April Third Movement

In Fall Quarter of 1968 and the Winter Quarter of 1969, a Public Broadcasting Laboratory team led by filmmaker Don Lenzer followed members of the Stanford Chapter of Students for a Democratic Society to meetings, parties, rallies, and protests. They produced the documentary film Fathers and Sons. While many of us criticized this film for its focus on four male undergraduates, the movie offers unusual behind-the-scenes glimpses of activists in that era.

At the same time, another Public Broadcasting Laboratory camera crew also was at work on the Stanford campus. Led by Fred Wardenburg, this team filmed the documentary Reform Before Revolution. It focused on Stanford University administrators and faculty attempting to give students a larger role in determining their programs of study while also confronting campus unrest related to the University’s role in war-related research.

The two films were broadcast on the National Education Network (NET) on April 27, 1969, in a program titled University in Society: Do the Ties Bind?

Reform Before Revolution, the first film in this program, has a running time of about 38 minutes. Fathers and Sons, shown second, has a running time of about 78 minutes and begins 43 minutes into this two-film program.

This program may be viewed on the American Archive of Public Broadcasting Web site: