Sean had Frank and Pat and me over to watch "Susan Slade" a movie starring Connie Stevens and Troy Donahue about a girl who gives it up on a cruise ship to a handsome, young mountain climber only to discover she is pregnant and he is dead from a McKinley climb. Now her parents must move with her to Guatemala where she can have the baby and be safe from societal shame. Her mother will then claim the baby is hers to save face for all and give her own the daughter the chance at a respectable life.
Clearly this film is relatable on many levels:
1. who among has NOT given it up to a mountain climber on a cruise ship?
2. If we come clean about our dirty, dirty past Bert Convy will NEVER marry us.
3. Headscarves keep the wind from mussing up your hair.
But yes most of all, the truth shall set ye free. People the truth. Go tell it NOW!
Connie cannot take it anymore after her baby (the one Bert et all thinks is her brother!) is playing with a cigarette lighter in the next room while Connie tries to explain to Troy why she can't marry him. The baby sets itself on fire (the dummy baby engulfed in flames is priceless, I karmicly have to put myself at risk to mention) and has to be rushed to the hospital where only the mother can go in to see him. With Bert's offer of marriage at stake, Connie's mom says only she can go in. Connie can't take it any more and thus the famous "He's not my brother, he's my son" speech in the waiting room. Bert is not amused. Troy is and though he is nothing but a struggling writer who's dad hanged himself in prison over shame, he loves her and will be there no matter what.
So to recap
1. Tell the truth
2. Don't do it on the high seas with someone you just met
3. Get your kid a doll and take away the lighter
4. When your dad says he has a heart condition at the beginning of the film, KNOW he will die before long.
5. Be careful riding a horse when you are upset.
6. Too much exposition kills the mood.
1 comment:
Oh. My. Gah. Must. See.
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