S.W. Childs, Jr.

A surreal 1940 film by an amateur cineaste Cynthia Childs about a woman's infidelitous evening out on the town. Added score composed and performed by Stephen Horne in 2020.

S.W. Childs, Jr.’s best known production, this thirteen-minute short film tells the story of a man and woman preparing for and enjoying a dinner date. As Childs described it in an article in Amateur Movie Maker, “I got the idea that it would be fun to film the action of some person’s hand, say at a cocktail party. Upon this slender thread the light tinsel of I’d Be Delighted To! was hung.” Throughout the film, Childs’ camera focuses solely on the hands and feet of the film’s protagonists. (Yale Film Archive)

The first student film made at Yale, and one of the earliest student feature films ever made, this adaptation of Henry Fielding's novel was made in the spring of 1927 by a filmmaking collective called the Purity Players, led by S. W. Childs, Jr.

The first student film made at Yale, and one of the earliest student feature films ever made, this adaptation of Henry Fielding's novel was made in the spring of 1927 by a filmmaking collective called the Purity Players, led by S. W. Childs, Jr.

The first student film made at Yale, and one of the earliest student feature films ever made, this adaptation of Henry Fielding's novel was made in the spring of 1927 by a filmmaking collective called the Purity Players, led by S. W. Childs, Jr.