The Member of the Wedding (1952)

When her brother marries, a 12-year-old girl faces the awkward pains of adolescence.

Director: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Ethel Waters, Julie Harris, Brandon De Wilde, Arthur Franz, Nancy Gates, William Hansen, James Edwards, Harry Bolden, Dickie Moore, Hugh Beaumont, Margaret Bert, Jeanne Blackford, Gail Bonney, Ivan Browning, Ann Carter, Wheaton Chambers, Mary Emery, Ella Ethridge, Al Ferguson, Jack Gargan, Charlcie Garrett, June Hedin, Alma Mansfield, Rhea Mitchell, Ralph Montgomery, Danny Mummert, Gil Perkins, Charles Perry, Harry Richards, Helen St. Rayner

27-year-old Julie Harris convincingly recreates her Broadway role of 12-year-old tomboy Frankie Addams in the 1952 screen version of Carson McCullers' play. Feeling rejected when her older brother goes off on his honeymoon without inviting her along, Frankie runs away from her middle-class southern home. She endures several other adolescent traumas, not least of which is the sudden death of her bespectacled young cousin John Henry (Brandon De Wilde). With the help of warmhearted housekeeper Berenice Sadie Brown (Ethel Waters), Frankie eventually makes an awkward transition to young womanhood.




Extras:
- Audio Commentary by Author/Professor Virginia Spencer Carr
- Karen Kramer Introduction (1:37 min)
- "The World of Carson McCullers" (15:52 min)
- "The Journey from Stage to Film" (10:12 min)
- Note from Julie Harris

IMDb

In a small Georgia town, twelve year old tomboy Frankie Addams feels unconnected to the world, a fact troubling to her. Her unconventional views for a twelve year old girl make her an outcast among her peers, which she in turn blames for her situation rather than anything of her own doing. Her only real friend is John Henry, her younger next door neighbor, although she doesn't see him as a friend since she doesn't consider him a peer. As her widowed father is all consumed with running his small business, Frankie is largely left to the care of their housekeeper, Berenice. Berenice tries to provide as much true guidance to Frankie and what Frankie considers her problems, although Berenice has her own troubles looking after her wild foster brother, Honey Camden, her only surviving family. In addition, Frankie largely sees Berenice's advice as the rantings of a large, crazy black woman. Frankie believes that she has finally found her place in life upon the return to town and announcement …
~ Huggo