To Be A Man
Here is a flyer announcing the showing of “To Be A Man”, a film by Murray Lerner that was shot in 1965-66, funded by the Yale Admissions Department.
Rather than the limited showing to prospective Yale Students, the film was picked up by WGBH and shown on many public television stations shortly after it was released in 1966.
Isn’t that John Kerry (JE, ’66) at the top center?
Here is the handout at the 50th Anniversary showing that describes the film and its context.
And finally, here is the movie “To Be A Man”, itself: (Click on “full screen” icon 
after launching.)
Here are some other articles on the web about “To Be A Man”:
- Lerner Film Shows Yale Education Yale Daily News Calls It Proportional Vassar Miscellany News 12/9/1966
- Old Yale recruitment films depict a life foreign yet subtly familiar Yale Daily News 5/17/2001
- The Measure of a Man The New Journal 10/1/2007
- Restored documentary portrays 1960s Yale Yale Daily News, 10/10/2016
With special thanks to Harry Forsdick, for scanning and hosting the video, and assembling the poster and handout materials shared above.
It was a real throwback to see Dr. Trinkhaus at the beginning. It wasn’t his fault, or Dr. Galston’s–two amazing minds and teachers–but I switched from a biochem to an English major at end of freshman year after too many walks up Science Hill and too many mutilated frogs and broken burettes.
Is there a roster of which guys from our class are featured in this film? I recognized Steve Webb in an early scene, Howie Newman in a soliloquy late in the film. I think one guy laying on the grass was Rob Farber, whom I knew from WYBC and was one or two years ahead of us. Who else is from class of ’69?
Sorry, Tom, there is no index of people who appear in the film.