ArchiveGuy’s recent post in GQ reminded me of a short film I saw many years ago in elementary school. The details are fuzzy. Does anyone recognize it? It takes place in an urban slum in the mid 1970’s, I beleive. It was about a young african-american boy. Part of the story involves him gathering materials to set up a study area in the corner of his familiy’s dilapidated apartment where he can read and draw. One day on his way home from school, he crosses a vacant lot filled with junk and finds a stray kitten. He takes it home and convinces his mother to let him keep it (perhaps as a Chrismas present). He takes care of it but later something happens and the kitten is killed.
I don’t know why it stands out, but I would sure like to know the name of this film.
I don’t remember the name but I think I have some more details that will help someone else get the title. Wasn’t his Mom a single parent? And there was her mother living with them. She bought groceries on credit and when the kid went to the store he started to get tuna to feed the cat(which was a secret from his mom) Cat grew up, mom found out about the cat, kid got into a quarrel with another and his opponent tossed the cat out into the traffic where it was hit by a car and killed. He doesn’t want another cat but grandma gets a little kitten for him that looks just like the one that’s gone. Does this stir any memories?
The grandmother talks about trouble with a vending machine (the kind that dispensed the beverage in a cup), in which she puts in the money, and the beverage is then dispensed–and then “out pops the cup just as pretty as you please.”
J.T.'s mother is a little behind in some kind of payment (don’t remember whether it was the rent of what) and the little old Jewish lady (maybe she ran a deli) is saying “I haven’t received payment in two weeks!”
When J.T. is telling his mother and grandmother that “I want me this cat I found,” J.T.'s grandmother chides him for wanting to keep a cat in the projects, saying that “the only animals they allow here is roaches.”
Another scene with the little old Jewish lady she’s telling someone that “that’s the difference between [the husband?] and me–he say’s the bottle is half-empty; I say it’s half full.”
This has not been shown in a looooong time, and it’w really a shame. Likewise, it has never been released to video, and–if it still exists at all–is probably collecting dust at best in someone’s vault.
Yes. It was based on a Peabody-Award winning novel by Jane Wagner. You can read about it at Barnes and Noble: J.T.. The book currently on sale is a 1971 reprint. But the movie came AFTER the book. I’m going to order the book and reread it. I’ve always sent off an email to CBS with some questions about the film’s availability. If I hear anything positive, I’ll reply.
I think it came out some time in the early 90’s.I only saw the beginning of this movie, and I’ve always wanted to see the rest of it. The theme of the movie is magic. In one scene a bunch of playing cards swirl around a guy in the bathroom and cut him up, he dies. That’s all I remember, except I think the word “hex” has some significance. There could have been a cop or bounty-hunter, but I’m not sure.
I had forgotten those details until you mentioned them.