Young Dick shows up at Mr. Martin's door at 1:30am, dressed in a suit, tie and overcoat, carrying a suitcase. Dick makes a lame excuse of stopping by to say goodbye as he vaugely tries to tell Mr. Martin he's leaving town. Naturally, Mr. Martin recognizes that Dick is running away from home. Turns out that he got in fight with his parents (dad) about coming home late. After a piece of cake, Dick stays the night. After Dick goes to bed, Mr. Martin calls his parents (Dad), who ineffectually agrees to allow Dick to stay. Now, this whole sequence prompts several questions. How many kids, even in the 1950s, would dress in a suit and overcoat to run away from home? Why go to Mr. Martin's, who is only identified as the leader of a club? Dick's parents seem to be awfully controlling (picking friends, clothes, etc.), but the mother is rendered mute and the father seems weak. Anyway, Mr. Martin for the second half, sits Dick down and explains to him why his parents act they way they do. There is some good advice here; that Dick needs to show he's responsible rather than expect to be treated like a grown up instantly. Once Mr. Martin convinces Dick to go back home, Mr. Martin then narrates the outcome. Overall, the film is pretty typical Coronet, if a bit on the mild side. There is still a level ridiculousness in the staging and setup that finds with the period social guidance films. Appreciating Your Parents, High School Edition 3 Wilford B. Wolf 2005-09-14 21:36:57 2005-09-14 21:36:57 Teen rebel Dick, annoyed that his father got after him after arriving late from his friends, decides to be the most nicely dressed, nicely groomed runaway imaginable. Before hightailing it out of town, he stops by his club leader’s place. Mr Martin entices Dick to stay around with cake. Before he knows it, the Martins have set up a room for him for the night. Before this can become Coronet’s first sex slave fantasy, Dick gets the verbal barrage about why it’s so important to conform to his parents and why his parents want him home at a certain time. And how, after gaining their trust, he can count on them for letting him stay out longer. Nothing really remarkable here. Don’t be a Dick. 3 Spuzz 2005-10-23 03:23:40 2005-10-23 03:23:40 2 3.00