After learning that a lost short film (similarly titled Tell Your Children, in which Alfred Hitchcock had worked in the art department) had scenes edited into this film, the only remnants of that film, I searched for it, found it, watched it, and ... was I ever disappointed. The footage from that film apparently amounts to a handful of seconds'worth of footage, and it consists of someone opening a Bible and leafing through it, and a scene of some girls riding bikes along a residential street. It is obvious those shots were taken from a different film, as they are of a different, more high contrast film stock, and have a choppy look to them.
The rest of the film tells the tale, in laborious detail, of strictly conservative religious parents attempting to keep their daughter away from the likes of marijuana and staying out late.
Stage-bound melodrama, might be worthy of watching just for a couple of unintended laughs at the expense of the ultra straight-laced screenplay, featuring putrid dialogue delivered with acting which can be best described as stiff-as-a-board; puzzling use of flashbacks; and the creepy and preachy dad with seemingly painted-on eyebrows and moustache (who says to his wife, who is growing impatient: "Keep your pants, your shoes, keep them on!") ..... and its abrupt, awkward ending.
The rest of the film tells the tale, in laborious detail, of strictly conservative religious parents attempting to keep their daughter away from the likes of marijuana and staying out late.
Stage-bound melodrama, might be worthy of watching just for a couple of unintended laughs at the expense of the ultra straight-laced screenplay, featuring putrid dialogue delivered with acting which can be best described as stiff-as-a-board; puzzling use of flashbacks; and the creepy and preachy dad with seemingly painted-on eyebrows and moustache (who says to his wife, who is growing impatient: "Keep your pants, your shoes, keep them on!") ..... and its abrupt, awkward ending.