User reviews

The fact that "I Accuse My Parents" is a bad film shouldn't at all be surprising. After all, it's made by one of the cheapest of the so-called 'Poverty Row' studios of the 1940s==where entire scripts NEVER were bought for more than a few hundred dollars! Also, with an exploitation title like this, it sure sounds like a recipe for dreck.

The film begins with a trial. A young man is accused of manslaughter. In an insanely unrealistic moment, the judge asks the accused to come to the front of the room and talk about his life story. At first, it's all about how his childhood sucked because his parents were both self-involved jerks (hence the title), but so many of his actions seem to have little to do with his upbringing and more to do with that he's a total idiot! To earn some extra money, he goes to work as a courier for a mobster--and having absolutely no idea that he's doing anything illegal! Think about it--he gets paid huge amounts of money to do 'odd jobs' at all hours and he isn't suspicious! Anyway, but the end of his long story, the young man once again asserts that it's pretty much his parents' fault--at which point the judge summarily decides on his fate--with no deliberations, no additional testimony...nothing! And then, what follows, is the judge's message to the parents! Uggh...it's really pretty dumb. However, I must admit that despite being pure corn and bad script writing, it was, in an odd way, entertaining...yet still quite bad. For bad movie buffs, this sort of silly sermonizing and bad writing is exactly what they are looking for--and I can't recommend it enough for those who occasionally like a bad film. Dopey but easy to like.

A wonderful film - if seen through the eyes of Mystery Science Theater. It is devoid of logic. The best scene is where Joe, our hero, on the run, goes into a diner, broke, and sits at the counter with a gun under his jacket. The old man behind the counter goes through a contrived, rambling speech and then offers the boy a free meal. In the process, he comments that he saw the gun and wouldn't Joe like him to take it. Naturally, he gives him work and a place to stay. One of the many unbelievable scenes in this movie. A must see.

This isn't nearly as bad as typical MST fodder. Sure, the plot is melodramatic and ludicrous, but no more so than a lot of "troubled youth" movies of the time. Sure, the musical numbers are uninspired, but you have to give them credit for trying. A lot of times the "MST Effect" makes people assume any movie used on the show is terrible, but it isn't so. This one isn't great by any means, but it's reasonably competently made and has its charms. So lighten up, see?

Of all the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Episodes I have seen, and I haven't seen that many, this movie is probably the least terrible of them all. Sure it is slow, boring, outdated, and without any redeeming quality, but at least it has a coherent plot and resembles a professional film. It isn't as bad as some other MST3k stinkers like "Manos: The Hands of Fate," "Mitchell," "Eegah," or "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians." However, if it weren't for Joel and the bots, I don't think I would have made it through the entire movie; which is true for all the MST3k movies.

This film tries to show you the importance of parents to a child and how if they are not around bad things can happen, but it fails in so many ways. The main reason it fails is that I could find very little to actually blame the parents on. The movie starts of with this guy accusing his parents and blaming them for the fact he had committed manslaughter then the movie flashes back and shows what led up to that point. Unfortunately, other than a couple of instances right at the beginning of the story for the most parts the parents aren't really responsible. The thing that gets this kid in trouble are the constant lies and the fact he is a bit stupid. I mean a lot of people have neglectful parents, but they don't somehow get involved with organized crime and not even realize it.

Come on. Seriously. Who actually said that this movie would be a good idea? What idiot sat in a writing room and said "Hey! I know! A kid accuses his parents! For his lame crimes that he committed after gaining really weak mob ties!" And who said "Hey! I like it!" Yes, Jimmy is pitiful. And yes, he writes a dang fine essay (full of lies). But a angst-ridden teenager and a deceitful essay do not a good movie make. I cannot possibly imagine watching this movie without MST3K. It would be unbearable, especially the awkward singing numbers. I really enjoy the scene where Kitty and Jimmy meet for the first time when he is cleaning the window of the shoe store. That wonderful bit of classic cinematic romance goes on for about...10 minutes. What is going on there?? Why doesn't she just GO IN?? Come on, Kitty. Although she is not a bad actress (can't say as much for Jimmy), there is no chemistry at all between those two. It's like negative chemistry. My advice: stay far away from this movie if you don't see Joel and the bots in the corner. They make it a thousand times more enjoyable.

I accuse my parents is a film that definitely has not stood the test of time. Blaming one's parents for your criminal ways is a very out-of-date idea, and the whole premise is silly. There are people out there who have grown up in abusive homes and managed to make things work out fine for themselves.

Don't watch this unless you're looking at the MST3K version. In the end credits they mention that this film was sent to our fighting forces in Europe. They probably used it as a torture device.

There are movies that are so bad, they deserve to be sent up from Gizmonic Institute to the Satellite of Love. This movie is one of them.

"I Accuse My Parents" is not only one of the oldest films to be shown on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" ("Werewolf" or "Future War" is one of the most recent), it's also a good movie for that show! This movie "tries" to be serious with all the sly detective stuff going on, but really, just like those "Popstars who can't act" movies, or better yet, like "Manos: The Hands of Fate," it's nothing but a laugh-fest from start to finish. Besides, without MST3K, would we really survive this flick?????

"I Accuse My Parents" also lacks of any greatness most other movies truly achieve. So, in conclusion, only watch the MST3K version. 1 star, but 10 for MST3K!

Oh, it is quite easy to call this film "corny" or something else negative; however it is not any of those things. It IS true and good. What's that? You perhaps think that's corny! Shame on you.

This film shows a lot more honesty than a dozen or more films of today -- all combined! This film shows us much of what we've lost since this film was made -- in 1944. We CAN return this country to its former greatness; but we cannot as long as films like this one can only garner a rating of "2.5"!!

Remember, in 1944-45, the US won the entire war in the Pacific (in WWII ) that took about 4 years; but presently, we cannot even have ANY degree of victory or resolution in this country from a stupid 20-year-long war in Afghanistan where we ended up LOSING.

Yes, it takes proper US Leadership to do that, but not leadership alone. We must return the moral fiber of ALL the people. This film shows us, in its own way, how to do that. Citizens: Are you up to the task, or are you going to continue to wallow in the filth and muck and drugs and human trafficking and abortions boundless greed and fake racism that seem so prevalent in our 'modern' culture?

What has our 'society' wrought since 1944 that is so much better than what we had then? Cell Phones? Keep them all! Get your head screwed on straight so you can VOTE to better life for everyone; not continue to destroy it!

Watch this simple film and draw your own conclusions.

Early in their career, songwriters Jay Livingston & Ray Evans wrote the laughable "Are You Happy in Your Work?" (Do you never, ever shirk?). I suppose this makes the movie notable to trivia buffs, but the film and song are not really worth the effort. Thankfully Jay & Ray went on to write much better songs ("Buttons and Bows", "Silver Bells", "Que Sera, Sera", "Mona Lisa", etc.) for much better films.

Here we go with another hour long movie that has no story.It starts with a man on trial for murder and his defense is that he accuses his parents.Then it flashes black as he the tells the story.We immediately find out that he is in high school even though he's clearly over thirty.He's a sad rich boy and his parents don't pay attention to him.When his mom shows up to his school drunk, he drops out and gets a job selling shoes.Then he randomly meets a crime boss and works for him not knowing that he is a criminal.The story is very boring and almost nothing happens.About twenty percent of the movie is a woman singing.This was a movie that didn't need to be made.

I watched this movie (the MST3K version), or rather I ignored most it; I was busy working on my computer at the time, and this really wasn't worth interrupting that for; I did catch most of the jokes provided by Mike, Tom Servo, and Crow. As many previous critics on this page have mentioned, this film has a great deal of short comings, from a lack of acting, to a lame, bone headed story.

I would say, however, that it had one redeaming feature the film Mitchell, which I gave a lower rating to, lacked; a plot. Although I paid little attention to the movie, I did notice that something happened during the film, and it did point towards, and reach, an ultimate conclusion; although little of the film, from the beginning to the end, was actually worth paying attention to.

Yeah, okay, so it wasn't a great film. Or even a good film. But it was definitely a so-so/fair film. There wasn't any stupid bloopers like in Cave Dwellers. For its time, it was good. I just didn't think it was THAT bad. There isn't much more to say beyond that.

My fourteen-year-old son has never been in trouble. He's an honor student scoring on standardized tests in the 99th percentile and he's also a participant in the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Program. He's engaging and argumentative, fun and challenging. But he also wants his first job. How can I ignore the possibility he'll wind up, like the well-dressed, nicely spoken teen in "I Accuse My Parents" running felony errands for a local criminal mini-mind? I can't so last night I sat him down to see this 1944 sermon with songs about the seductive attractiveness of fast money in dubious enterprises.

By 1944 the morality message semi-documentary genre was on its way out, replaced by more realistic films depicting myriad evils. "I Accuse My Parents" is a somewhat more professional, better acted sequel to such unforgettable epics as "Reefer Madness." Like its predecessors it has a straight from the screen admonitory message for parents, here from a judge.

The plot is simple-nice only son has parents more interested in their separate social lives (dad gambles, mom imbibes) than in the kid's activities. He announces he's won an essay contest, dad gives him money. He mentions the next day is his birthday as dad and mom head out for hilarious partying, dad gives him money (my son liked THAT theme).

Good Kid lies to all about his homelife, painting it as idyllic. Then he meets Nightclub Singer/Gang Boss's moll and falls head-over-heels in love. Of course she's a blond. They hug and kiss-sex hadn't been invented yet. She tries to steer him away from her lover, he gets involved in a murder and flees. He comes back, confronts evil crime boss, a struggle, a shot - exit mob boss, enter prosecutor.

All ends well. Of course. And the end credits inform us that "I Accuse My Parents" will be shown in combat zones to America's fighting forces. I bet any G.I. would have preferred this film to having his time wasted by Bob Hope or Hedy Lamar.

A period piece but one better acted than the usual scare-the-parents comedy of its day. And only $5.99 for the DVD.

Maybe I'll show it again to my kid soon.

5/10

This movie cured me of a misconception I used to hold - that horror films were the worst genre of films. After watching this confused stink bomb, I realized just how bad the "troubled teenager" movie could be.

This movie is definitely awful. The story, the writing, and the acting are absolutely abysmal. All of that said, this is not one of the worst movies I have seen. I think it has a weighted down rating given it was featured on MST3K. I love MST3K dearly, but this was realistically one of the more watchable movies they covered. Most of the humor came from it being an out of date and out of touch mental hygiene film, which are all basically easy targets for riffing. I feel confident giving this a four, because it is definitely a miserably bad movie that I would in no way recommend. However, it is admittedly not as bad as most of the bad movies I seek out. Below 2 stars needs to be reserved for the real schlock out there, the crusty gunk that collects and rots in the bottom of the movie barrel. This doesn't quite qualify.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not claiming this is THE GODFATHER. But neither does it sink to the levels of such pieces of tripe as GIANT SPIDER INVASION.

The actors all do fairly good jobs, especially George Meeker as the deliciously evil mob boss Charles Blake, and short-order cook Al Frazier as portrayed by George Lloyd. The script doesn't hold up to super-close scrutiny, but on an average viewing there's nothing blatantly wrong, either. The few original songs are pretty good, and you may actually find yourself humming a couple of them.

But the wonderful crew of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" do a magnificent job of ripping it to shreds nonetheless.

If you ever happen onto the 'uncut' version of this and you have some free time, you may as well settle down and watch, it's a good way to take up some time. And if you find the MST3K version, you should most certainly watch this, it's very funny.

This PRC second feature is quite sincere, if a bit simplistic, in its treatment of the pitfalls faced by wealthy but ignored children.

Though nice looking Robert Lowell seems a shade mature for High School, his likability, coupled with the absolute earnestness of his portrayal lends the film great conviction, even when his character is caught in the most improbable of melodramatic predicaments.

Mary Beth Hughes is effective as a small town chanteuse, and delivers her numbers winningly.

Production values are all quite solid and the picture manages to transmit its message entertainingly, without ever being overly didactic.

Edgar Ulmer fans will note props and settings from his "Bluebeard" and "Strange Illusion," popping up here and there throughout the film.

OK, so this movie wasn't made in the 50s, but 1944... that's close enough.

Actually I didn't think this movie was so bad. I even watched the MST3k version, and honestly thought overall the story and acting were passable.

Jimmy learns to lie about his troubled household growing up, instead choosing to change the truth into something more acceptable, that his household is one of loving and compassion. Eventually this lying gets Jimmy into trouble at school, and soon he starts down the wrong path in life.

Jimmy meets Kitty at his shoe store job, and they begin to date. But Kitty is a liar too, and this creates internal conflicts between the two lovers, as she's partly tied into what appears to be a mob like operation.

Eventually Jimmy learns his lessons about lying through meeting a nice older man, whom he deeply falls in love with. OK, I'm lying about the deeply falling in love part. But honestly, the old man for the first time in Jimmy's life truly shows Jimmy compassion and understanding. Jimmy eventually realizes he must face is past wrongs.

This isn't a terrible movie, although definitely not great. I'd debated on how high or low to score it, as it is really bad, but definitely has some likable aspects. Their's some character development, which is missing from the truly worst movies. The story is interesting because most characters in this movie are antagonist, and that interaction is interesting. The real sore spots for me, are the hired "thugs" or gangsters, which scenes are just really terrible every time their on the screen.

Not a bad flick, even it was another morality lesson movie! 4/10