James Brill

Movies

Rum and Coke
A young, independent Latina has a safe relationship with her Anglo boyfriend until she is rescued and romanced by an aggressive Latino firefighter.
Keeping Clean and Neat
A look into the lives of a seventh-grade boy and girl as they go through their morning and evening routines… and why not keeping clean and neat brands them as losers!
The Truck Farmer
Narrator (voice)
An interesting little short about the exploitative system of the 1930's-50's that used cheap Mexican workers (that "cross the border on temporary work permits to *help* with the harvest").
The Living City
Narrator (voice)
This short explores the early planning innovations and the subsequent mistakes that resulted in developing urban sprawl, suburbia, and gentrification in modern day US cities as well as the effects it had on its populace and industry.
Drug Addiction
Narrator
Marty, a "good boy," experiments with marijuana and experiences "profound mental and emotional disturbances." As in all anti-drug films of this vintage, marijuana leads straight to "H," and Marty's decline continues until he is busted, rehabbed and reformed. Drug Addiction's stilted view of the urban drug culture and unrealistic portrayals of stoned slackers make it entertaining viewing today. It belongs to that little-known "second wave" of anti-drug films, the postwar scare stories about middle-class kids overcome by junkiedom. What this wave of films reveals is that drugs were an issue for white adolescents long before the psychedelic Sixties, and that the official response to the threat expressed a general, not specifically targeted paranoia.
Junior Rodeo Daredevils
Narrator
Old-timer Billy Slater organizes a rodeo for kids.
Care of the Skin
Narrator
Structure of the skin; good cleanliness habits; the proper way to wash; the correct use of soap.
A Day at the Fair
A family goes to the local fair to compete with their livestock & produce.