A Child Is Waiting (1963)

Director:

John Cassavetes

Writers:

Abby Mann (screenplay)
Abby Mann (story)

Release Date:

13 February 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Burt Lancaster & Judy Garland take an untouched theme - and make it touching and unforgettable!

Plot:

Jean Hansen comes to a school for disabled children to work there as a teacher. She becomes especially interested in young Reuben...

Plot Keywords:

Mental Retardation | School | Teaching

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	Dr. Ben Clark
Judy Garland	...	Jean Hansen
Gena Rowlands	...	Sophie Widdicombe / Benham
Steven Hill	...	Ted Widdicombe
Paul Stewart	...	Goodman
Gloria McGehee	...	Mattie, Teacher
Lawrence Tierney	...	Douglas Benham
Bruce Ritchey	...	Reuben Widdicombe
John Marley	...	Holland
Bill Mumy	...	Boy counting Jean's Pearls
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Miss Fogarty, Teacher
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Cassavetes	...	Retarded Adult Who Walks Toward Camera (uncredited)
Marilyn Clark	...	(uncredited)
Brian Corcoran	...	Lewis (uncredited)
Frederick Draper	...	Dr. Sack (uncredited)
Mario Gallo	...	Dr. Ernie Lombardi (uncredited)
Butch Patrick	...	Student (uncredited)
Barbara Pepper	...	Miss Brown (uncredited)
Jay Phillips	...	(uncredited)
Noam Pitlik	...	(uncredited)
James Rawley	...	Jim, the Gardener (uncredited)
Michael Stevens	...	(uncredited)
June Walker	...	Mrs. McDonald (uncredited)

Directed by
John Cassavetes

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Abby Mann		screenplay
Abby Mann		story

Produced by
Stanley Kramer	....	producer
Philip Langner	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Ernest Gold

Cinematography by
Joseph LaShelle

Film Editing by
Gene Fowler Jr.
Robert C. Jones

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
Rudolph Sternad

Set Decoration by
Joseph Kish

Costume Design by
Joe King
Howard Shoup

Makeup Department
George Lane	....	makeup artist
Al Paul	....	hair stylist
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Nate H. Edwards	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Douglas Green	....	assistant director
Lindsley Parsons Jr.	....	assistant director

Art Department
Jack Kirston	....	property master

Sound Department
Walter Elliott	....	sound editor
Jean L. Speak	....	sound mixer
Jean L. Speak	....	sound (as James Speak)

Camera and Electrical Department
Don L. Carstensen	....	chief gaffer
Morris Rosen	....	company grip
Sam Van Zenten	....	assistant company grip
Charles F. Wheeler	....	camera operator

Music Department
Art Dunham	....	music editor

Other crew
Marshall Schlom	....	script supervisor
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Stanley Kramer Productions (as Larcas Productions)

Distributors

• United Artists (1963) (USA) (theatrical)
• Action Gitanes (1979) (France) (theatrical)
• Bitters End

Runtime:

102 min | 104 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | UK:X | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Lanterman Development Center [formerly Pacific State Hospital] - 3530 W. Pomona Boulevard, Pomona, California, USA

Company:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As the camera pans to show Reuben sitting in the car at the beginning of the movie, a crew member is reflected in the car window.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Edge of Outside (2006)

Soundtrack:

Snowflakes

Greatly Under-rated Film; We'll Always Be Waiting ****

Shortly after making the blockbuster "Judgment at Nuremberg," Judy Garland and Burt Lancaster again teamed in "A Child is Waiting."

Ms. Garland, again takes a non-singing role, is captivating as a very sympathetic worker in a home for mentally retarded children. She encounters Lancaster, a child psychologist, whose strict methods are in reality what a child in this situation needs so that he or she can function later in life.

Garland takes an immediate interest in Reuben, whose parents left him at the institution and have never visited him. The father is an embittered worker and Gena Rowlands does well as the heartbroken mother.

Frustrated with his deficiency and wondering where his parents are, the child acts out. Garland shows sympathy but her feelings run contrary to Lancaster's methods and the two conflict.

It is not until the child runs away from the institution that the situations are resolved.

A truly wonderful movie which was under rated by critics.