When I Grow Up

This is a touching story about a young boy, Driscoll, who can't seem to elicit any warmth from his harried parents. The lad's grandfather, Grapewin, also lives with the boy's family, and kept a diary about similar feelings he had toward his parents back in the 1890s. He wanted to run away from home to join the circus, but was stopped when stricken with typhoid. His life was saved only through the tender care of his father, who died after contracting the disease himself. Though saccharine, the film makes its meaningful point concerning people's inability to show their love.