I think Lenny Lipton mentioned this in his 1972 book, Independent Filmmaking, that movie theaters would clear people out by playing terrible documentaries between shows. I only experienced that once. I like to think I was no more than 11-years-old and I'd go to some Disney movie and sit through it at least three times to get my dollar's worth. But they showed this terrible documentary about a railroad worker. We see him walking around the train making sure there were no obvious problems. Then he climbs in. He starts it up. The train goes through the desert. Everything is flat so it goes in a straight line. He waved to some people.
I think that was the first time it occurred to me that staring at a blank wall would be better than sitting through some movies. At least you could form your own thoughts.
I remember imagining the poor guy excitedly telling his family they were making a movie about him only be humiliated when he took his friends and loved ones to see the finished production.
"They used me!"
Well, the movie didn't drive ME out. I don't remember what the main feature was---Herbie Rides Again maybe---but I didn't budge.
It was part of my cinematic education. I could recognize Keenan Wynn and Helen Hayes after that. It would be a few more years before I could tell Ken Berry and Dean Jones apart.
Starred a little fellow named Stanford Lomakema. It was his only credit on IMDb, although I googled him and found he's an important figure in the Hopi nation. His father, Charles Lomakema, was a codetalker in World War Two.
Silent with music and narration. It presented itself as a Hopi Indian legend, but I'd need confirmation.
You know how 4H Clubs have farm kids raise animals, win prizes for them at county fairs and then sell them for slaughter so they'll learn not to become attached? In this movie, the kid is given the job of caring for a captive eagle they're preparing for ritual sacrifice. They warn him it's not a pet, but he saves it by setting it free. The community shuns him and he's cast into the desert where he only survives with the help of the grateful eagle.
48 minutes. They showed it as a second feature with some other Disney film. I was sort of bored by it at the time---I'd gone in to see The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes or some such thing---but I saw it again on a streaming channel, Movieland TV. People on IMDb loved it.
Kind of depressing. About a child who's not treated well. They're in the desert. There aren't really edible plants so hunting is about all they do. I remembered the scene of the kid having fun sliding down a stream into a pond, like it was Nature's Disneyland, but I didn't remember him nearly falling to his death.
The version showed on streaming video was with credits from The Wonderful World of Disney TV show and had Russian subtitles.
It's free. See what you think.
No comments:
Post a Comment