I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER (1970) C widescreen 92m dir: Gilbert Cates

w/Melvyn Douglas, Gene Hackman, Dorothy Stickney, Estelle Parsons, Elizabeth Hubbard, Lovelady Powell, Daniel Keyes, Conrad Bain, Jon Richards, Nikki Counselman

From The Movie Guide: "Honest, powerful and never sloppy. I NEVER SANG is a virtuoso acting exercise reined in by Cates, a terrific actors' director. The screenplay, adapted by Robert Anderson from his own play, feels drawn from real life.

"Hackman is a fortyish New York professor who tells his aging parents, Douglas and Stickney, he is planning to change his life by marrying Hubbard, a divorced doctor, and moving to California. Stickney understands Hackman's need to break away but warns him that moving that far away may have a deleterious effect on Douglas. Just before the wedding, Stickney dies of heart failure. Parsons, Hackman's sister, has been disowned by Douglas for marrying a Jewish man. While at the funeral of their mother, Parsons advises Hackman not to allow himself to be manipulated by the old man and to live his life for himself.

"Douglas is truly brilliant here --- it's one of those performances that captures you so strongly that you are purged emotionally, yet equally enjoy the sureness of the talent at work. Hackman is able to personify the struggle of a conscience choosing between self or family."

I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER was nominated for three Oscars: Best Actor (Douglas), Supporting Actor (Hackman), and Adapted Screenplay (Anderson).