Darkness Before the Dawn: The (1955)

★★★★ · Jewish kids and the law! · Spuzz · 2003-04-12

This is another one of those 'to think I've seen everything on this site' films. This film, about the Pride Of Judea society. which helps Jewish kids that lack parental guidance to a more stable way of growing up, provides a fascinating glimpse into this organization, we meet a case study, who is growing up without a parent in the household. He is taken in and we are shown the many ways the group handles problem children like this. A worthwhile film.

★★★★ · Sanctuary · Alan Zend · 2007-07-25

I lived there for two years with my older sisters while our parents went through a nasty divorce. It was a sanctuary for me though at the time I wouldn't have used that word. I was 5-6 years old. The film is certainly a 1950's genre, but it expresses the hopes and values of the time. I certainly did notice that none of the adults or kids were fat. Though I was too young to be in the troubled teen catagory I found it to be a kind and nurturing place. It gave me a break from bizarre and dysfunctional parents for a while, and I only wish that this "sappy" documentary were still relavent today.

★★★ · Lots and Lots of Ways Kids Are Being Helped · Christine Hennig · 2004-01-06

This 50s film profiles the Pride of Judea Childrens Services, an agency which provides psychological and social work services to Jewish children in New York City. This film tries to be all things to all people. It starts with a brief, lurid handwringing about the problem of juvenile delinquency, then goes through all the things Pride of Judea is doing about it. Theres a lot of stuff, so the narrator chatters on and on without taking a breath, covering the summer camp for troubled and underpriviledged boys, the psychotherapy services provided for children and their parents, the homemaker…