Four Classic Christopher Films

Archivist-minded film and TV enthusiasts will find much of interest in this anthology DVD, which includes four episodes from a mid-1940s TV series produced by the Christophers, an interfaith organization founded by author-priest Father James Keller to inspire professionals in all fields to do their best for the good of society. The Christophers put their message across both in an interview program and short-form dramas that starred such top-drawer talent as Don Ameche and James Cagney. This compilation kicks off with “All God's Children” (1954), in which actor Mike Connors (appearing as Touch Connors) plays a Korean War veteran—newly freed after being a longtime prisoner of war—who returns home to his mother and small-town hero worship. Uncertain about his future, Connors's character grapples with the flaws of the American education system and what he sees as a problem teaching kids to understand citizenship. “Lincoln Speaks for Himself” (1955) serves up a collage of Abraham Lincoln's words, taken from a long series of speeches ranging from his first run for political office to his second inaugural address as U.S. president. “Television Is What You Make It” (1952) is an entertaining if self-congratulatory story featuring Keller playing himself as he tries to recruit a bored TV producer who makes schlock genre fiction. Finally, actor Paul Kelly plays a rancher agonizing over the good, bad, and ugly of nuclear power—post-Hiroshima and Nagasaki—in “Atomic Energy as a Force for Good” (1955). Senior audiences will likely enjoy seeing a lot of familiar character-actor faces in these well-produced shows. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)