#652) Westinghouse Works, 1904 (1904)

#652) Westinghouse Works, 1904 (1904)

OR “Steel This Movie”

Directed by G. W. Bitzer

Class of 1998

The Plot: When at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition (aka the St. Louis World’s Fair), be sure to visit the Westinghouse exhibit, featuring over an hour of footage from inside their main factory in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Filmed by legendary cinematographer G. W. Bitzer of the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, “Westinghouse Works, 1904” showcases employees on the factory floor making turbines, generators, and an assortment of other products. Of the 29 Westinghouse films produced, 21 are known to survive.

Why It Matters: The NFR gives a rundown of the films, with the only superlative being a description of the shorts as “highly illustrative”.

But Does It Really?: I guess. “Westinghouse Works, 1904” is an interesting enough watch, with its blatant disregard for these workers’ safety serving as an unintentional suspense builder. Even then, this is a slog of a viewing given that I’m watching a film that was one component of a live presentation (more on that later). A historical pass for “Westinghouse Works”: another figure in the carpet of early filmmaking.

Everybody Gets One: Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company (as it was known then) was founded in 1886 by engineer George Westinghouse, and specialized in making generators, turbines, and motors. The company focused on developing infrastructure for this new thing called electricity, and was the foremost rival of Thomas Edison (even employing Nikola Tesla for a time). Fun fact: George Westinghouse invented the railroad air brake, which can be seen being made in several of the films.

Wow, That’s Dated: Any sort of safe work environment. We won’t get the Bureau of Labor Standards for another 18 years, and then another 49 before that becomes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Other notes 

  • When presented at the 1904 World’s Fair, “Westinghouse Works” was accompanied by live narration and music, which makes this one of the rare times that a 1904 audience had a better viewing experience than I did. As these films are available online only in total silence, I had to supply my own soundtrack for the first time in a while. My viewing of “Westinghouse” was accompanied by a random Spotify playlist of Elton John, The Beatles, Bowie, etc. plus the occasional yapping from my neighbor’s dog.
  • Most of my notes are about how big the machinery is and how easily everyone there could get injured. I was waiting for someone to be standing in the wrong spot and get an arm ripped off.
  • I really should have looked up what kind of things Westinghouse makes before viewing, because I have no idea what any of this machinery is. It all looks like equipment from Dr. Frankenstein’s lab.
  • I believe that Turbine machine makes Everlasting Gobstoppers.
  • Do you think everyone on camera worked harder because they knew they were being filmed?
  • Wow, the air brake makers have the slowest assembly line ever. I guess George Westinghouse really wanted plenty of TLC when making his babies. Lucy and Ethel would have been just fine if they had worked at Westinghouse.
  • Of the 21 films, “Steam Hammer’ currently has the highest view count on YouTube, and it’s easy to see why: We watch the titular hammer forge – as it is officially described – “a large, glowing block”. Seriously, is that plutonium?
  • Are these the first crane shots in film history? I guess someone had to invent them.
  • Everyone in this movie looks like they’re in the opening credits of “Cheers”.
  • A handful of the “Westinghouse” films feature the roles that women (or “Girls” as they’re called here) could work: mainly winding and taping coils. Based on how these women are dressed, this is either 1904 Westinghouse or present-day See’s Candies.
  • The extended shot of the female employees punching out just feels like Mutoscope’s American remake of “Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory“. Also, several of the woman are smiling and laughing as they leave. Stop that! Everybody knows that nobody smiled or had fun of any kind in the 1900s.
  • When you show an extended shot of a steam whistle going off at a factory there’s only one thing to say: Yabba-Dabba-Doo!
  • Well they definitely saved the best for last. The camera goes outside and takes a train ride around the Westinghouse factory. After an hour of watching static shots of men working, it was great to see actual traveling shots.

Legacy 

  • George Westinghouse resigned from his company following the Bankers’ Panic of 1907. In the ensuing decades, Westinghouse continued its reign as a leading electronic company, becoming a conglomerate in the 1990s when it bought CBS. Shortly thereafter, Westinghouse pivoted to media and sold off its industrial assets. Presently, Westinghouse is part of Paramount Global, and while Westinghouse no longer makes any of the products they built the original company on, the Westinghouse name is still loaned out to various electronic and motor companies.
  • Westinghouse would continue its self-promotion at the World’s Fair with the greatest film on the NFR: 1939’s “The Middleton Family at the New York’s World’s Fair“.

#651) Bread (1918)

#651) Bread (1918)

OR “A Slice of Life”

Directed by Ida May Park

Written by Park and Evelyn Camp

Class of 2020 

The Plot: “Bread” is a unique NFR entry, in that we only have Reels 3 & 4 of a six reel film, so a full plot synopsis involves some guesswork. Based on what we know about the first two reels of “Bread”, the film is about Candace Newby (Mary MacLaren), a young woman who leaves her small town and moves to New York to become a stage actor. She meets theater producer Emil Krause (Louis Morrison), who puts her on his payroll, and playwright Arnold Train (Edward Cecil), who falls in love with her. Reel 3 begins with Krause bringing Candace into his office, locking the door, and making advances. Candace rejects Krause and runs away. Krause retaliates by cutting off her finances, and soon Candace only has enough money for a single loaf of bread. On her way home she loses the bread and…well that’s where Reel 4 ends things. What a cliff hanger!

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up is primarily a shoutout to Ida May Park, whose “accomplished ability” as a director and scenario writer are praised. The survival status of “Bread” is also mentioned.

But Does It Really?: This is the most NFR film the NFR has ever inducted. It’s a silent melodrama directed by a woman that deals with social issues and only survives in part: That’s an NFR bingo! Obviously it’s impossible to judge this film solely on its own merits, but even as an 18 1/2 minute excerpt, “Bread” clearly has the hallmarks of a solid melodrama, and is representative of an era of female filmmaking that soon disappeared. “Bread” is definitely on the “historical significance” side of things, but I have no objection to its NFR induction. Now let’s go find those missing reels!

Everybody Gets One: We don’t know a lot about Ida May Park, other than she was a native Angeleno who started her showbiz career as a stage actor, meeting her husband Joseph de Grasse in the process. The couple were hired by Universal in 1914, with Park writing scenarios for films directed by de Grasse. Park’s first directing job was for 1917’s “The Flashlight”. Park’s pivot to directing was in part based on her successful collaborations with her husband, and in part because of Universal’s then-practice of hiring more women directors (they were the ones that gave Lois Weber her start). In 1920, Park wrote this essay about film directing, in which she refers to filmmaking as “the great cinema octopus”, which is my new favorite description of anything film-related.

Other notes 

  • There is no weirder feeling than coming into the middle of a movie with no frame of reference, especially when your first scene is an attempted rape. I feel like Donny in “Big Lebowski“.
  • A bit of discrepancy: According to the AFI Film Catalog, the lead character is named Candace, but the intertitles call her Helen. What’s going on? I’m going with Candace until I hear otherwise. Also, her last name is Newby? A bit on the nose, eh?
  • We get a scene where another woman (presumably the character of Estelle played by Gladys Fox) berates Candace for rejecting Krause after he supported her financially. First of all, yikes. Second of all, YIKES. This is more psychological manipulation than “Rebecca” and “Gaslight” combined!
  • Estelle, admonishing Candace: “I’m the goat – my chance of being SOMEBODY is smashed-” I assume she means “goat” like a fool and not as the Greatest Of All Time.
  • I am once again reminded that Mary MacLaren kinda looks like Amy Schumer. Last time I mentioned that I wondered what Schumer was up to. Turns out the answer was doing a forgettable job co-hosting the Oscars where Chris Rock got slapped.
  • Thank god we still have the part of the film where the title is explained. Otherwise I would have assumed they meant bread as in money.
  • Candace loses the bread when she bumps into a passerby on the street and drops the bread on the running board of a passing car. And that’s why cars don’t have running boards anymore! I assume that car will be hunted down by Javert for the next three hours.
  • “[The bread] symbolized all the good things in life.” Thank you, movie, we get the symbolism.
  • As far as I can tell, the ending of “Bread” involves Candace being reunited with her bread and accepting Arnold’s marriage proposal. Maybe I saw the most interesting third of this movie after all.

Legacy 

  • Like many of her contemporaries, Ida May Park’s directing days ended in the 1920s; her last two films as director were 1920’s “Bonnie May” and “The Midlanders”. Park continued to write scenarios, and her final writing credit was for 1931’s provocatively titled “Playthings of Hollywood”. Ida May Park died in 1954 at age 74.
  • Of Ida May Park’s 14 films as director, only three are known to survive, all from 1918: “Bread”, “Broadway Love”, and “The Risky Road”. Of the three, “Broadway Love” is the only film that survives in its entirety.
  • I assume “Bread” is Oprah’s favorite movie.

#650) Red River (1948)

#650) Red River (1948)

OR “Where’s The Beef?”

Directed by Howard Hawks

Written by Borden Chase and Charles Schnee. Based on the Saturday Evening Post story by Chase.

Class of 1990

The Plot: In a semi-fictional take on the first cattle drive along the Chisholm Trail from Texas to Kansas, “Red River” focuses on Thomas Dunson (John Wayne), a cattle rancher who becomes broke after the Civil War. With no other choice, Dunson leads his herd and a band of volunteers hundreds of miles to Missouri to sell his cattle for the best price. As the conditions worsen on the journey, Dunson becomes more tyrannical and cruel to his men. This causes a major discord between Dunson and his adopted son Matthew Garth (Montgomery Clift), who believes they will have better luck if they reroute to Kansas. And behind the camera, Howard Hawks takes his first stab at the Western genre.

Why It Matters: The NFR writeup is mostly a rundown of the film’s talent, as well as a surprising amount of space devoted to the plot details from the film’s opening 10 minutes. A more appreciative essay by filmmaker and distributor Michael Schlesinger gives “Red River” its due.

But Does It Really?: I liked “Red River” better than other Westerns on this list, but that’s not saying much. As a film experience, it’s entertaining and holds your interest thanks to the A+ talent involved behind the scenes. As a significant American film, however, it never gets brought up as often as you’d think it would within the canon of Hawks’ filmography and/or classic Westerns. There’s a generation of film historians (Your Peter Bogdanovich-es, for example) who love “Red River”, but as the years go on that admiration hasn’t really been passed down. I’m gonna put “Red River” in the “minor classic” category: a memorable movie that has started to get lost in the shuffle of classic films.

Wow, That’s Dated: Yes, there are instances of the kind of misogyny towards women and racism towards Indigenous people you should expect from Westerns, especially those of this era, but…um…yeah I got nothing.

Title Track: [In Comic Book Guy voice] Technically they do not cross Red River in this movie, but rather the Prairie Dog fork, in which the Red River merges with both the Palo Duro Creek and Tierra Blanca Creek. Worst. Title. Ever.

Seriously, Oscars?: One of the highest grossing films of 1948, “Red River” received two Oscar nominations. The film’s nods for Story and Editing lost to, respectively, “The Search” and “The Naked City“.

Other notes 

  • Right off the bat, there’s a credit that intrigues me: Co-Director Arthur Rosson. I can’t imagine a titan like Howard Hawks sharing his title with anyone, but Rosson (the film’s second unit director) impressed Hawks with his shooting of the cattle drive sequences and this was Hawks’ way of thanking him.
  • “Red River” was Howard Hawks’ first western, but he injects a bit of his screwball comedy instincts into the movie’s DNA, with its comic relief supporting characters and overlapping dialogue. Speaking of comic relief: A reminder that Walter Brennan’s character is named Nadine Groot. Does this make “Red River” part of the MCU?
  • The film’s cinematography by Russell Harlan is the kind of impressive, expansive vistas associated with the genre, though it makes the handful of rear projection shots stick out like a sore thumb.
  • Wow, John Wayne actually did walk like that?
  • We meet Matt as a young boy played by Mickey Kuhn, who is so miscast as young Monty Clift I didn’t realize they were supposed to be the same person until it was mentioned by the other characters later on.
  • Of course Montgomery Clift is good in this, but even more impressive is the fact that “Red River” was his first movie! (though “The Search” was released first) It’s pretty impressive watching a 25 year old stage actor give John Wayne a run for his money. In fact, having an actor as skilled as Clift kinda highlights how little John Wayne is doing in this film (though I’m in the minority in this opinion). In an unintentional battle between Wayne’s untrained naturalism and Clift’s Method approach, Clift easily outacts the Duke. Side note: Monty kinda looks like a young Tom Cruise, doesn’t he? With a bit of Peter Gallagher thrown in?
  • John Ireland is quite good as Matt’s rival Cherry Valance (better utilized here than in “All the King’s Men“). In his first scene Cherry and Matt handle and admire each other’s guns at length, which begs the question: What in the name of “Brokeback Mountain” is going on here? There’s enough gay subtext in the scene to make Gore Vidal blush. Hawks denied anything intentional, but come on. “Can I see it? Maybe you’d like to see mine. Nice, awful nice.” Come on!
  • There’s a very impressive 360 degree shot of Dunson, his men, and the herd as they prepare to embark on their trek. I assume getting all those steer was quite the cattle call. Thank you!
  • Oh good, the one Indigenous character is a full-on stereotype. Shoutout to Chief Yowlachie, a member of the Yakama tribe of Washington State, forced to play the stoic, Tarzan-level broken English speaking straight man to Walter Brennan’s antics.
  • Wow, this is the most effective stampede scene this side of “The Lion King“. You definitely feel the danger these men are in both by the potential loss of and death by the cattle. Easily the highlight of the movie for me.
  • There’s definitely a “Mutiny on the Bounty” vibe going on with Wayne and Clift’s characters. Even Borden Chase admitted that his original story was just “‘Mutiny’ with saddles and stirrups.”
  • The wrangler Sims Reeves, about Dunson reading from the Bible after killing one of his men: “Why try to bring the Lord in as a partner on the job?” Sims gets it.
  • Joanne Dru fills the Hawksian Woman trope neatly as Tess, the outspoken woman who comes between Dunson and Matt. Funnily enough, it was John Ireland who caught Dru’s attention in real life, and the two married shortly after production wrapped. Fun Fact: Joanne Dru is the older sister of original “Hollywood Squares” host Peter Marshall!
  • Blink and you’ll miss Shelley Winters as a background performer in the wagon train. She was a bit player when “Red River” was filmed, but by the time it was released her star had risen with her breakout performance in “A Double Life”. Technically this is Winters’ NFR debut, but thankfully “A Place in the Sun” would be inducted the next year.
  • It’s always nice to see silent screen star Harry Carey in a movie; he has an appealing soft-spokeness to him, plus he automatically makes me think of Harry Caray. “Red River” is the only time Harry Carey Sr. and Jr. would be in a film together (Jr. is one of the wranglers), and sadly would be Carey Sr.’s final movie, released almost a full year after his passing.
  • [Spoilers] Well that was definitely an ending. The original story ended with Dunson getting shot, and Matt taking his body back to Texas to be buried on his property. Hawks didn’t like the idea of the main character learning a lesson and then immediately dying, so he opted for a happier ending. Neither Borden Chase nor Montgomery Clift liked this new ending (Clift called it a “farce”), and they are right to feel that way. It definitely sticks out from the rest of the movie, wrapping things up too neatly with a broadly comic bow. You expect this kind of ending from “I Love Lucy”, but not from a John Wayne western.

Legacy 

  • “Red River” was filmed in 1946, but its release was delayed for almost two years due to extensive re-editing when Hawks was dissatisfied with the original cut. The film’s release was delayed again thanks to this blog’s recurring heel Howard Hughes. Turns out Hughes was still bitter about Hawks quitting on Hughes’ “The Outlaw” six years earlier, and sued Hawks for similarities between the climactic shootouts of “Red River” and “Outlaw”. “Red River” was cut down by six minutes (with new footage and alternate narration) before hitting theaters in August 1948. At some point the theatrical print was lost, and the original “Directors Cut” started appearing on television and home video. Side note: Peter Bogdanovich claimed that Hawks preferred the theatrical cut, but this has been debated.
  • Allegedly Hawks was so grateful of Christian Nyby’s Hail Mary editing pass that he gave Nyby the chance to direct his first movie, 1951’s “The Thing From Another World” which, depending on which film historian you believe, may or may not have actually been directed by Nyby.
  • Howard Hawks gave key members of the “Red River” team commemorative belt buckles with the Red River D brand, which John Wayne wore in subsequent films (including Hawks’ “Rio Bravo”). These buckles have become collector’s items over the years, with Clift’s buckle selling for almost $14,000 at a 2014 auction.
  • Wayne pays tribute to the late Harry Carey in the iconic final moment of “The Searchers“. As Wayne stands in the doorway, he holds his right elbow with his left hand, a stance Carey took in many of his movies. Carey’s widow Olive appears in this scene and was moved by the homage.
  • “Red River” quickly became part of the John Wayne mythos, and was one of many clips utilized in the opening montage of Wayne’s character in his final film, 1976’s “The Shootist”.

Wow, Movie #650, the last major checkpoint before I reach 700 movies, a personal goalpost I always wanted for the blog. Onward!

For Your NFR Consideration: Alan Arkin

Like so many others, I was saddened to learn of the recent passing of the great Alan Arkin. With an acting career that spanned over 60 years, Arkin appeared in such a wide variety of film and TV that you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t seen at least one of his performances. Most surprisingly, Arkin appeared in over 80 movies, and not a single one of them is on the National Film Registry! I present some of Arkin’s most iconic films and performances for your NFR consideration.

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966)

If you don’t count 1957’s “Calypso Heat Wave” (in which Arkin appears as part of the folk group The Tarriers), “Russians” is Arkin’s film debut. Fresh out of Second City with a few Broadway hits under his belt, Arkin plays one of the titular Russians; a Soviet Navy lieutenant whose submarine runs aground on a New England beach town. In addition to its significance in Arkin’s filmography (and earning him his first Oscar nomination), “Russians” encapsulates the absurdities of the Cold War (think of it as a lighter variation of “Dr. Strangelove“) and was an early success for the film’s director Norman Jewison.

Wait Until Dark (1967)

Admittedly, this one is more for Audrey Hepburn, who has been getting a lot of attention from the NFR in recent years. In her last film role before her semi-retirement, Hepburn plays a blind woman who accidentally comes into possession of a heroin supply sought after by a criminal played by Arkin. “Wait Until Dark” is still considered one of the most suspenseful thrillers of the era, and earned Hepburn her fifth and final Best Actress Oscar nomination.

The In-Laws (1979)

Wanting to avoid typecasting, Arkin spent the 1970s zig-zagging through his career, switching from acting and directing, stage and screen. One of his most memorable zags of the decade was his performance in “The In-Laws” as a timid dentist who gets mixed up in an international caper with a CIA agent (Peter Falk) whose son is about to marry Arkin’s daughter. In an era filled with funny character studies, “The In-Laws” stands out among the best. You can never hear the word “serpentine” without thinking of this movie.

The Last Unicorn (1982)

I don’t really have anything to say about this movie; I just learned today that Alan Arkin is a voice in it. This may have been his biggest career zag.

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

This would be a great NFR twofer: Having “Scissorhands” on the list would represent Arkin as well as Tim Burton who – outside of some uncredited puppetry on “The Muppet Movie” – is unrepresented on the NFR. “Scissorhands” is Burton in his prime, weaving all of his trademark aesthetics and talents into one near-perfect movie. Arkin doesn’t have much to do as the soft-spoken patriarch of the family that takes in the titular misfit, but as always Arkin leaves a memorable impression that helps ground the film.

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

It’s really saying something when a movie has an ensemble so stacked that you forget Alan Arkin is in it. This is of course not a knock on Arkin’s work here as a reserved, apprehensive salesman, it’s just hard to stand out among the meatier theatrics of Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, and – in a career-defining cameo – Alec Baldwin. Both “Glengarry” the movie and the play continue to hold a place in pop culture, and I advise the NFR to Always Be Closing.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

I submit “Little Miss Sunshine” for NFR consideration every so often, not only as representation of the quirky indie comedies of the 2000s, but also as a personal favorite. I remember seeing “Little Miss Sunshine” in theaters and knowing then and there that Alan Arkin would win the Oscar for his work as the Hoover family’s blunt yet warmhearted grandpa, and man do I love it when I’m right.

Other Alan Arkin Films For Your Consideration

  • The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968)
  • Catch-22 (1970)
  • Freebie and the Bean (1974)
  • Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
  • Marley & Me (2009)
  • Argo (2012)

Bonus Alan Arkin Film That I Love But Probably Won’t Make the NFR But Should For His Performance Alone: So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)

Remember that the “Your” in “For Your Consideration”is you, the reader. Anyone can nominate their favorite Alan Arkin movies for NFR consideration. You can submit your nominations here (the 2023 deadline is August 15th). You can check out the NFR’s page of films not yet on the list for reference, as well as my own personal page of favorites I keep submitting. In the spirit of Arkin’s improv background, let’s “Yes, and” this legend into film history.

#649) All My Babies: A Midwife’s Own Story (1953)

#649) All My Babies: A Midwife’s Own Story (1953)

Directed & Written by George C. Stoney

Class of 2002

“All My Babies” is available for viewing on the Library of Congress’ YouTube page. I can’t embed it here because it has an age-restriction (you’ll learn why in a minute) but you can watch it here.

The Plot: Produced by the Georgia Department of Public Health, “All My Babies” follows Mary Francis Hill Coley, a real life midwife in Albany, Georgia who helps deliver babies throughout Dougherty County. After a lecture from a doctor about the importance of proper hygiene, we witness Mary helping deliver babies for two families: one that practices healthy prenatal care, and one that doesn’t. Don’t worry, no one dies during this, but you will see an on-camera birth, so be prepared for that.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film a “landmark” that “inadvertently captured a telling snapshot at the socioeconomic conditions of the era”. Film historian Joshua Glick is on hand with a detailed essay on George Stoney and the film’s production.

But Does It Really?: “All My Babies” is the kind of unique film the NFR was made for, highlighting creative talent and exceptional communities far removed from Hollywood studios. Any NFR film gets points for me if I can instantly tell how and why it made the list and if nothing else, this is the NFR movie with a live childbirth. Definitely an unforgettable moment, though admittedly it overpowers and distracts from the rest of the movie (at least for me). Still, you can’t deny the importance of people like George Stoney and Mary Coley, and “All My Babies” is more than worthy of its NFR standing. Just don’t eat before watching it.

Everybody Gets One: George Stoney started off as a writer and field research assistant before pivoting to filmmaking after World War II. Using his pre-war experience, Stoney focused on educational films. His 1946 offering “Palmour Street” concerned mental health within the Black community and earned him a commission from the Georgia Department of Public Health to make a film about midwives. Stoney was given 118 talking points (!) to make in his midwife film, but was given the creative freedom to present these points however he wanted. Mary Coley was a veteran midwife in Albany, Georgia who was selected out of 20 potential candidates to appear in “All My Babies”. Aware of the “mammy” stereotype that could be associated with her appearance in the film, Coley worked with Stoney to present her community with respect and dignity. In addition, Coley helped craft the film’s overall structure.

Title Track: Mary says the title twice, including the final line: “I’m proud of all my babies.” Side note: On multiple occasions I have accidentally referred to this movie as “All My Sons” and “All My Children“. It’s just one of those titles, I guess.

Wow, That’s Dated: I’m definitely out of my element when it comes to medical practices, but I assume that modern midwifery is very different from how it’s depicted in this film.

Seriously, Oscars?: No Oscar for “All My Babies”. For the record: 1953’s Best Documentary Feature was fellow NFR entry “The Living Desert“.

Other notes 

  • I am very unqualified to discuss the aforementioned “socioeconomic conditions” of this movie, but it is worth mentioning that this film about a Black community was made by a White filmmaker. Stoney was able to gain the trust of the Black community depicted in this film with the help of Bishop Noah, a local pastor of Mary Coley’s church. The flip side of that is Stoney having to cow-tow to his (White) producers, depicting a South where both White and Black medical workers interact in harmony, definitely not the case in 1950s Georgia. Stoney also had to make a film that promoted midwives while simultaneously presenting them as “a temporary and unfortunate necessity” in rural Georgia.
  • Shoutout to this film’s Chief Electrician Robert Downey, who to the best of my knowledge is of no relation to either Sr. or Jr.
  • This movie is that “Forgotten Frontier” style of docudrama in which real people are recreating events from their own lives, which must have been weird. We also get a dangerous combination of thick southern accents and stilted non-acting from these performers. Patience is required for the more expositional scenes.
  • The Musical Art Chorus of Washington D.C. lend their vocal talents to the film, underscoring several key moments as joyous and celebratory. That being said, at one point the choir sounds like they’re gonna start singing “Spider-Pig“.
  • And now this movie’s most notable moment: a real-time live birth. Just when I think I’ve seen everything on this blog, I witness the beautiful, disgusting miracle of life. This is one of the rare times where going into a film cold was a disservice. Still, this was easier to watch than “Pink Flamingos“. And once the baby arrived, I immediately went into “look at that cute baby” mode. If that baby is still alive, he would be in his early ’70s and probably grossed out that he can watch his own birth.
  • Also dated: Dads-to-be waiting in another room while the baby is being born. You get your ass in there and help out! This is your doing too, you bastard!
  • A brief sequence of a mother breastfeeding her newborn child reminds me: Breastfeeding is neither gross nor sensual. If you’re on either extreme, mind your own business.
  • At one point, the doctor’s admonishment “Something wasn’t clean” echoes in Mary’s head. Maybe I just needed to lighten the mood after this movie’s darker scenes, but all I could think of in that moment was “Pinch hitting for Pedro Borbón, Manny Mota-Mota-Mota.”
  • Interesting that the second birth isn’t shown on camera. I guess the kid didn’t sign a release form.
  • “My, what a husky little peanut we have here.” That may be the worst thing you can say about a newborn child. I hope that’s not the baby’s first memory.

Legacy 

  • “All My Babies” was well received within the medical community, and even managed to be screened at New York’s Cinema 16 as an “avant-garde” piece (This designation allowed a film with childbirth to be publicly screened).
  • George Stoney continued making educational films for the next 50 years! Stoney also taught film at Columbia and NYU, and was an early advocate for democratic media, earning the moniker “the father of public-access television”.
  • Mary Coley delivered over 3,000 babies during her three-decade midwife career, and continues to be celebrated for her accomplishments; being added to the Georgia Women of Achievement list in 2011.