Tributes/Awards
Award” for his role in the 1941 film “The Boy With Green
Hair.” This award celebrates the power of movies and their
ability to poignantly resonate beyond the theater. Stockwell’s
1984 film, “Paris, Texas” was also screened at the festival.
then. I think I was about 9 years old when I first saw the film. I did not get a chance to see it at the festival.
So I will have to rent the video and view it again to bring back those memories. It was one film that made me
enjoy films when I was a very young girl.
My parents took us to the Saturday matinees every weekend. I was lucky they were still showing the old
silent films, Buster Keaton comedies and the great serials back then (such as "Flash Gordon" and the
original "Superman" films). So I learned at an early age to enjoy movies. Television was still in its prime and
we did not get a television set until I was 9 years old, but by then I was hooked on the movies. They did not
really start showing movies that much on television until I was a little older.
Stockwell's career has spanned decades and he has done everything...not just films, but television series
and he just keeps going. It is nice to see that he has not lost his ability to entertain audiences at his age.
“The Boy With Green Hair” was his third film. So at 8 years old he was already becoming a veteran actor.
The film is about a young boy named Peter Frye, a war orphan. After his parents are killed in an air raid, he
wakes up one morning to find his hair has turned green.
Because of this change in his appearance he meets with prejudice and hatred from people, this does not
dissuade him from his beliefs that all wars must stop.
This movie coming out during war times was interesting at how it was accepted by moviegoers. Had it come
out in a later period in time it might have been blacklisted?
It is as relevant now as it was then. We still have prejudices towards people who look different. It was an
unforgettable film as I still remember some parts of it and that was a long time ago.
If you can rent the video...it is one of those films that makes you think about life.
