#768) Kannapolis, N.C. (1941)

#768) Kannapolis, N.C. (1941)

OR “Cannon Films”

Filmed by H. Lee Waters

Class of 2004

The Plot: From 1936 to 1942, photographer H. Lee Waters traveled across the Carolinas (plus briefly to Virginia and Tennessee) to film his “Movies of Local People” series. The series was exactly what it sounds like: footage of the people in a local town, screened at their local movie theater, giving these ordinary people the rare opportunity to see themselves on the big screen. Of the hundreds of communities Waters documented in his series, the NFR selected “Kannapolis, N.C.” to represent his work. Spread out over three reels totaling over two hours of footage, “Kannapolis” highlights the people and communities of this suburb of North Carolina’s Charlotte metropolitan area, including extensive footage of its Black neighborhood.

Why It Matters: The NFR gives a run-down of the kind of “town portrait” this film represents, and mentions H. Lee Waters “slyly” including plenty of kids in his films to increase theater attendance.

But Does It Really?: Although I recently expressed some “home movie fatigue” on this blog, I’m happy I was able to rally for “Kannapolis, N.C.” Obviously something like “Kannapolis” was never meant to be analyzed over 80 years later as a historical document, but Waters’ footage paints a warm portrait of a small town in a way that only film can. We not only see what people looked like back then, but how they behaved and interacted with each other. “Kannapolis” is on the NFR not only to represent the hundreds of films made by H. Lee Waters, but also to preserve this loving documentation of a bygone era.

Shout Outs: Reel 2 opens with a family posing next to a cardboard cutout of Popeye…for some reason.

Everybody Gets One: Herbert Lee Waters made his living as a studio photographer in Lexington, North Carolina, operating the same studio on Main Street for over 60 years. In 1936, needing additional income for his family in the midst of the Depression, Waters took his 16mm camera and projector and started a six year journey across four states to film his “Movies of Local People” series. Waters would film people and events in these communities, and screen them at the town’s movie theater before the main feature, earning a cut of ticket sales as well as contributions from local businesses who bought advertising space within the films. In total, Waters visited 118 communities and produced over 250 films. And for the record, Waters would only travel to these communities during the week, always coming home to Lexington on the weekends to be with his wife and children.

Wow, That’s Dated: The local business highlighted throughout “Kannapolis, N.C.” is Montgomery Ward, the largest U.S. retail store at the time. Although the company ceased operation in 2001, it was revived in 2004 and still exists solely as an online retailer.

Other notes

Like many towns of the era, Kannapolis began life as a mill village for a nearby textile factory, in this case the Cannon Mills Company, which at one point was the world’s largest manufacturer of towels and bed sheets. Originally dubbed Cannon City by the townspeople, the name Cannapolis caught on, and by 1906 was adopted as the official name (though Cannon Mills founder J. W. Cannon insisted on it being spelled with a K to differentiate it from his company’s other mill town in nearby Concord).
About halfway through his travels, Waters had made enough money to occasionally film in color! Reel 1 of “Kannapolis, N.C.” is filmed in glorious Kodachrome, which for our purposes here really enriches the viewing experience. Commercial use color film was still a rarity in the early 1940s, and I’m sure Waters’ color footage went over like gangbusters at many a local screening.
A majority of the “Kannapolis” footage is of local children, which as suggested by the NFR write-up was strategic on Waters’ part to get families at his screenings: why sell one movie ticket when you can sell four or more? Children playing games and behaving naturally is a staple of several amateur films in the NFR, and “Kannapolis” is no exception. We even get some shots of teenage girls playing baseball, which given the ‘40s setting has a very “League of Their Own” vibe to it.
Yes, two hours of silent amateur footage with no plot is a lot to sit through, but compared to five hours of the “Bohulano Family Film Collection” and seven hours of the “Solomon Sir Jones Films”, this was a piece of cake. The nice thing about having this much footage is that you get a much more realistic sense of how people behaved back then. There’s a point where you stop posing/mugging for the camera and start to act more naturally.
If any of the kids in this movie are still alive, they would be in their 90s today.
With its charming look at children in a Southern town, “Kannapolis” is reminiscent of another Depression-era film series in the NFR: “The Kidnappers Foil”. Granted “Kannapolis” lacks the sheer entertainment value of “Kidnappers”, but then again what movie doesn’t by comparison?
The Kannapolis Montgomery Ward store really got their money’s worth, with Waters extensively featuring their showrooms and products. You can get a skirt for 49 cents (about $11 today)!
A trademark of the “Movies of Local People” series was Waters’ experimental shots, including reverse film (achieved by placing the camera upside down and then splicing the film back into the reel right-side up). The reverse shots are typically reserved for kids jumping off of small ledges or mounds, making them appear to fly up in the air. We also get some fun timelapse shots, including one of cars driving on Main Street that looks like the ‘40s prequel to “Koyaanisqatsi”.
We’re also treated to an unintentional color remake of “Employees Leaving the Lumière Factory”, with footage of employees leaving what I assume is the Cannon Mills factory. As best I can tell, no one is smuggling towels out of the building. I guess that’s more of a hotel thing.
Reels 2 & 3 are in black and white, which definitely changes the viewing experience. What started as a feeling of being transported to time and place now feels more removed. The black and white mixed with the rural setting gives everything a Dust Bowl vibe. It’s like a more upbeat “The Last Picture Show”.

We are treated to a Randolph Scott double feature in this film. At different points the marquee of the Gem Theatre is promoting screenings of Scott’s 1940 film “When the Daltons Rode” with Brian Donlevy and 1941’s “Belle Starr” with Gene Tierney. Side note: As of this writing the Gem Theatre is still in operation, albeit the rebuilt theater after the original was destroyed in a fire shortly after the filming of “Kannapolis”.
In 1941, Kannapolis had a population of roughly 8500 people, and I think Waters was determined to film every single person. Throughout the film Waters sprinkles in quick montages of different people smiling for the camera (though I appreciate how many pedestrians look at the camera with an appropriate amount of skepticism). There’s also a point where I’m pretty sure we get repeat shots of the same kids from earlier.
The most interesting moment in the film for me was a group of school children at a flag raising ceremony (with 48 stars), in which the children give the flag the Bellamy salute. This was the common flag salute of the time, in which the arm is extended upwards with the palm down, followed by the palm being turned upwards; that last move being the only differentiation between the Bellamy salute and another infinitely more famous upward arm salute. The Bellamy salute was officially removed as part of the Pledge of Allegiance by Congress in 1942 for obvious reasons.
Reel 3 begins by treading the same water as the previous two reels (kids posing for the camera, etc.), but then we get something that has only appeared sporadically in this film so far: people of color. The footage of Kannapolis’s Black neighborhood is very similar to the footage of the White neighborhoods, with children playing and families with friendly smiles. There’s a whole conversation that could happen here regarding the effects of segregation in these towns, but that’s a much bigger can of worms than can be opened up here, but important to acknowledge nevertheless

With a runtime of over two hours, I assume these three reels weren’t shown together in one screening. That’s just too much time to sit through footage of your friends and neighbors before your main feature. We want to see “Western Union” or “Paris Calling”!

Legacy

Following his “Movies of Local People” series, Waters returned home to his family in Lexington and continued operating his photography studio. Towards the end of his life, Waters began donating his films and related documents to Duke University, where they are still held and preserved. H. Lee Waters died in 1997 at age 95.
Kannapolis continued being primarily a textile town until the closing of the Cannon factory in 2003. The former factory site is now the home of the North Carolina Research Campus, one of the leading medical research centers in the country.

Notable people born in Kannapolis include funk singer George Clinton, and NASCAR legends Dale Earnhardt Sr. & Jr. (along with several other members of the Earnhardt family). Fun Fact: George Clinton was born the year “Kannapolis N.C.” was filmed, so one of those babies may be George in his NFR debut (and if not, he still has “House Party”).
Side note: Shortly after viewing this film, I actually drove through Kannapolis! Granted, I stayed on I-85 the whole time, so I didn’t spend any real time in Kannapolis, but I was there. My main takeaway was that every billboard was either for a personal injury firm or a Cracker Barrel. What is going on over there?

Further Viewing: “The Cameraman Has Visited Our Town”, a 1989 documentary short by Tom Whiteside about H. Lee Waters and his films, including footage from many of the “Local People” series, plus an interview with Waters himself! A fascinating watch, although five minutes of the short is our narrator listing off every community Waters filmed. “Albemarle…Angier…Apex…Asheboro…Belmont…”