Now Playing: Allan King's WARRENDALE
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A very nearly perfect documentary. —Joe Morgenstern, Newsweek
Allan King made his feature film directorial debut with the 1967 documentary WARRENDALE, in which he visited a home for young people living with mental illness located in the suburbs of Toronto. As described by Criterion: “Situated inside the facility like a fly on the wall, we witness the full spectrum of emotions displayed by twelve fascinating children and the caregivers trying to nurture and guide them.”
WARRENDALE was originally produced for the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), but after King refused to cut certain scenes involving profanity, the network declined to broadcast the film. King’s documentary instead found its audience on the festival circuit, where it screened to widespread critical acclaim. WARRENDALE eventually won the Prix d’art et d’essai at the Cannes Film Fesitval and a special documentary award from the National Society of Film Critics. The film is now heralded as a paragon of the cinéma vérité documentary style.
One of the many champions of WARRENDALE was Adrienne Mancia, who later introduced King’s film at The Museum of Modern Art while she was working there as a curator. Scans of her original, typewritten introductory remarks — featuring her own handwritten edits — can be viewed below. (Click on each page to enlarge the image).
It is fitting that Mancia introduced this film because she was a longtime curator and advisor for the Flaherty Seminar, where WARRENDALE first screened in 1967. Coincidentally, the 70th Flaherty Seminar will be held this year at MoMA.
