The Horse's Head

#536) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

OR “Cool Hand Jack”

Directed by Miloš Forman

Written by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman. Based on the novel by Ken Kesey, and the stage adaptation by Dale Wasserman.

Class of 1993

The Plot: A mental institution in 1963 Oregon welcomes new patient Randle P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), a statutory rapist faking insanity to avoid penal labor. Used to defying authority, McMurphy meets his match with Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), who runs the ward with an iron fist. Despite his anarchic energy, McMurphy actually makes a positive impact on his fellow patients, including Chief Bromden (Will Sampson), the deaf-mute Native American that the staff has given up on.

Why It Matters: The NFR lauds director Forman, the cast’s “outstanding performances” and the “masterfully adapted” screenplay. The write-up also describes the film as “a hard-hitting and wry condemnation of the Establishment and its ethos of conformity.”

But Does It Really?: Hmm…good question. “Cuckoo’s Nest” is revered by many film groups as one of the best movies of all time, and it’s very good, but maybe there’s a little overhyping going on? Don’t get me wrong, everything about this movie is solid, from the pitch-perfect ensemble to Forman’s naturalistic directing, but it didn’t wow me at the level I hoped it would. “Cuckoo’s Nest” is a great movie with a legacy more than deserving of NFR recognition, but maybe I just need to be in a better mood before calling it an untouchable classic.

Everybody Gets One: Despite not actually appearing in this movie (and being the namesake of my oft-mentioned age gap scale), this is the only NFR representation for movie star/“Cuckoo’s” producer Michael Douglas. Michael’s father Kirk Douglas bought the film rights to “Cuckoo’s” in the early ’60s, and starred in the stage version on Broadway. After spending a decade unable to secure a studio backer, and realizing he was too old to play McMurphy himself, Kirk sold the film rights to Michael, who co-produced this movie with Saul Zaentz’s Fantasy Films. “Cuckoo’s” is also the only NFR appearance for the majority of the cast, including Louise Fletcher and Brad Dourif.

Wow, That’s Dated: Unfortunately we don’t have time to throughly delve into the complex issue of mental health in America. Suffice it to say that while the kind of mental institutions seen in this film have given way to more humane mental health centers, we still have a long way to go to efficiently and effectively handle our country’s ongoing health crises.

Title Track: The film’s title is derived from the children’s folk rhyme “Vintery, Mintery, Cutery, Corn”, a counting rhyme a la “Eeny Meeny Miney Moe”. Coincidentally, in some versions the last line is “Make your way home, Jack”.

Seriously, Oscars?: Second only to “Jaws” at the box office (albeit a distant second), “Cuckoo’s Nest” led the Oscar pack with nine nominations. Despite heavy competition from “Jaws”, “Nashville” and “Dog Day Afternoon“, “Cuckoo’s” became the first movie since “It Happened One Night” to sweep the Oscar’s Big Five categories: Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay. Nicholson’s Best Actor win was his first after five nominations in six years.

Other notes 

• Turns out this was a particularly tense production. In addition to the inherent hassles of on-location shooting (in this case Oregon State Hospital), cinematographer Haskell Wexler was fired halfway through production over creative differences with Miloš Forman. Wexler’s replacement, Bill Butler, ended up serving as the middleman between Forman and Jack Nicholson when they stopped speaking to each other. These and other delays caused the film to go over-schedule and to double its budget.
• This is the film debut for much of the cast, many of whom were either stage actors or actual citizens and hospital employees in Salem, Oregon. Among the professional actors, Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd. Was anyone in this movie not on “Taxi“?
• As always with older movies, my apologies to Native Americans everywhere. At least Will Sampson was actually Native American (Muscogee). And a shoutout to the Kalapuya people of Salem, Oregon, because why not?
• While not his crowning achievement as an actor, Nicholson is very good in this; a fine balance of his trademark lunacy (for lack of a better term) and a more sincere leader for this group. Like many of Jack’s bad boys, you root for McMurphy, even though you really shouldn’t. Plus this has got to be Jack’s last somewhat restrained performance before veering off into caricature territory. Next stop, “The Shining“!

• Wow Louise Fletcher is on fire here. Her Ratched is manipulative without being a cartoon villain, with some nice subtleties to question the character’s motives. Plus Fletcher says more with one icy stare than most actors do with their entire body. I’m still not sure Ratched is a “lead” performance, but Fletcher definitely deserves all the accolades she got.

• The fishing scene is a highlight; it’s fun watching all of these characters out in the “real” world. Side note: Blink and you’ll miss Nicholson’s then-partner Anjelica Huston as one of the extras watching the boat return to the dock.

• Another highlight for me is the basketball game with Chief as your MVP. Looks like all those Lakers games are finally paying off for Jack.

• The scene where McMurphy and Chief get electroconvulsive therapy is a bit intense. Not “Exorcist” angiography intense, but up there.

• Here’s a question: It’s established that part of the film occurs in October 1963 when McMurphy listens to the World Series. Later on, Christmas decorations are set up in the hospital. This begs the question: did they gloss over the Kennedy assassination? Did anyone tell them?
• Speaking of, here’s another movie for my “Die Hard” Not-Christmas list.
• Scatman Crothers makes a fun contrast as the night shift aide, taking a bribe from McMurphy in exchange for booze and female companionship. But hey, at least this went better than that other time Nicholson and Crothers tried to work together.
• Billy Bibbit doesn’t get a lot of screentime, but his final showdown with Ratched and subsequent breakdown is worth the trip out. Brad Dourif knocks it out of the park in his film debut, and he received an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor.

• Despite everything that goes wrong for these characters, Chief’s ending is surprisingly uplifting, and the film is bookended by two lovely nature vistas and Jack Nitzsche’s excellent use of the band saw.

Legacy 

• “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was a hit with critics, audiences, and everyone who wasn’t original author Ken Kesey. Dissatisfied with the “butchering” of his book (the novel is from Chief’s perspective, not McMurphy’s), Kesey sued Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz for breaching their verbal agreement about the adaptation’s faithfulness. Kesey settled, and claimed he changed the channel whenever “Cuckoo’s” was on TV (a similar claim has been attributed to both Stephen King and Roald Dahl).
• References and spoofs of “Cuckoo’s Nest” in pop culture typically center around either the title, the main characters, or the ending. As always, bonus points to a parody with an original cast member, such as Danny DeVito’s send-up in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”.

• Because every IP needs an origin story these days, the Netflix series “Ratched” stars Sarah Paulson as a younger Nurse Ratched, delving into the character’s evil beginnings. Paulson’s always great, but I have to ask WHO IS THE AUDIENCE FOR THIS?

• The stage version of “Cuckoo’s Nest” makes the regional theater rounds pretty regularly. A 2001 production by Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre made its way to Broadway, but I’m always partial to the production my high school put on my freshman year. I played Billy Bibbit, and the experience has caused me to see this dark, unsettling movie as an old, warm friend.

Further Viewing: “Cuckoo’s Nest” was filmed in Oregon during the winter/spring of 1975, meaning Jack Nicholson missed the occasional stop on his “Chinatown” awards season tour (he attended the Oscars that year sporting his semi-shaved haircut for “Cuckoo’s”). Unable to attend the BAFTA ceremony, Nicholson pre-taped an acceptance speech on the set of “Cuckoo’s”, with the rest of the cast in support.

#533) How Green Was My Valley (1941)

OR “A Tree Grows in Wales”

Directed by John Ford

Written by Philip Dunne. Based on the novel by Richard Llewellyn.

Class of 1990 

The Plot: As he prepares to leave his home in the South Wales Valleys, Huw Morgan (voiced by Irving Pichel) reflects on his upbringing. Young Huw (Roddy McDowall) is raised by his supportive parents (Donald Crisp and Sara Allgood), as well as a plethora of siblings (including Maureen O’Hara). The male family members all work for the local coal mines, which are starting to blacken the nearby valley. Over the years, the Morgan family deals with a miners strike, an unspoken affection between Angharad (O’Hara) and new pastor Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon), and the inevitable dangers of working in a coal mine. But no matter how much the mines blacken his idyllic childhood, Huw will always remember how green was…that particular plot of land.

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up highlights the “seamless collaboration of creative talent” that contributed to the final film. No real superlatives here, just some NFR 101.

But Does It Really?: This one’s going into the “Minor Classic” pile. “How Green Was My Valley” is a well-crafted drama, but like so many other early classic films it has, through no fault of its own, been eclipsed by later movies that resonate stronger with modern audiences. On its own, “Valley” benefits from its endearing storyline, an excellent ensemble of actors, and a versatile John Ford at the helm (this viewing was a refreshing reprieve from Ford’s countless westerns on the list). While “Valley” is remembered today as a footnote to other 1941 movies (see “Seriously, Oscars?”), it’s still an engaging piece of film, and worthy of its NFR induction.

Everybody Gets One: Like many a figure covered on this blog, “Valley” screenwriter Philip Dunne was connected to the Hollywood Blacklist, but Dunne’s experience was somewhat unique. Dunne traveled to Washington D.C. with such outspoken Hollywood liberals as John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, and Lauren Bacall to condemn HUAC and their hearings. Despite his vocal objections, and despite collaborating with several known Communists in Hollywood, Dunne was never accused, subpoenaed, or blacklisted himself.

Title Track: The title is uttered by our narrator as a metaphor for the nostalgia he has for his youth. In the novel, the phrase was uttered in a later chapter after Huw’s first sexual encounter!

Seriously, Oscars?: One of the most successful movies of the year, “How Green Was My Valley” received 10 Oscar nominations, one behind pack-leader “Sergeant York“. “Valley” ended up taking home five Oscars, including Best Picture, John Ford’s third Best Director win, and Supporting Actor for silent film veteran Donald Crisp. Among the film’s fellow Best Picture nominees were “Sergeant York”, “The Maltese Falcon” and, what’s that other one? Oh yes, “CITIZEN FUCKING KANE“. “Valley” may have been the right choice at the time, but hindsight has made this win one of Oscar’s biggest head scratchers.

Other notes 

• Fox originally bought the film rights to “How Green Was My Valley” with the intention of turning it into a four-hour epic to rival “Gone with the Wind“, including filming in Technicolor and on location in Wales. For a variety of reasons (mostly related to money and the impending war), the two-hour film was shot in black and white on a set constructed in the Santa Monica Mountains.
• William Wyler was originally slated to direct “Valley”, but production delays caused him to depart to helm “The Little Foxes”. Wyler did, however, make an impact on the final film: he supervised the set construction, and cast Roddy McDowall as Huw.
• For the record, supporting player Rhys Williams is the only actor in this movie who is actually Welsh. Most of the cast are either English or Irish.
• This is Roddy McDowall’s second American film, and his first leading role. The twelve-year-old English newcomer is listed in the opening credits as “Master Roddy McDowall”.

• Although no stranger to American films at this point (including NFR entry “Dance, Girl, Dance“), this is Maureen O’Hara’s breakout film performance. And she is quite charming, I give her that. By the way, do we know if she’s doing her own singing?

• After a string of movies on this blog with downer/creepy weddings, it’s nice to see one where everyone’s having a good time with no distressing foreshadowing.

• Another union/labor strike movie? I can’t escape them! But what do you expect when your screenwriter helped co-found the Writers Guild?
• As always, I will listen to Walter Pidgeon say anything. And despite having a supporting role, Pidgeon manages to receive top billing over Donald Crisp and Maureen O’Hara.

• Not to split hairs, but Huw sure is remembering a lot of events he didn’t actually witness.
• I’m embarrassed to admit how long it took me to realize that this movie set in Wales features “God Save the Queen” in its underscore, and not “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”. This of course led to me singing the Eddie Izzard lyrics.
• Roddy McDowall spends part of this movie beating up other kids. Screw “Kane”, give this movie all the Oscars!
• A surprisingly funny moment in the movie is between the boxers Dai Bando and Cyfartha: “I’m not accustomed to speaking in public.” “Only in public houses.”

• Again with the child labor! But at least this movie is actually utilizing Roddy McDowall for its second half. He spent most of the first hour sidelined by injury.
• Unsurprisingly, Donald Crisp’s best moments in this movie are his moments of silence. Even without speaking you sense the immense weight Gwilyn Morgan carries for his family and community.
• Perhaps the most ironic part of this movie: Because it’s in black and white, we never actually see just how green that valley was.

• Something that caught my eye during the end credits of the restored version: a credit mentioning the support of the AMC television channel, back when their primary focus was on American Movie Classics (yep, that’s what it actually stands for).

Legacy 

• “How Green Was My Valley” was an instant hit, and Fox commissioned Richard Llewellyn to write a sequel novel, “Men of the Valley”, which would subsequently be adapted for film. Although this immediate follow-up never materialized, Llewellyn returned to Huw’s story twenty years later in three books: “Up Into the Singing Mountain”, “Down Where the Moon is Small”, and “Green, Green My Valley Now”. As best I can tell, none of these have become movies.
• The BBC has adapted “How Green Was My Valley” not once, but twice. Both the 1960 and 1975 adaptations are multi-episode miniseries that retain more story elements than the film version.

• The musical adaptation “A Time for Singing” opened on Broadway in May 1966, and closed the following month. Die-hard theater buffs still (forgive me) sing this show’s praises, and you can still listen to Bing Crosby’s recording of some of the songs.

• “How Green Was My Valley” is another one of those classic movies where the title gets referenced a lot, but nobody could tell you what the movie is about. Hell, before this viewing, I couldn’t have told you the plot of this movie, and I actually pay attention to this stuff!

#532) Some Like It Hot (1959)

OR “Girls Gone Wilder”

Directed by Billy Wilder

Written by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond. Based on the film “Fanfare of Love” by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan.

Class of 1989 

The Plot: It’s 1929 Chicago and a raid on a local speakeasy leads to wanted gangster Spats Colombo (George Raft) killing off some informants during the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. The murder is witnessed by jazz musicians Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon), who escape Spats by dressing in drag and joining an all-female band en route to Florida. As “Josephine” and “Daphne”, the two men become chummy with the band’s lead singer Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe). Once the band arrives in Florida, complications arise when Joe poses as a millionaire to woo Sugar, while Daphne fights off the advances of real millionaire Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown). Oh, and it’s not only a comedy, but the funniest comedy ever made.

Why It Matters: The NFR attributes the film’s success to its “breakneck pacing, a touch of cynicism, and gender-bending and gender-celebrating jokes galore.” There’s also a loving essay by film censorship expert Dr. David Eldridge.

But Does It Really?: I am warning you right now: this post is gonna be one of my gush-fests. If you’re willing to forgive and accept the film’s binary gender politics, “Some Like It Hot” is still a remarkable film comedy. Beautifully structured, perfect casting, and oh yes, it’s still one of the funniest movies ever made. With a modern viewpoint of the gender spectrum, the film has unfortunately started showing its more problematic aspects, but hey, nobody’s perfect. “Some Like It Hot” is a well-oiled machine that still runs marvelously over 60 years later.

Shout Outs: Several references to ’30s gangster pics “Little Caesar“, “The Public Enemy” and “Scarface“. The latter is specifically alluded to when Spats disapproves of Bonaparte’s “cheap” coin flipping trick. He learned it from you!

Wow, That’s Dated: It’s safe to say that the “drag comedy” sub-genre is over, at least in the form seen here. Thanks to progressive leaps in acceptance of gender fluidity, drag is no longer perceived as a comic disguise, but rather an artistic and/or personal expression of one’s self. “Some Like It Hot” may have been the first drag movie to revel in its gender complications, a move that ultimately killed the genre.

Title Track: Joe actually says the phrase “some like it hot” while disguised as “Junior” talking to Sugar. In this context, “it” is jazz. Jerry also says the film’s working title within the movie: “Not Tonight, Josephine”.

Seriously, Oscars?: One of the most successful movies of 1959, “Some Like It Hot” entered the 1960 Oscars with six nominations (though missed out on a Best Picture nod). While the film lost in most categories to “Ben-Hur” and “The Diary of Anne Frank”, Orry-Kelly took home the Oscar for Black-and-White Costume Design.

Other notes 

• Stay with me: “Some Like It Hot” is a remake of a remake. The initial story of two male musicians crossdressing for an all-female band came from the 1935 French film “Fanfare d’amour”. When Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond wanted to remake the film, they couldn’t find the screenplay, so they bought the rights to the 1951 German remake “Fanfaren der Liebe” and used that script as a launching pad. Despite its lineage, “Some Like It Hot” is a mostly original story: it was Wilder’s idea to set the film in the ’20s, and added the gangsters to give Joe and Jerry a reason to stay in drag.
• This whole post could be me gushing over this cast. Both Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis fully commit to their characters (and their alter egos); Lemmon with his masterful comic timing and character work, Curtis with his natural movie-star charm. And while stories of Marilyn Monroe holding up production are as legendary as the movie itself, she’s put to good use here. Sugar is allowed to be charming and alluring, but the movie doesn’t rest on Monroe’s star power and sex appeal alone, which permits her to have more fun with the character.

• In a move that predates “Airplane!” by 20 years, Wilder cast established actors known for their typecasting and dramatic work to lend authenticity to this comedy. Both George Raft and Pat O’Brien were veterans of the ’30s gangster pictures, where they typically played, respectively, a menacing criminal and a no-nonsense cop, as they do here. And shout out to longtime character actor Nehemiah Persoff (Little Bonaparte), who as of this writing is alive at age 101!

• Bonus shout out to Paul Frees: the versatile voice actor who dubs a few minor characters in the film, and helps Tony Curtis maintain his falsetto.
• Oh right, the sexism. “Some Like It Hot” is filled with talk of the sexes stemming from the inherently biased viewpoints of two cis-male writers, but the film’s relentlessly clever dialogue is the proverbial spoonful of sugar. Weirdly, “Some Like It Hot” is somehow less problematic than later drag comedies that attempt to address gender roles more head-on.

• I’m sure the British film “Room at the Top” has a lovely script, but “Some Like It Hot” should have won Best Adapted Screenplay. The structure of this movie is infallible: each scene moves the story and the characters along in a beautifully orchestrated manner, but never forgets to be funny.
• A major movie comedian of the 1930s, Joe E. Brown came out of semi-retirement to play Osgood Fielding, and he does not disappoint. Never have I been so charmed by a character who’s kinda creepy when you think about it. Maybe it’s his mile-wide smile.

• As much fun as Tony Curtis seems to be having as Josephine, he’s having a ball when Joe poses as “Junior”. He’s so good I’m willing to forgive his anachronistic Cary Grant impression.

• After watching him be charming (and manipulative, let’s be real), it’s fun watching Joe out of his element when he brings Sugar onto the yacht (the backwards boat trip is hilarious). The ensuing romantic moments aboard the yacht are still charming, though the manipulation being done by both parties is a bit cringe-inducing. Side note: Is this the first movie to strongly imply erectile disfunction?

• The maraca scene is a highlight. Both Lemmon and Curtis pause for laughs, and this is one of the rare classic movie scenes in which you really need those pauses. This scene also contains one of the best exchanges in the movie: “Why would a guy want to marry a guy?” “Security.”

• My favorite line in the entire movie comes from one of the gangsters helping an armed Little Bonaparte into a hollow cake: “And don’t mess up the cake. I promised to bring back a piece for my kids.”

• About a year ago, I showed “Some Like It Hot” to a friend of mine unaccustomed to watching “old movies”. She laughed quite a bit during the movie, and I’m happy to report that “Nobody’s perfect” got the biggest response of all: she laughed all the way through the exit music. Not bad for a placeholder line when Wilder and Diamond couldn’t come up with something better.

Legacy 

• “Some Like It Hot” was a hit upon its release, but had its share of controversy out the gate. While the MPAA gave its approval, the Catholic Legion of Decency declared the film “seriously offensive to Christian and traditional standards of morality and decency”, and some states refused to screen the film at all (though eventually allowed it with an “adults only” restriction). While “Some Like It Hot” is remembered today as a harmless relic, this initial back and forth with film censorship helped end the long-standing Hays Code.
• Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon would make six more films together over the next 20 years, including my personal favorite “The Apartment“.

• The drag comedy genre continued along for the next 40 years, but always in the shadow of this movie (many of the lesser attempts got reviews titled “Some Like It Not”). There was the occasional “Tootsie” and “Mrs. Doubtfire”, but changing times and the perfection of “Some Like It Hot” have buried the drag comedy.

• After the success of “Promises, Promises” (aka “The Apartment: The Musical”), “Some Like It Hot” became the next Wilder movie to become a stage musical. Bob Merrill and Jule Styne’s adaptation “Sugar” opened on Broadway in 1972, and a 2002 national tour saw Tony Curtis in the role of Osgood Fielding! [2023 Update: There is now a second “Some Like It Hot” musical currently playing Broadway which updates some of the film’s more antiquated sensibilities. Now the “It” of the title is acceptance of gender fluidity, I think.]

• When Billy Wilder passed away in 2002 at age 95, he left behind a legacy of classic movies, but one line stayed with him literally to the end. His tombstone reads “I’m A Writer, But Then, Nobody’s Perfect”.

According to the Library of Congress, thousands of movies are submitted for National Film Registry consideration every year, which gets dwindled down to the final list of 25 inductees in December. The goal is always for the final list to be an eclectic group of movies, representing a wide variety of diverse films and filmmakers. Typically the movies submitted by the public receive zero fanfare, though there is the occasional campaigning from devoted fans. This year, one such campaign is being instigated by no less than the US Congress.

On January 1^st, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, headed in part by Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, sent a letter to Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden, requesting that the 1997 film “Selena” be considered for NFR induction for the class of 2021. The Hispanic Caucus has been making a conscious effort to encourage more Latnix films and filmmakers in mainstream media, and the induction of “Selena” into the NFR is part of this campaign. Directed by Gregory Nava (currently represented on the NFR with “El Norte“), “Selena” stars Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla, the real-life Tejano singer who became a superstar before being tragically murdered at just 24 years old. As Rep. Castro puts it in his letter, “The film has become a beloved icon of Latino culture and has found widespread mainstream success, proving once and for all that Latino stories are American stories.” The letter ends with the hope that Dr. Hayden and the National Film Preservation Board will give “careful consideration” to “Selena” when they meet later this year.

Well Rep. Castro, you got my vote. While I am aware of the film “Selena” and its importance in the Latinx community (I’ve seen the ending on VH1 more times than I can count), it never occurred to me to nominate the film for the NFR. After a little bit of research, I’ve found that “Selena” is more than qualified to be on the NFR. In addition to representing an important American artist and a specific culture, “Selena” made a movie star out of Jennifer Lopez, who continues to be a cultural icon almost 25 years later. On top of that, the recent Netflix limited series about Selena Quintanilla shows just how much her life and career still resonates within our culture. Looking at the NFR as it stands now, there are only 10 films on the list directed by Mexican, Mexican-American, or Latinx filmmakers, which accounts for 1.25% of the NFR. Plus, given all the racist and insensitive depictions of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans elsewhere on the NFR, I’m all for including a movie with a more diverse and humane representation. I am more than happy to include “Selena” as one of the 50 movies I will nominate for NFR inclusion this year.

Obviously, there is so much more work that needs to be done to make Latinx voices be heard in mainstream media (both in front of and behind the camera), but inducting “Selena” into the NFR is a start, highlighting a success from the past to encourage more in the future. Plus it’s a first step that anyone can participate in. You can nominate “Selena” right now! And while you’re there, check out this list of other movies not on the NFR, and see if there aren’t 49 more that you’d like to champion. The efforts of Rep. Castro and the entire Congressional Hispanic Caucus are commendable, and hopefully will result in “Selena” joining the ranks of preservation-worthy American films.

A bonus piece of trivia: Rep. Joaquin Castro was named after the Rodolfo Gonzales poem “I Am Joaquín”. A short film adaptation of the poem by Luis Valdez was made in 1969, and added to the National Film Registry in 2010.

2021 Update: “Selena” has made the NFR. Well that was easy. What else you got?

#531) Freedom Riders (2010)

Directed & Written by Stanley Nelson. Based on the book “Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice” by Raymond Arsenault.

Class of 2020 

As always, this post cannot possibly convey the scope and importance of the real-life events depicted in this movie, and I strongly encourage further research on the Freedom Rides.

The Plot: In 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality sponsored the Freedom Rides, a Civil Rights movement in which both Black and White citizens would ride in buses together, with a goal to highlight how many (mostly Southern) states were not upholding federal anti-segregation laws. Initially planned as a trip from Virginia to New Orleans, with several stops along the way, these initial Freedom Rides were met with hostility, violence, and even arrests for its riders. Although the Riders never made their destination, their actions (and those of subsequent rides) encouraged the growing Civil Rights movement. Almost 50 years later, “Freedom Riders” chronicles these events from as many perspectives as possible: the Riders themselves, local citizens, and even a few of the political figures who simultaneously helped and harmed the movement.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises the documentary for its “extraordinary clarity and emotional force” and predicts that “Freedom Riders” will “inspire later generations”. The NFR write-up includes a link to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting, and the raw, uncut interviews Stanley Nelson conducted for the film.

But Does It Really?: In less than two hours, “Freedom Riders” covered its events with such honesty and nuance, I really felt like I had experienced it. The film is an excellent companion piece to other Civil Rights movies on the list (“The March” and “4 Little Girls” to name just two), and is devoid of any false emotions or manipulation by the filmmakers. Overall, “Freedom Riders” is a reminder that while every historical movement has its leaders, it has to begin with ordinary people and their beliefs. It’s too early to call “Freedom Riders” a classic, but this movie is an important document of American history, and definitely worth a viewing.

Everybody Gets One: While studying at Leonard Davis Film School in the mid-70s, Stanley Nelson was inspired to become a documentarian after seeing D.A. Pennebaker give a lecture. After an apprenticeship with William Greaves, Nelson found himself working for PBS. Many of Nelson’s documentaries (including “Freedom Riders”) have aired as part of the PBS series “American Experience”. Nelson was inspired to make “Freedom Riders” not only because of the event’s place in Civil Rights history, but also because, as he put it, “many of the people involved are still living, vital and energetic.”

Wow, That’s Dated: Unfortunately the most dated aspect of this 2010 documentary is the national consensus that racism is bad. I’m not saying that racism and violent oppression weren’t happening 10 years ago, but in the wake of Obama’s election, White America was quick to believe we were living in a “Post-racial America” (Spoilers: We weren’t). A documentary like “Freedom Riders” was made with the message of “let’s not forget where we’ve been”, but sadly today is viewed as “history repeats itself”.

Seriously, Emmys?: After playing the film festival circuit in 2010, “Freedom Riders” aired on PBS in May 2011 to coincide with the original event’s 50^th anniversary. That summer, “Freedom Riders” was nominated for, and won, three Emmys: Picture Editing, Writing, and Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking.

Other notes 

• “Freedom Riders” is the first movie from the 2010s to be inducted into the NFR, and as of this writing is the most recent film on the list.
• Among the first interviewees in this film is the late, great Congressman John Lewis. He was one of the first Freedom Riders on the initial trip, and was a devoted Civil Rights activist to the very end. Lewis often categorized his activism as “good trouble, necessary trouble“.
• Both this film and “Crisis” highlight President John F. Kennedy’s lack of attention to the growing Civil Rights movement early in his administration. “Freedom Riders” paints JFK as more focused on foreign diplomacy, hoping that any stateside race issues would resolve themselves. It was not until after things got violent for the Freedom Riders that Kennedy took action.
• Similarly surprising, Dr. Martin Luther King was initially against the Freedom Riders, asking them not to go in the first place. Dr. King would eventually support the cause, but declined to participate in the actual ride, leading to brief discord from some of the Riders, the kind you rarely see directed towards the lionized, infallible figure King has become.
• Shoutout to Irene Morgan, an African-American woman in Virginia who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus a full decade before Rosa Parks.
• Ugh, John Patterson’s interviewed in this. Longtime readers may recall an idealistic version of Patterson played by Ricard Kiley in “The Phenix City Story“, made before Patterson became Governor of Alabama and upheld the state’s segregationist stance. Patterson’s 2010 interview tries to walk back some of his viewpoints, and place the blame on federal resources outside his jurisdiction.

• The first instance of mob violence in Anniston, Alabama is a sobering viewing experience. “Freedom Riders” does an excellent job of making these attacks of the past feel alive in the present. In fact the entire documentary excels at that sense of unyielding tension and constant anxiety these activists faced every moment of the Rides.

• Note: I watched “Freedom Riders” one day before the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Watching that horrible act of White supremacy on the news amplified what this movie was trying to convey, especially Black activist Frederick Leonard’s quote about dealing with violent White people: “They were always on guard, thinking that we were going to do something to them, while they were doing it to us.”
• Perhaps the film’s most impressive feat: it’s a Civil Rights story featuring White participants without turning into a White Savior movie. The White Freedom Riders are depicted as no better or worse than their Black counterparts, and the White authority figures only do the right thing reactively, rather than proactively. The result is much more palatable than so many other films that tread the same water.

• Then as now, anyone associated with a progressive movement is automatically labeled as an “agitator” by the opposing authority, claiming that the best course of action is a return to normalcy, despite the fact that this “normalcy” is what led to the need for a progressive movement in the first place. But I digress…
• It’s somewhat ironic that martial law had to be evoked to overrule Governor Patterson’s disregard for the Freedom Riders: it’s the same tactic then-citizen Patterson urged the Alabama governor to use against Phenix City’s crime syndicate.
• In an archival address, Attorney General Robert Kennedy reasserts his support of African-Americans, even suggesting that one could become president. This may be the first time that clip was prescient rather than empty rhetoric.
• There are so many details I don’t have the time to go over, but I strongly suggest a viewing as a starting point for future research. Of special importance is Diane Nash, who kept the Freedom Rides going when it became too dangerous for the original group to continue.

Legacy

• Stanley Nelson’s follow-up to “Freedom Riders” was the similarly titled “Freedom Summer”, about the 1964 campaign to encourage African-American voter registration in Mississippi. In recent years, Stanley Nelson has received both a Peabody and an Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement. [2022 Update: Stanley Nelson received his first Oscar nomination for his documentary “Attica”.]