public service ad than the '60s, with the straight-laced square father and the not-really rebellious son, neither of whom act spectacularly well. His "rebellion" against materialism feels old, tired and disingenuous. Things start getting a little more interesting when the son is arrested, and more troubles with the law start. There's a nice, artistic little sequence where he and his girlfriend sing Show Me the Way to Go Home- over 10 years before the great scene in Jaws. What I particularly liked was the lead's argument with the French Canadian about individuality and identity- that feels significant and pretty Canadian. An interesting film, and a curiosity to the Canadian film buff.