Peege

Peege
Directed by Randal Kleiser
Produced by Leonard S. Berman
David Knapp
Written by Randal Kleiser
Starring Bruce Davison
Barbara Rush
Jeanette Nolan
William Schallert
David Alan Bailey
Barry Livingston
Music by Charles Albertine
Cinematography Douglas Knapp
Edited by Randal Kleiser
Release dates
 1972
Running time
 28 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget c.$10,000
Box office c.$2 million

Peege is an award-winning 1972 short student film, written and directed by Randal Kleiser, about a family's visit to an elderly relative in a nursing home. The film was named to the National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress in December 2007.[1][2]

Synopsis

An elderly woman, nicknamed "Peege" and played by Jeanette Nolan, lives in a nursing home where she is suffering from blindness and ailing mental faculties. Her family makes regular visits to her every Christmas, but her poor health makes these occasions awkward for everyone else. The conversation is stilted until the family goes to leave, when one of the grandsons (Bruce Davison) remains behind briefly. He recounts to his grandmother that when he was a young boy her laugh would "always make [him] happy",[3] before tearfully departing, unaware if he has communicated with her. After his exit, the camera lingers on her face and her expression subtly shows he was successful.[3]

History

After graduating from University of Southern California, Kleiser had struggled creatively while making educational films, and at the behest of his father he returned to college to earn his Master's degree.[4] In the film he originally planned as his thesis, a Los Angeles theater company puts on an experimental play about a time traveller. However, he had intended to supplement the picture with special effects, but if he did so the consequent budget would be $5,000 more than he could afford; he would only be able to complete it by renting equipment from USC and ceding the copyright to them.[4] Unwilling to lose ownership of his movie, he instead followed the advice of producer Curtis Harrington, who suggested he abandon the project in favor of a more personal and intimate subject.[4] He chose to write about his own family's visits to his grandmother, also nicknamed "Peege", when she was in a nursing home in Pennsylvania. Each trip found her in poorer health, to the point where, according to Kleiser, he "dreaded visiting". The family's final journey to see her served as the inspiration for the script.[4]

Production

There were no problems during shooting, and indeed the production enjoyed more than its share of good fortune. Producer David Knapp was also working on a CBS television movie at the same time (Steven Spielberg's Something Evil), and since that film had wrapped ahead of schedule, the Peege crew were able to get access to the studio offices for the remaining two weeks of the lease without any cost.[4] Next door to those offices was the studio for the television series Gunsmoke, and Jeanette Nolan, a guest-star on the show, was approached to play the role of the grandmother.[4] Lead actor Bruce Davison had enjoyed recent success as the star of The Strawberry Statement and Willard, but liked the script enough that he agreed to participate for only the Screen Actors Guild statutory minimum wage, and a small share of any profits.[4]

Reception

Prior to its inclusion in the National Film Registry Peege had already won several awards, including a Chris Award at the Columbus Film Festival, the top honor at the National Council on Family Relations Film Competition, a Media & Methods Recommended Citation: Maxi Award, and a TEAM Film Award for the Best Film in Family Counseling.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Librarian of Congress Announces National Film Registry Selections for 2007" (Press release). Library of Congress. December 27, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Randal Kleiser's 'Peege' Honored as One of Most Significant Films Ever Made" (Press release). Reuters. February 7, 2008.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Peege". Phoenix Learning Group.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 "Little-Known 'Peege' Named to National Film Registry" (Press release). Send2Press. January 15, 2008.

External links