Act Your Age (1949)
1949 · Ephemeral film · 13 min · dir. Ted Peshak
- Drama
- Short
Synopsis
A bored Jim, who is basically a good boy, is caught carving his initials into his desk by his teacher. He is sent to speak to Mr. Edmonds, the principal. Jim is apologetic and offers to sand and refinish the desk, but Mr. Edmonds gets Jim to try and understand why he did what he did. He also uses an analogy, an extreme example, to make it clear that what Jim did was childish, albeit not intentionally. Mr. Edmonds is hoping that Jim will grow up enough from this experience to make the decision of what to do with the pencil he used to make the carving, the pencil which is a prized possession of his.
Synopsis from OMDb
Details
- Director
- Ted Peshak
- Running time
- 13 minutes
- Language
- English
- Collection
- Prelinger Archives
- Internet Archive item
- ActYourA1949
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- Social guidance
- Psychology
- Teenagers
Cast & crew
Ted Peshak Director
Reviews on the Internet Archive
★★★★★ · same actor? · thebigfella · 2017-03-14
The principle seems to be the same actor as the psychologist/narrator in Control Your Emotions, except dressed differently, with a painted on toupee and other make-up. But it's not just the stunning special effects, the guy's performance shows he's been gifted with an envious range of acting ability. This film cracked me up.
★★★★★ · CLASSIC CLASSIC CLASSIC · Spuzz · 2002-12-17
Mind boggling expose of a, I think, deliquent teen (You know he's trouble when he ends his sentences with 'Eh?') who gets frustrated with school and starts etching out on his desk, soon he's visiting his principal and discussing 'infantile reactions'. Funny comparisons between 5 yr olds and teenagers are shown, and soon the teenager makes a chart and thinks HARD about how 'old he is today'. He finally admits to being 10 years old when he doesnt get what he wants (His dad ranks him LOWER HAHAHA) and tells his principal he'll try to start acting his age BY NEXT YEAR. Interesting to note as well…
★★★★★ · But I Can't Act · dzondzon · 2002-11-27
Highly entertaining. Heavy-handed with a dark element. The acting is superb.
★★★★★ · Act Your Age · Christine Hennig · 2003-01-14
High school student Jim gets frustrated doing a math problem and expresses his feelings by carving his initials into his desk. The teacher sends him to the principal's office and the principal, after confiscating Jim's prized mechanical pencil, starts spouting off about teens in general and their "infantile reactions" to things. After even the school janitor complains about teens "acting like babies," Jim decides to take action on the problem by making a "How Old Am I?" chart and having his parents and friends rate him on his maturity in various areas. This earns his pencil back and totally…
★★★★★ · the music · Steve Nordby · 2004-02-16
Other reviewers have covered it well, but I want to inject a review about the opening music: Edgy. Tense. Meant to stir up emotion and make the viewer feel as Jim does. It breaks just as the lead in Jim's pencil does. Then it re-starts. And builds. And become grandiose as Jim wrings his hands and goes to the principal... where the music suddenly injects a light and airy phrase. The producer/director changes the principal's name knowing that was not important. In spite of the message of the film - applying logical thinking to emotions - it is not logic that ultimately drives humans, it is…
★★★★★ · great fun! · silvertwinz · 2006-09-21
i had a blast watching this. seeing the little kids acting up was hilarious. my girlfriends' husband acts like the baseball player does. and he's 34. this would have really sparkled with MSTK handling it.
