Summary

Dramatic adaptation of scenes from Samuel Butler's "The Way of All Flesh". Judith Evelyn as Christina (mother), Melville Ruck as Theobald (father) and Ronnie Welsh as Ernie (16-year-old boy) with Kent Smith as the on-camera narrator (Samuel Butler himself). "The Way of All Flesh" is a classic novel dealing with the torment of a child growing up under the oppression of a religious father and a blindly doting mother under the domination of the father. 1960. Key scenes from Samuel Butler's "Way of All Flesh". Judith Evelyn as Christina (mother), Melville Ruck as Theobald (father) and Ronnie Welsh as Ernie (16-year-old boy) with Kent Smith as the on-camera narrator (Samuel Butler himself) enact . "Way of All Flesh" is a classic novel dealing with the torment of a child growing up under the oppression of a religious father and a blindly doting mother who is under the domination of the father. 01:15 NARRATOR: "Youth like spring is vastly overrated… biting winds." "Impress your children with their inferiority, then you can bounce them around… but they find out about you." 01:00 INTRO: MacAndrew: The narrator is Butler himself. Butler is the greatest satirist since Swift. In 1872 he wrote "Way of All Flesh." In 1960 the novel is still fresh. (Oh, yeah?) "The effect of marriage and family on e minds of children." 20:00 SCENES: The narrator is godfather to Ernie, the 16-year-old boy of clergyman Theobald and his wife Christina. Father prays to be honest; Mother swears fidelity. "If hour of trial comes we can meet it because we have lived a life of self-denial." Theobald doesn't like children. Christina thinks a "child must be kept from every wickedness." Ernie learned to pray before he could crawl. His first words were the Lord's Prayer. The boy is whipped constantly. Finally, the mother destroys all of Ernie's affection for her. The mother nags the boy, "You will not let us see your moral and spiritual nature. Papa feels you don't love him. Tell Papa everything…" The boy is sent to Skinner's School. Christina dreams that he will make friends among the upper class boys. Theobald fears the boy will grow up extravagant. Ernie says of himself, "I'm a bad, ungrateful boy. I like bad things. I am stupid and lazy." The narrator comments that Ernie has not found the other Ernie in himself. Ernie moans that "growing up is hard work." Ernie sleeps with the servant Ellen. Theobald and Christina send her away in disgrace. Christina can't admit to herself that Ernie is contaminated. Ernie pawns a watch to give Ellen some money for the baby. Theobald finds the watch and accuses Ernie who confesses, faints, and falls ill. Theobald forces Ernie to tell on every boy in school, what they do and how much they spend and on what. Ernie is forever guilty at his capitulation, and speaks of orphanages. "Why isn't there a place for children who have NOT lost their parents?!" Narrator ends by saying, "There are two types of people: those who sin and those who are sinned against… sinners are better off." Judith Evelyn, Melville Ruck, Ronnie Welsh, Kent Smith