Literature
I'm a Fool by Sherwood Anderson
VHS, 38 min., 1976
A young boy working as a "swipe" on the Ohio racetracks at the turn of the century lies so successfully about his wealth and position to a pretty young woman that he eventually despairs when she expresses genuine fondness for him.
A young boy working as a "swipe" on the Ohio racetracks at the turn of the century lies so successfully about his wealth and position to a pretty young woman that he eventually despairs when she expresses genuine fondness for him.
Category:
Literature
Parker Adderson, Philosopher by Ambrose Bierce
VHS, 38 min., 1973
A Union Army spy captured during the Civil War engages in a verbal duel on the philosophy of life and death with a Confederate general, only to find himself facing the reality of impending death sooner than he expected.
A Union Army spy captured during the Civil War engages in a verbal duel on the philosophy of life and death with a Confederate general, only to find himself facing the reality of impending death sooner than he expected.
Category:
Literature
All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
VHS, 30 min., ND
Based on the story by Ray Bradbury this story is set on a planet where the sun shines for just a few minutes once every nine years; this is classic science fiction.
Based on the story by Ray Bradbury this story is set on a planet where the sun shines for just a few minutes once every nine years; this is classic science fiction.
Category:
Literature
Paul's Case by Willa Cather
VHS, 54 min., 1980
Paul yearns to leave his grim, ordinary life in a respectable neighborhood of industrial turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh. He has come to hate its "ugliness and commonness." Cather's story dramatizes the social alienation that Paul's sensitive and aesthetic impulses lead to, heightened as they have been by the idealism of adolescence.
Paul yearns to leave his grim, ordinary life in a respectable neighborhood of industrial turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh. He has come to hate its "ugliness and commonness." Cather's story dramatizes the social alienation that Paul's sensitive and aesthetic impulses lead to, heightened as they have been by the idealism of adolescence.
Category:
Literature
The Joy that Kills by Kate Chopin
VHS, 50 min., 1975
The setting is upper-class Creole society which dominated New Orleans in the 1870's and whose strict code of behavior required a wife to subordinate her will and very being to her husband. An adaptation of the short story by Kate Chopin, the late19th-century writer.
The setting is upper-class Creole society which dominated New Orleans in the 1870's and whose strict code of behavior required a wife to subordinate her will and very being to her husband. An adaptation of the short story by Kate Chopin, the late19th-century writer.
Category:
Literature
The Blue Hotel by Stephen Crane
VHS, 54 min., 1984
"I'm going to be killed here," announces the "Swede" as he, a cowboy, and an Eastern journalist play cards in a small frontier town in Nebraska where they wait for the next train. Erupting emotions, confusion, and the unexpected keep us in suspense about this bizarre prediction.
"I'm going to be killed here," announces the "Swede" as he, a cowboy, and an Eastern journalist play cards in a small frontier town in Nebraska where they wait for the next train. Erupting emotions, confusion, and the unexpected keep us in suspense about this bizarre prediction.
Category:
Literature
Barn Burning by William Faulkner
VHS, 41 min., 1980
Abner Snopes a poor, proud tenant farmer in the late19th-century South burns his employer's barn in revenge for an imagined slight. His son, Sarty, horrified by the fire, is torn between familial loyalty and aversion to his father's unrelenting and violent nature.
Abner Snopes a poor, proud tenant farmer in the late19th-century South burns his employer's barn in revenge for an imagined slight. His son, Sarty, horrified by the fire, is torn between familial loyalty and aversion to his father's unrelenting and violent nature.
Category:
Literature
Bernice Bobs Her Hair by F. Scott Fitzgerald
VHS, 49 min., 1976
Bernice, of the pre-flapper generation, learns how to achieve popularity the hard way from her know-it-all cousin, Marjorie. How Marjorie humiliates her when she succeeds all too well at the game of catching a beau and how Bernice strikes back gives the story a delightful ironic twist.
Bernice, of the pre-flapper generation, learns how to achieve popularity the hard way from her know-it-all cousin, Marjorie. How Marjorie humiliates her when she succeeds all too well at the game of catching a beau and how Bernice strikes back gives the story a delightful ironic twist.
Category:
Literature
The Sky is Gray by Ernest Gaines
VHS, 106 min., 1980
James is an eight-year-old black boy in rural Louisiana in the early 40’s. He valiantly tries to ignore a raging toothache, for his mother has taught him not to complain, look for sympathy, or squander money. After both aspirin and prayer fail to quell the aching tooth, his mother takes him to the dentist to have it pulled. On the way, he gets new glimmers of social and self-awareness and realizes that pride and self-respect are crucial to survival in a world of racial and social complexities among both blacks and whites.
James is an eight-year-old black boy in rural Louisiana in the early 40’s. He valiantly tries to ignore a raging toothache, for his mother has taught him not to complain, look for sympathy, or squander money. After both aspirin and prayer fail to quell the aching tooth, his mother takes him to the dentist to have it pulled. On the way, he gets new glimmers of social and self-awareness and realizes that pride and self-respect are crucial to survival in a world of racial and social complexities among both blacks and whites.
Category:
Literature
The Jolly Corner by Henry James
VHS, 43 min., 1975
Expatriate Spencer Brydon, after 35 years abroad, returns to America and wonders what he might have been had he not left. Visits to the house of his youth with his friend, Alice, bring about an attempt on his part to rediscover himself - however painfully agonizing. This is an excellent rendition of James’ short story.
Expatriate Spencer Brydon, after 35 years abroad, returns to America and wonders what he might have been had he not left. Visits to the house of his youth with his friend, Alice, bring about an attempt on his part to rediscover himself - however painfully agonizing. This is an excellent rendition of James’ short story.
Category:
Literature
Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway
VHS, 41 min., 1976
World War I veteran Harold Krebs returns home still a young man but restless with his new experience which alienates and frightens his family and townspeople. His arrival from Europe proves to be as unceremonious as his silent departure in the end.
World War I veteran Harold Krebs returns home still a young man but restless with his new experience which alienates and frightens his family and townspeople. His arrival from Europe proves to be as unceremonious as his silent departure in the end.
Category:
Literature
The White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett
VHS, 26 min., 1984
Based on a story by Sarah Orne Jewett, this is the tale of a young girl who is more comfortable with the animals of the forest than with people. When a hunter asks her to help him capture a prized white heron for his collection, she is faced with the question of whether she should save the bird or risk losing her one friend.
Based on a story by Sarah Orne Jewett, this is the tale of a young girl who is more comfortable with the animals of the forest than with people. When a hunter asks her to help him capture a prized white heron for his collection, she is faced with the question of whether she should save the bird or risk losing her one friend.
Category:
Literature
Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
VHS, 57 min., 1980
The story exemplifies Hawthorne’s complex use of natural symbolism and dramatizes two of his major themes: the unpardonable sin or interfering with another’s soul and the danger of tampering with nature.
The story exemplifies Hawthorne’s complex use of natural symbolism and dramatizes two of his major themes: the unpardonable sin or interfering with another’s soul and the danger of tampering with nature.
Category:
Literature
The Golden Honeymoon by Ring Lardner
VHS, 52 min., 1980
Charlie Tate is an old windbag, often a braggart, rarely grammatical, but lovable nonetheless. He and his wife, Lucy, go to St. Petersburg to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary. The husband of a couple they meet turns out to be the man "who was engaged to Mother ‘til I stepped in and cut him out over fifty-two years ago." Lardner’s characteristic blend of satire, humor, and compassion turns an unlikely encounter into a dramatic and comic interlude.
Charlie Tate is an old windbag, often a braggart, rarely grammatical, but lovable nonetheless. He and his wife, Lucy, go to St. Petersburg to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary. The husband of a couple they meet turns out to be the man "who was engaged to Mother ‘til I stepped in and cut him out over fifty-two years ago." Lardner’s characteristic blend of satire, humor, and compassion turns an unlikely encounter into a dramatic and comic interlude.
Category:
Literature
The Displaced Person by Flannery O’Connor
VHS, 57 min., 1976
A Southern widow’s determination to keep her farm and farm help under control is thwarted by her selfishness and lack of human understanding. The hiring of an industrious Polish refugee of World War II who is conveniently available alienates the other easygoing workers and precipitates the final collapse of both landowner and farm.
A Southern widow’s determination to keep her farm and farm help under control is thwarted by her selfishness and lack of human understanding. The hiring of an industrious Polish refugee of World War II who is conveniently available alienates the other easygoing workers and precipitates the final collapse of both landowner and farm.
Category:
Literature