Ladybug Ladybug | |
---|---|
Directed by | Frank Perry |
Written by | Eleanor Perry |
Based on | "They Thought the War Was On!" by Lois Dickert |
Produced by | Frank Perry |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Leonard Hirschfield |
Edited by | Armond Lebowitz |
Music by | Bob Cobert |
Production company | Francis Productions Inc. |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 82 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $320,000 [1] |
Ladybug Ladybug is a 1963 American docudrama film directed by Frank Perry and written by Eleanor Perry. The film is a commentary on the psychological effects of the Cold War, the title deriving from the classic nursery rhyme. [2] It marked the film debuts of William Daniels, Estelle Parsons and Jane Connell. [3]
The film was inspired by a McCall's magazine story about an actual incident at a California elementary school during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. [4]
One morning, teachers at a secluded countryside elementary school are asked to accompany the pupils to their homes after a nuclear attack warning alarm sounds and the staff are unable to determine whether or not the alarm was false. One teacher and the children under her care walk through the countryside, with a slowly building sense of doom about what they believe to be the upcoming nuclear holocaust. Several of the children reach their homes; one girl cowers under a bed after her parents refuse to take the threat seriously, a boy leads his dementia-ridden grandmother to take cover in their basement, another girl runs off in a panic after finding her house empty.
When several of the children finally gain access to a bomb shelter, they do not allow a female fellow student to join them, claiming there is not enough room. The girl frantically searches for shelter and hides inside an old abandoned refrigerator; she is not seen again and her fate is never explained. A boy leaves the shelter to try and find her, and as he runs along outside a loud whining noise is suddenly heard overhead. The boy cowers in the shadow of planes passing in the sky above and repeatedly yells "Stop!" as the camera moves closer to his face, goes out of focus and then fades to black.
Writing in The New York Times , film critic Bosley Crowther noted that despite the film's "respectable intentions," it "is too slight in dramatic structure and too prosaic, really, to carry much punch," that "details are weakly developed and tension is barely drawn," and the "climactic detail, in which a tragedy for one of the children is implied [...] is so sudden and arbitrary in the pedestrian flow of the film that it seems much more a theatrical contrivance than a likely happening." [5] Critic Glenn Erickson described the film as an "uncompromising, difficult-to-watch ordeal" that is "quality filmmaking that expresses an important message [that is] tense and emotionally punishing," and that the film "find[s] the worst possible outcome to twist one’s insides in helpless frustration," likening it to "the traumatic connection between Duck and Cover and Miracle Mile — or 'Romper Room of Fear.'" [6]
Blossoms in the Dust is a 1941 American biographical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart, Marsha Hunt, Fay Holden and Samuel S. Hinds. It tells the story of Edna Gladney, who helped orphaned children find homes and began a campaign to remove the word "illegitimate" from Texas birth certificates, despite the opposition of "good" citizens. The screenplay was by Anita Loos, with a story by Ralph Wheelwright. Some of the important aspects of her life fictionalized in the film are the fact that it was Edna herself who was born out of wedlock; she and Sam eloped on the eve of her marriage to someone else, and they had much more time together before his death than given them in the film.
Kings Row is a 1942 film starring Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan and Betty Field that tells a story of young people growing up in a small American town at the turn of the twentieth century. The picture was directed by Sam Wood. The film was adapted by Casey Robinson from a best-selling 1940 novel of the same name by Henry Bellamann. The musical score was composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and the cinematographer was James Wong Howe. The supporting cast features Charles Coburn, Claude Rains, Judith Anderson and Maria Ouspenskaya.
The Search is a 1948 American film directed by Fred Zinnemann that tells the story of a young Auschwitz survivor and his mother who search for each other across post-World War II Europe. It stars Montgomery Clift, Ivan Jandl, Jarmila Novotná and Aline MacMahon.
The Raven is a 1963 American comedy gothic horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers. The supporting cast includes Jack Nicholson as the son of Lorre's character.
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. is a 1953 American musical fantasy film about a boy who dreams himself into a fantasy world ruled by a diabolical piano teacher enslaving children to practice piano forever. It was the only feature film written by Theodor Seuss Geisel, who wrote the story, screenplay, and lyrics. It was directed by Roy Rowland, with many uncredited takes directed by producer Stanley Kramer. The film stars Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Hans Conried, and Tommy Rettig.
David and Lisa is a 1962 American drama film directed by Frank Perry. It is based on the second story in the two-in-one novellas Jordi/Lisa and David by Theodore Isaac Rubin; the screenplay, written by Frank Perry's wife Eleanor Perry, tells the story of a bright young man suffering from a mental illness which, among other symptoms, has instilled in him a fear of being touched. This lands him in a residential treatment center, where he meets Lisa, a similarly ill young woman who displays a split personality.
How to Steal a Million is a 1966 American heist comedy film directed by William Wyler and starring Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Eli Wallach, Hugh Griffith, and Charles Boyer. The film is set and was filmed in Paris, though the characters speak entirely in English. Hepburn's clothes were designed by Givenchy.
The World of Henry Orient is a 1964 American comedy-drama film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Peter Sellers, Paula Prentiss, Angela Lansbury, Tippy Walker, Merrie Spaeth, Phyllis Thaxter, Bibi Osterwald, and Tom Bosley. It is based on the novel of the same name by Nora Johnson, who co-wrote the screenplay with her father, Nunnally Johnson.
Cheaper by the Dozen is a 1950 American comedy film based upon the autobiographical book Cheaper by the Dozen (1948) by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. The film and book describe growing up in a family with twelve children, in Montclair, New Jersey. The title comes from one of Gilbreth's favorite jokes, which played out in the film, that when he and his family were out driving and stopped at a red light, a pedestrian would ask: "Hey, mister! How come you got so many kids?" Gilbreth would pretend to ponder the question carefully, and then, just as the light turned green, would say: "Well, they come cheaper by the dozen, you know", and drive off.
This Property Is Condemned is a 1966 American drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Kate Reid, Charles Bronson, Robert Blake and Mary Badham. The screenplay, inspired by the 1946 one-act play of the same name by Tennessee Williams, was written by Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Coe and Edith Sommer. The film was released by Paramount Pictures.
The Children's Hour is a 1961 American drama film produced and directed by William Wyler from a screenplay by John Michael Hayes, based on the 1934 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman. The film stars Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner, with Miriam Hopkins, Fay Bainter, and Karen Balkin.
Jane Sperry Connell was an American actress and singer.
Son of Flubber is a 1963 American science fiction comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It is the sequel to The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and the first sequel to a Disney film. Fred MacMurray reprises his role from the previous film as Ned Brainard, a scientist who has perfected a high-bouncing substance, Flubber, that can levitate an automobile and cause athletes to bounce into the sky. In addition to MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Ed Wynn, Elliott Reid, and Tommy Kirk also co-star, reprising their roles from the previous film.
Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1951 British drama film directed by Zoltán Korda and starring Sidney Poitier, Charles Carson and Canada Lee, in his last film role. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by Alan Paton.
Paris Underground, also known as Madame Pimpernel, is a 1945 film directed by Gregory Ratoff, and based on the memoir of the same title by Etta Shiber.
Come Blow Your Horn is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Bud Yorkin from a screenplay by Norman Lear, based on the 1961 play of the same name by Neil Simon. The film stars Frank Sinatra, Lee J. Cobb, Molly Picon, Barbara Rush, and Jill St. John.
Sentimental Journey is a 1946 American drama film directed by Walter Lang and starring John Payne, Maureen O'Hara and William Bendix. It was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was remade in 1958 as The Gift of Love with Lauren Bacall and Robert Stack.
Gooby is a 2009 Canadian comedy fantasy drama film written and directed by Wilson Coneybeare featuring Robbie Coltrane as the voice of Gooby, a living teddy bear, and Matthew Knight as Willy, an 11-year-old boy who is scared of his new house.
Le Diable et les Dix Commandements is a French film from 1962 directed by Julien Duvivier that consists of seven sketches played by an ensemble cast that includes Michel Simon, Micheline Presle, Françoise Arnoul, Mel Ferrer, Charles Aznavour, Lino Ventura, Fernandel, Alain Delon, Danielle Darrieux, Jean-Claude Brialy, and Louis de Funès.
Dear Heart is a 1964 American romantic-comedy film starring Glenn Ford and Geraldine Page as lonely middle-aged people who fall in love at a hotel convention. It was directed by Delbert Mann, from a screenplay by Tad Mosel. Its theme song "Dear Heart" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.