:08:02
was coolly received.
:08:05
The elder Zelig's
second marriage...
:08:07
is marked by constant violent
quarreling, so much so...
:08:11
that although the family
lives over a bowling alley...
:08:14
it's the bowling alley
that complains of noise.
:08:17
As a boy, Leonard is frequently
bullied by anti-Semites.
:08:21
His parents,
who never take his part...
:08:24
and blame him for everything,
side with the anti-Semites.
:08:28
They punish him often
by locking him in a dark closet.
:08:32
When they are really angry...
:08:34
they get into the closet
with him.
:08:37
On his deathbed,
Morris Zelig tells his son...
:08:40
that life is a meaningless
nightmare of suffering...
:08:43
and the only advice he gives him
is to save string.
:08:48
Though brother Jack
has a nervous breakdown...
:08:51
and sister Ruth becomes
a shoplifter and alcoholic...
:08:54
Leonard Zelig appears
to have adjusted to life.
:08:58
Somehow, he seems to have coped.
:09:01
And then, suddenly,
increasingly strange behavior.
:09:08
Fascinated
by the Zelig phenomenon...
:09:11
Dr. Fletcher arranges
a series of experiments...
:09:14
and invites the skeptical staff
to observe.
:09:18
With the doctors watching, Zelig
becomes a perfect psychiatrist.
:09:23
When two Frenchmen
are brought in...
:09:27
Zelig assumes their characters
and speaks reasonable French.
:09:31
In the company
of a Chinese person...
:09:34
he begins to develop
Oriental features.
:09:37
By now, word has gotten out
to the press...
:09:41
and the public, thirsting
for thrills and novelty...
:09:44
is immediately captivated.
:09:49
The clamor is so great...
:09:51
that Dr. Allan Sindell
is forced to issue a statement.
:09:55
We're beginning
to realize the dimensions...
:09:58
of what could be the scientific
medical phenomenon of the age...