In Search of a Son
- Episode aired Nov 20, 1962
- 1h
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
17
YOUR RATING
Widower Alex Harper tries to mend his relationship with his son.Widower Alex Harper tries to mend his relationship with his son.Widower Alex Harper tries to mend his relationship with his son.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSebastian Cabot receives 'Special Guest Star' credit.
Featured review
A great script!
Thanks to a terrific screenplay by S. Lee Pogostin, this episode of the Dick Powell Theatre rises above its genre as a "Generation Gap" story to become an acting showcase for a motley set of top talents, and addresses universal themes that remain highly relevant 60 years later.
Story structure is interesting, as we have no-nonsense businessman Dick Powell, owner of a chemical company, traveling to Spain to try and convince his son Dean Stockwell to return to America from an extended post-grad year in Europe "finding himself".
Powell, underplaying with consummate skill, is the listener as each co-star takes center stage in turn, concisely delivering flavorful performances.
It begins with chatty Englishman Sebastian Cabot, greeting Powell at the Madrid airport and pontificating about the aimless (to him shiftless) lifestyle of the local Spaniards. He amusingly comes off as a portrait of The Ugly Englishman, similar to The Ugly American memorably created in literature of the time and later on screen by Brando.
Then taking over is Yvonne Craig, very pretty and sexy as his son's girlfriend from England, a true free spirit flirting with Powell and making it clear that he's an old fuddy-duddy caught up in the rat race of "square" society.
The not so prodigal son Dean Stockwell enters the picture on the beach and forces daddy Powell to listen to his philosophy of the Beat Generation need to discover a reason for living. His drop out from society approach is incomprehensible to Powell, who insists it's time to take on responsibilities, namely taking over as the successor to run his chemical company back home. Dean's fine acting is still under the sway of James Dean, as underscored by his taking daddy on an exciting fast drive in his sports car on a winding mountain road (photographed against an unfortunate '60s process screen backdrop). It's not a Porsche, but the spectre of Dean's fate hangs over this scene.
Next, Gladys Cooper is found drinking at a local bar, playing the role of Craig's grandmother Lady Margaret Langdon. She takes over the movie with an amazing turn, lecturing Powell on the so-called lost, misguided generation of youth, and brings the movie to a very serious plane. Noting that these European kids who surround Powell's son have grown up in the shadow of the war and the bomb know they're all going to die, and this fatalism shapes their "live for today" attitude. Soaking up the local wine and getting a bit drunk, Powell ends up inviting Glady to do the twist with him (thankfully not shown), and we even get a kids twisting on the beach scene right out of a Funicello/Avalon beach party movie, though "In Search of a Son" was broadcast a year before those drive-in classics began.
Climax of the story is simple, but poignant, as Cooper brings Powell to the beach and hebreaks down, shouting "I need my son!", his drunkeness bringing out his true feelings.
A bit of irony, after this moving climax on the beach, David Niven comes out to thank the audience for watching and the first end credit reads: "Produced by Aaron Spelling". This was among his earliest TV series as producer, and Spelling went on to produce "The Smothers Brothers Show" before settling down to an incredibly successful career of making schlock entertainment.
Story structure is interesting, as we have no-nonsense businessman Dick Powell, owner of a chemical company, traveling to Spain to try and convince his son Dean Stockwell to return to America from an extended post-grad year in Europe "finding himself".
Powell, underplaying with consummate skill, is the listener as each co-star takes center stage in turn, concisely delivering flavorful performances.
It begins with chatty Englishman Sebastian Cabot, greeting Powell at the Madrid airport and pontificating about the aimless (to him shiftless) lifestyle of the local Spaniards. He amusingly comes off as a portrait of The Ugly Englishman, similar to The Ugly American memorably created in literature of the time and later on screen by Brando.
Then taking over is Yvonne Craig, very pretty and sexy as his son's girlfriend from England, a true free spirit flirting with Powell and making it clear that he's an old fuddy-duddy caught up in the rat race of "square" society.
The not so prodigal son Dean Stockwell enters the picture on the beach and forces daddy Powell to listen to his philosophy of the Beat Generation need to discover a reason for living. His drop out from society approach is incomprehensible to Powell, who insists it's time to take on responsibilities, namely taking over as the successor to run his chemical company back home. Dean's fine acting is still under the sway of James Dean, as underscored by his taking daddy on an exciting fast drive in his sports car on a winding mountain road (photographed against an unfortunate '60s process screen backdrop). It's not a Porsche, but the spectre of Dean's fate hangs over this scene.
Next, Gladys Cooper is found drinking at a local bar, playing the role of Craig's grandmother Lady Margaret Langdon. She takes over the movie with an amazing turn, lecturing Powell on the so-called lost, misguided generation of youth, and brings the movie to a very serious plane. Noting that these European kids who surround Powell's son have grown up in the shadow of the war and the bomb know they're all going to die, and this fatalism shapes their "live for today" attitude. Soaking up the local wine and getting a bit drunk, Powell ends up inviting Glady to do the twist with him (thankfully not shown), and we even get a kids twisting on the beach scene right out of a Funicello/Avalon beach party movie, though "In Search of a Son" was broadcast a year before those drive-in classics began.
Climax of the story is simple, but poignant, as Cooper brings Powell to the beach and hebreaks down, shouting "I need my son!", his drunkeness bringing out his true feelings.
A bit of irony, after this moving climax on the beach, David Niven comes out to thank the audience for watching and the first end credit reads: "Produced by Aaron Spelling". This was among his earliest TV series as producer, and Spelling went on to produce "The Smothers Brothers Show" before settling down to an incredibly successful career of making schlock entertainment.
helpful•10
- lor_
- Dec 18, 2023
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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