#668) The Augustas (1930s-1950s)
OR “Man About Towns”
Directed by Scott Nixon
Class of 2012
The Plot: Scott Nixon is an insurance salesman and amateur filmmaker hailing from Augusta, Georgia chronicling a specific element of his travels across America. Filmed over the course of 20 years, “The Augustas” is Nixon’s recording of over 30 towns across the country – all of them named Augusta. With quick peeks at various small towns and a wry sense of humor throughout, “The Augustas” goes beyond its gimmicky premise to become a window into an all-but-forgotten slice of American life.
Why It Matters: The NFR gives a rundown of Scott Nixon and the film, calling Nixon an “amateur auteur” that brings these cities “together under the umbrella of Americana.”
But Does It Really?: Man, the NFR loves their amatuer filmmakers. I enjoyed “The Augustas” as a fun, breezy travelogue; a vacation to both place and time. But what I found especially fascinating in my research were historians trying to find a deeper meaning to all of this; the subconscious connective threads Nixon is trying to show us by highlighting these Augustas. Here’s my hot take: Maybe the man just liked the name Augusta and was amused by how many other towns shared the name. I’m all for preserving someone’s art, but don’t overthink it, especially when it’s a hobby. I can give “The Augustas” a pass for NFR inclusion as a creative twist on the standard home movie, as well as recognition of someone spending their free time documenting a niche that makes them happy: something I can definitely relate to.
Everybody Gets One: As always, my thanks to the Center for Home Movies, especially an essay Heidi Rae Cooley which rounds up the little information that’s out there about Scott Nixon. As previously mentioned, Nixon was a traveling insurance salesman from Augusta, Georgia, and a member of the Amateur Cinema League (like fellow NFR artists Mary Marvin Breckinridge and Miriam Bennett). According to his son Cobbs Nixon, Scott was so fond of the name Augusta he wanted to name his daughter Augusta Georgia Nixon, but was talked out of it. Side note: Scott Nixon was of no relation to Richard Nixon, nor did he ever suspiciously delete any of his recordings to avoid criminal charges.
Title Track: During my viewing I began to wonder if all of these Augustas are named after the same person, but it turns out Augusta was a much more common name 300 years ago. Augusta, Georgia was named for Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the Princess of Wales who married Prince Frederick in 1736, the same year her Georigan namesake was established. Many of the other stateside Augustas are named after family members of their founders, typically their wife or daughter. Interestingly enough, Augusta, Illinois was named after Augusta, Georgia because co-founder Joel Catlin had a memorable trip there! Now we’re getting meta.
Other notes
- Right out of the gate, you know that Nixon has a creative side to him. The first shot of “The Augustas” is a silent movie-era intertitle reminding men not to smoke, spit, or use profane language during the feature. A good sign that this won’t be your ordinary vacation film.
- My main takeaway is that in the early 20th century all Augustas were small towns, with the possible exception of Augusta, Maine; the state’s capital and the only Augusta I could have named before this viewing. So much of what Nixon chronicles in the Augustas are farms and main streets and local businesses. I suspect a modern remake wouldn’t be as quaint, and because most of these Augustas are on the east coast there would be far more Dunkin’ Donuts.
- As technology changed over Nixon’s two-decade shoot, different types of film stock crop up in this movie: 8mm, 16mm, black-and-white, color. They appear somewhat randomly throughout, which makes for an exciting watch. I don’t know what kind of color film stock Nixon was using, but it’s beautiful to look at. There’s a vividness to the color, yet it still feels realistic. You get the sense that this is what these towns actually looked like. On a similar note: The back and forth between black-and-white and color is fun. It’s like if Dorothy took home movies of both Kansas and Oz.
- A few of the Augustas on the list are represented either by an image of its spot on a map, or its name on a train schedule. I guess that counts. It’s like a placeholder shot; as if Nixon is saying “Take my word for it, I was there.”
- Those train schedules lead me to believe that this was Nixon’s main mode of transportation. Some of these shots feel like Nixon got off the train, took a few shots of nearby buildings, and then hopped back on before his train left the station.
- About halfway through, Nixon starts getting flexible with what counts as an “Augusta”. We get Fort Augusta, North Augusta, South Augusta, New Augusta, Augusta Springs, and Augusta County. My favorite is West Augusta, Virginia, followed somewhat confusingly by Augusta, West Virginia.
- I imagine it was fun to watch this with Scott Nixon providing the color commentary. Obviously I did not know the man, but I bet he had a few well-crafted one-liners to toss off during a screening.
- Scott Nixon saves the best Augusta for last: a shot of a hardy phlox augusta, seemingly a cross-breed of two different genera of flower. I’ll admit I didn’t get the joke on first viewing, but then again I’m not a plant person. I had to look up each individual word in the phrase “hardy phlox augusta”.
Legacy
- Scott Nixon continued making films for the rest of his life, including a few about his other passion: trains. When he died in 1980, his films were donated to the Augusta Museum before becoming part of the University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research in 2000. “The Augustas” appears to be a favorite among historians and amateur film enthusiasts, receiving a restoration in 2008 thanks to Colorlab and a grant from the National Film Preservation Fund.
The Horse's Head 