I never knew that films had been made of Shirley Jackson’s classic June 26, 1948 story, “The Lottery”. Turns out you can view a classic 1969 short based on the story right now on the blog we saw that…, via the magic of YouTube. (But if you’ve never read the story, do that first!)

The dialogue in the film is a bit wooden (as it is in the story, frankly), and it moves very slowly by today’s standards, but when the climax comes, it’s remarkably shocking even if you know what’s coming. Be sure to unwind with Paul Morris’ Wavy Rule cartoon, in which he gives the story a softer ending.