(1977),
film portrait of Lawrence Older, the Northeast lumberjack, singer, and storyteller
(Folkstreams).
Play film
Adynata
(1983),
Leslie Thornton’s experimental film inspired by a mid-19th century Western photograph of a Chinese couple
(Pacific Film Archive).
Agricultural Experiment Station Films
(1940s),
three films by rural sociologist Robert Carter documenting techniques for harvesting hay by hand and by machine
(University of Vermont).
Play film
Blues Suite
(1970),
film by Gardner Compton and Emile Ardolino capturing a performance by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
(New York Public Library).
Boost Oakland Newsreel
(1921),
early news story about the plan to build a bridge linking San Francisco and Oakland
(Library of Congress).
Boss of the Katy Mine
(1912),
Essanay Western directed by G. M. “Broncho Billy” Anderson and shot in Niles, California
(Library of Congress).
(1927),
romantic narrative by Rochester homemaker Marion Gleason that was used by Kodak to introduce home-moviemaking to the public
(George Eastman Museum).
Play film
(1970),
film by Gardner Compton and Emile Ardolino capturing a performance by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
(New York Public Library).
H.O. Bell Collection
(1920s),
footage of logging operations in the Blackfoot River region and a pack trip through the mountains of western Montana
(University of Montana).
(1973),
insider’s view of worship at Appalachia’s The Old Regular Baptist Church
(Appalshop).
Play film
In the Land of the Headhunters
(1914),
reconstruction of Edwin S. Curtis’s legendary film, featuring a native cast and location shooting in British Columbia
(UCLA Film & Television Archive).
(1937),
Yiddish-language musical comedy co-directed by American Joseph Green and Jan Nowina-Przybylski
(National Center for Jewish Film).
Kingdom Come School
(1973),
documentary about a typical day at the last one-room schoolhouse in Letcher County, Kentucky
(Appalshop).
Play film
Leo Beuerman
(1969),
Academy Award–nominated short profiling a disabled man in Lawrence, Kansas
(University of Kansas).
Line Family Collection
(1931–32),
campus life, as filmed by the dean of the business school
(University of Montana).
Masakela Language
(1970),
film by Gardner Compton and Emile Ardolino capturing a performance by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
(New York Public Library).
(1959),
home movies shot by Jimmy Riddle, harmonica player extraordinaire, of two parties held on the Roy Acuff estate
(Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum).
Peggy and Fred in Hell: Prologue
(1984),
first avant-garde film in Leslie Thornton’s series about two children raised by television in a post-apocalyptic world
(Pacific Film Archive).
Pine Mountain Settlement School Films
(1935),
five films documenting the celebrated southern Appalachian boarding school where students raised their own food
(Pine Mountain Settlement School).
The Pitch of Chance
(1915),
two-reel Western directed by and starring Frank Borzage
(Library of Congress).
Point Reyes Project
(1950s),
studies by poet Weldon Kees for his meditation on Point Reyes
(Lincoln City Libraries).
Radio Rick In Heaven, Radio Richard In Hell
(1987),
film projected during performance of underground theater director Richard Foreman’s Film is Evil, Radio is Good
(New York University).
Ramsey Trade Fair
(1973),
documentary about market day in a rural Virginia community
(Appalshop).
Play film
Ranger of the Big Pines trailer
(1925),
preview for a lost Western by William Van Dyke
(Library of Congress).
Rhoda in Potatoland (Her Fall Starts)
(1975),
Kirk Winslow’s stop-action condensation of Richard Foreman’s Obie-winning play
(New York University).
Sand, or Peter and the Wolf
(1968),
animated retelling of Peter and the Wolf created by Caroline Leaf by “painting” with sand on a light box
(Harvard Film Archive).
Streams
(1970),
film by Gardner Compton and Emile Ardolino capturing a performance by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
(New York Public Library).
Tails
(1976),
collage film made by Paul Sharits from discarded strips of film
(Anthology Film Archives).
Ten by Stuart Sherman
(1978–88),
avant-garde shorts by the minimalist performance artist and playwright
(Museum of Modern Art).
(1947),
independent African American two-reeler featuring the all-girl band International Sweethearts of Rhythm and Ruby Dee as a young actress looking for her big break
(Artist Tribe Foundation).
Tomorrow’s People
(1973),
survey of mountain music and culture, with an appearance by banjo-master Lee Sexton
(Appalshop).
Play film
Tompkin’s Boy Car
(1922),
story of the car built by two Rochester youngsters shot by Rochester homemaker Marion Gleason using one of the earliest 16mm cameras
(George Eastman Museum).
To the Fair!
(1964),
Technicolor promotional film for the 1964–65 New York’s World Fair, co-directed by Francis Thompson and Alexander Hammid
(New York Public Library).
Play film
(1969),
Don B. Klugman’s film following a Chicago couple who “psychoanalyze” their relationship en route to a swinging sixties party
(Chicago Film Archives).
Play film