First steps

United States, 1947

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Deals with the treatment and care of children crippled by cerebral palsy and poliomyelitis. The program of treatment is designed to integrate children into society. Demonstrates how training and practice in the handling of toys and hobby materials can be transformed into handling of tools and utensils necesary for everyday life. Photographed in a summer camp, the film ends as a small boy leaves his parents to take his first steps on a crowded city street. Academy Award winner for best short documentary 1947. Narrated by Winston O’Keefe.

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

director

Leo Seltzer

production company

Frederic House Inc for the Department of Social Affairs of the United Nations

Duration

00:11:00:00

Production places

United States

Production dates

1947

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

305640

Language

English

Subject categories

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Academy awards (Motion pictures)

Documentary

Documentary → Documentary films - United States

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Cerebral palsy

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Handicapped - Care and treatment

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Handicapped children

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Handicapped children - Development

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Handicapped children - Rehabilitation

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Mentally handicapped children

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Physically handicapped children

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Physically handicapped children - Rehabilitation

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Poliomyelitis

Short films

Short films → Short films - United States

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Black and White

Holdings

16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

16mm film; Preservation Print (Section 5)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/84332--first-steps/ |title=First steps |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=14 May 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}