Too Many Parents

In the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made quite a few films about the horrors of awful parenting. Most of the films were about young people turning to crime or drugs or liquor...and they were, generally, terrible movies. The scripts were pretty bad and the films seemed more salacious than educational. I thought "Too Many Parents" would be yet another one of these schlocky films. Boy, was I surprised!

The story is set at a military boarding school for kids. Many of the children there were dumped in the institution by parents who simply had better things to do than parent their children. The story centers on young Phillip (George Ernest)....a really sweet boy but a very sad one as well. Although his father paid him almost no attention and didn't even bother visiting, Phillip kept up the appearance that his father cared. He even went so far as to write letters to himself which were supposedly from his father in order to try to fool everyone about his painful relationship (or lack of a relationship) with his dad. Unfortunately, the school Superintendent eventually finds out and intends to punish the boy for lying. What's next for the poor kid?

This film is unabashedly schmaltzy and will definitely tug at your heart. Yet, despite being a bit obvious, I loved the film because it was so well written and because it really packs an emotional wallop. Well made...well worth seeing.

A couple things to note. First, late in the film you see a cameo by Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer of the Our Gang/Little Rascals fame. Second, if you get a chance, read the IMDB bio on George Ernest....he grew into an incredibly brave guy and his WWII exploits are incredible!