Louisiana Story
(1948)
77 mins | Documentary | 28 September 1948
Director:
Robert FlahertyWriters:
Frances Flaherty , Robert FlahertyProducer:
Robert FlahertyCinematographer:
Richard LeacockEditor:
Helen Van DongenProduction Company:
Robert J. Flaherty Productions, Inc.The film's title card reads: "Louisiana Story being an account of certain adventures of a cajun (Acadian) boy who lives in the marshlands of Petit Anse Bayou in Louisiana." The onscreen credits offer "deep thanks for [the] help and cooperation" of the following people: E. A. McIlhenny and family, Avery Island; Lucy Benjamin Lemann, New Orleans; W. B. Cotten, Jr., Baton Rouge; Mr. and Mrs. Larry Jordan, Weeks Island; and to the officials and crew of the Humble Derrick No. 1 on Petit Anse Bayou. According to a modern source, the native Louisiana Cajun boy, Joseph Boudreaus, was discovered by cameraman Richard Leacock and Flaherty's wife Frances.
Louisiana Story was the first film that Flaherty, whom the NYT called the "father of documentary," made following a six-year absence from the screen. His previous picture, The Land, was released in 1942 (see above). As noted in the Var review, Standard Oil of New Jersey contributed $200,000 to the film's production. The review states that although the company had no rights and no identification in the film, it stood "to get across the idea that oil companies are beneficently public-spirited, their employees honest, industrious and amiable, and their operations productive and innocuous." According to a modern source, Flaherty's contract with Standard Oil insured that all of the film's profits went to him. Robert and Frances Flaherty were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing (Motion Picture Story) for the film.
Although the HR review called Virgil Thomson's musical score "static...florid and out of place," Thomson, a music critic for the NYHT, was awarded ...
The film's title card reads: "Louisiana Story being an account of certain adventures of a cajun (Acadian) boy who lives in the marshlands of Petit Anse Bayou in Louisiana." The onscreen credits offer "deep thanks for [the] help and cooperation" of the following people: E. A. McIlhenny and family, Avery Island; Lucy Benjamin Lemann, New Orleans; W. B. Cotten, Jr., Baton Rouge; Mr. and Mrs. Larry Jordan, Weeks Island; and to the officials and crew of the Humble Derrick No. 1 on Petit Anse Bayou. According to a modern source, the native Louisiana Cajun boy, Joseph Boudreaus, was discovered by cameraman Richard Leacock and Flaherty's wife Frances.
Louisiana Story was the first film that Flaherty, whom the NYT called the "father of documentary," made following a six-year absence from the screen. His previous picture, The Land, was released in 1942 (see above). As noted in the Var review, Standard Oil of New Jersey contributed $200,000 to the film's production. The review states that although the company had no rights and no identification in the film, it stood "to get across the idea that oil companies are beneficently public-spirited, their employees honest, industrious and amiable, and their operations productive and innocuous." According to a modern source, Flaherty's contract with Standard Oil insured that all of the film's profits went to him. Robert and Frances Flaherty were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing (Motion Picture Story) for the film.
Although the HR review called Virgil Thomson's musical score "static...florid and out of place," Thomson, a music critic for the NYHT, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the score. According to HCN, Thomson's Pulitzer was the first given for music connected to a motion picture. As noted in HR, in Oct 1948, Film International of America acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film. According to modern sources, the film was re-released in 1952 under the title Cajun and was shown as a second feature with Armand Denis' Watusi. Louisiana Story was Flaherty's last completed picture. He died in 1951.
As a young boy named Alexander Napoleon Ulysses LaTour plays with his pet raccoon among the bayous of Petit Anse, Louisiana, oil prospectors set up a derrick and begin drilling in the marshlands. Although the boy's father, Jean, thinks the men have little chance of locating oil, he cheerfully gives them permission to drill. The driller, Tom, and his boilerman befriend Alexander, who tells them that he always carries a bag of salt to ward off the evil spirits of the bayous. One day, Alexander's raccoon is chased by an alligator, and the boy, believing the "'gator ate his 'coon," spits on his bait for luck and catches the alligator. He and his father then proudly show the skin to the oilmen. Soon, the wildcat rig blows, shooting up gas and salt water, and eventually has to be capped. After the men abandon the well, Alexander pours his "magic" salt and spits into it, then tells the men that the evil "things" of the marshes are preventing them from striking oil. Later the men angle their drilling, bypassing the pressure area, and strike oil. The derrick is removed, and the well is topped with the usual metal cap, called a "Christmas tree." When Tom thanks Jean for his lease, Alexander tells Tom he knew he would strike oil. With profits from the well, Jean buys presents for his wife and son. As he tries out the new rifle his father gave him, Alexander finds his raccoon in a tree. The oil workers then depart on a barge with all of their equipment, and Alexander sits with his raccoon ...
As a young boy named Alexander Napoleon Ulysses LaTour plays with his pet raccoon among the bayous of Petit Anse, Louisiana, oil prospectors set up a derrick and begin drilling in the marshlands. Although the boy's father, Jean, thinks the men have little chance of locating oil, he cheerfully gives them permission to drill. The driller, Tom, and his boilerman befriend Alexander, who tells them that he always carries a bag of salt to ward off the evil spirits of the bayous. One day, Alexander's raccoon is chased by an alligator, and the boy, believing the "'gator ate his 'coon," spits on his bait for luck and catches the alligator. He and his father then proudly show the skin to the oilmen. Soon, the wildcat rig blows, shooting up gas and salt water, and eventually has to be capped. After the men abandon the well, Alexander pours his "magic" salt and spits into it, then tells the men that the evil "things" of the marshes are preventing them from striking oil. Later the men angle their drilling, bypassing the pressure area, and strike oil. The derrick is removed, and the well is topped with the usual metal cap, called a "Christmas tree." When Tom thanks Jean for his lease, Alexander tells Tom he knew he would strike oil. With profits from the well, Jean buys presents for his wife and son. As he tries out the new rifle his father gave him, Alexander finds his raccoon in a tree. The oil workers then depart on a barge with all of their equipment, and Alexander sits with his raccoon on top of the "Christmas tree" and waves goodbye.
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Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement AwardTOP SEARCHES
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