movies_creation

American Movie Archives (美國電影檔案)

Title
Speech: Function of Gestures, The
Year
1950
Abstract
Gestures render public speeches much more effective.
Notes
Produced: N/A
Sponsor: Centron Corporation
Run Time: 9:44
Audio/Visual: Sd, b&w
Keyword
Communication;Speech;Speech
Theme
Communication / Speech
Review
Speech: The Function of Gestures George is a dealthly dull after-dinner speaker who thinks he's great because he keeps getting invited to speak, probably because of a severe shortage of speakers in his town. John, however, is invited to speak because he's genuinely interesting. The difference between the two? John uses gestures when he speaks, while George just stands there like a mannequin and drones on and on and on. The film gets weird when illustrations are shown of George's body wrapped up tightly in rope (slightly weird), George's enlarged cranium wrapped up tightly in rope (really weird), and a mutant arm attached to George's head which is gesturing wildly (incredibly weird). It also gets weird at the end, when we are told that the film was not really made for a general audience, but was directed specifically at George in order to correct his speaking faults. It ends with an obviously drunk George gesturing like a maniac. Just what was going on at Centron when this was made, I wonder?
(Reviewer: Christine Hennig)
Location
A/V room, 2/F