by Mark Deming
synopsis
Henry Fonda narrates this short documentary about a young child who was handicapped from birth. An orthopedic pediatrician believes he can successfully treat the youngster's maladies, but first he most convince the boy's parents, who have rejected the child, to accept him as their own. Benjy was a labor of love for director Fred Zinnemann and his crew, who took no payment for their work on the film and exhibited it as a fundraiser for pediatric hospitals in Los Angeles. Benjy received an Academy Award as Best Documentary Short Subject of 1951.
characteristics
- Living With Disability
- Parent/child-relationship
- Pediatrics
- Rejection
- Incapacitation
- Handicap
- Child
- Cripple
- Disability
