A Child Is Waiting
With the increase in the number of children diagnosed with disorders such as autism, this film is as relevant today as it was when it was released four decades ago.
Matthew Clark (Lancaster) is the Director of Crawthorne - a state-run institution for mentally challenged, and behaviourally-disordered children. His methods are stern but compassionate.
When Jean (Garland) joins the staff as a music teacher, she takes a shine to one young boy in particular, questions the way in which things operate at the institution.
On one level, the boy's attachment to her is rewarding for both her and the boy, but Clark eschews the teachers showing favourites or becoming too emotionally involved with the children.
Is he being unduly harsh, or is she being overly emotional?
There was some disagreement between Producer Stanley Kramer, and John Cassavetes, who directed the film. Cassavetes, still bound by contract to Paramount, was hired to replace another director, but he and Kramer clashed over exactly how the film's subject matter should be represented.
Should disabled children be protected and housed by the state, or should special education be devised to enable them to live as normal a life as possible with other members of society.
Kramer and Cassavetes diverged on technical preferences, with the latter having been influenced heavily by the European New Wave cinema.
This project would have been close to the heart of Burt Lancaster, whose own child had behavioural difficulties.
Apparently Judy Garland was moved by the fact that many of the children (most of whom were intellectually challenged children), knew her as Dorothy.
Interestingly, Ingrid Bergman and Elizabeth Taylor were among other actors considered for the role of Jean. It would have been interesting to see Taylor in the role, given her dramatic strength in later, grittier roles.
Also worth mentioning, is a very young Gena Rowlands, as a mother struggling to deal with having a challenging child.
Bruce Ritchey, the young boy who plays Reuben, the child to whom Jean becomes attached, delivers a beautiful, heartbreaking performance. This was his only significant role on film. He was one of the few non-handicapped children who worked on the film (another is Billy Mumy, who makes a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance early on).
From the film's unconventional (for the 1960s) opening titles, A Child Is Waiting is a stylish, captivating, emotionally rich film.