Studs Terkel

Algren will spotlight the hard-knock life and authentic creative legacy of one of the most underrated writers of the twentieth century, Nelson Algren. Algren's brutally honest portrayal of the American underclass and his hard-nosed lifestyle became his pathway to compassion. Through interviews with Algren contemporaries, experts, and "literary soulmates," as well as through the photography of Algren's friends, Art Shay and Stephen Deutch, the film will tell his story. It will celebrate his tremendous contribution to and influence on American letters, and push Algren, champion of the marginalized, out from the margins.

For over 60 years, Studs Terkel elevated the voices and experiences of everyday Americans through his skillful interviews on radio, in books and on TV. This documentary takes a fond and illuminating look back at one of America's most influential authors and media personalities whose curiosity about people never dimmed over the course of a long and brilliant career.

Quearborn & Perversion: An Early History of Lesbian & Gay Chicago (2009, 109 min) is a documentary on LGBTQ life in Chicago from 1934 to 1974. Moving from the speakeasys and Henry Gerber’s founding of the Society for Human Rights in the 1930s, to the underground social structure of the 1940s and 1950s, to the dawn of consciousness-raising entities such as the Daughters of Bilitis and Mattachine Midwest in the 1960’s, and concluding with the emergence of the gay liberation movement with the first Pride March and opening of the first community center in the early 1970s.

On May 8th, 1945, writer, director Norman Corwin broadcast ON A NOTE OF TRIUMPH, an unforgettable homage to the end of war in Europe. This film shines a light on a lost work of genius, and examines it's haunting resonance to today's current events.

The story of Jack Johnson, the first African American Heavyweight boxing champion.

When twenty-six-year-olds Shainee Gabel and Kristin Hahn quit their Hollywood jobs, packed up a borrowed car and hit the road, it was with the deeply felt conviction that somewhere, shrouded in the din of talk shows and tabloid headlines, they'd discover the real America, alive and well in all of its regions and demographics.

Documentary narrated by Paul Winfield, this documentary follows the course of Mahalia Jackson's extraordinary life - from her humble beginnings as a sickly child singing in New Orleans churches to her breakthrough with Columbia Records and her ascendancy to Carnegie Hall and Europe's great stages. Her story's told through archival footage and interviews with those who knew her best.

A PBS documentary on the life and work of writer Raymond Carver. It features interviews with his family and friends, and provides an insightful look at his short stories and poems.

Harry Bridges: A Man and his Union chronicles the life of one of America's most important and controversial left-wing labor leader. He headed the International Longshoremen and Warehouseman Union from the 1930's to the 1970's and was a champion of workers' causes on an international scale. Harry Bridges (July 28, 1901 - March 30, 1990) was controversial as he was charismatic. He was prosecuted by FDR, Truman and Eisenhower alike, and convicted by a federal jury for having lied about Communist Party membership-a conviction which was set aside. On the West Coast, Bridges still excites passions both for and against the labor movement.

The world-famous Greyhound bus is almost as old as the Wild West. It is a symbol of North America, of progress, and of nostalgia. Reporter Stud Terkel travelled 2,000 miles across the United States by Greyhound. From Seattle to Chicago, he observes his fellow-passengers. He meets a number of travelers who appear to be very interesting people: a Native American boxer on his way to his birthplace in Montana, a bar owner who was a bank robber in a former 'career', a 99 year old woman who is still running a busy hotel, and, of course, a pedigree cowboy. The spectator of this film listens to their personal stories, watches the beautiful scenery, and is treated to famous feature film fragments in which the Greyhound bus plays a part. Seven states and two time zones later, he is back in his cinema seat.

1919년, 시카고 화이트삭스 팀은 신시내티 레즈 팀과의 월드시리즈를 앞두고 있었다. 화이트삭스 팀 구단주인 코미스키(클리프튼 제임스 분)는 월드시리즈에 나가게 되면 보너스를 주겠다고 약속해 놓고 보너스 대신 김빠진 샴페인을 주는 등 자기 구단 선수들을 노예 취급하는 사람이다. 구단주의 야박한 행동에 환멸을 느끼고 있던 선수들 중에 칙 갠딜(마이클 루커 분)과 스위드 리스버그(돈 하비 분)가 주동이 되어 야구 경기 도박꾼들에게 돈을 받고 일부러 경기에 지려는 계획을 추진한다. 화이트삭스 팀의 주전 투수인 에디 시콧(데이빗 스트라탄 분)도 30승을 하면 보너스를 주겠다고 약속했던 구단주가 야비한 방법으로 보너스를 안 주려하자, 경기 조작 음모에 가담한다. 드디어 월드시리즈가 시작되고 1차전부터 화이트삭스팀 선수들은 눈에 띠게 부진한 경기를 펼친다. 선수들의 의도적인 행동을 눈치 챈 신문기자 두 사람이 득점표를 따로 만들어 가담한 선수들을 알아낸다. 3차전까지 지기로 하고 돈을 받기로 했던 선수들을 최선을 다하지 않는 경기를 하지만, 경기 조작에 가담하지 않은 선수들 덕분에 3차전을 승리한다. 결국, 월드시리즈는 화이트삭스 팀의 패배로 6차전에서 막을 내리게 되고, 시리즈가 끝난 후 신문에 선수들의 경기 조작에 대한 음모가 대서 특필된다. 화이트삭스 팀의 선수 8명은 신용사기죄로 법정에 서게 되고, 코미스키 구단주를 비롯한 야구 관계 인사들은 실추된 야구계의 명예를 회복하기 위해서 랜디스 판사를 연맹 총재로 임명하는데...

During World War II, hard-luck farmer Colvis Nevels leaves his rural Kentucky home to take a factory job in bustling Detroit. Reluctantly accompanying Colvis is his long-suffering wife, Gertie, a talented woodcarver set in her traditional ways. When the perils of city life and Colvis' reckless squandering of money send the Nevels into precarious financial straits, Gertie starts a business making hand-carved dolls in order to provide for her family.

This documentary examines the experiences of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, using interviews with survivors more than 50 years later. First, the film sets the context with the rise of Fascism. Then, in 1936, Spain's military revolts against the elected government, and the U.S. and Europe agree not to intervene. In response, volunteers snuck past border guards into Spain to fight with the Republicans. The men and women veterans describe the perils of reaching Spain, limited training, responsibilities of command thrust on the very young, deprivations of a soldier's life, lack of matériel, horrible rates of casualties, and ultimate vindication at the end of World War II.

This musical adaptation of the Studs Terkel book examines the average worker's viewpoint--showing that he or she is anything but average. Based on a series of interviews with real working people--construction workers, waitresses, firemen, secretaries, and cleaning women, Working is both an exploration of the individuals' occupations and a lament for lost hopes and dreams.

This musical adaptation of the Studs Terkel book examines the average worker's viewpoint--showing that he or she is anything but average. Based on a series of interviews with real working people--construction workers, waitresses, firemen, secretaries, and cleaning women, Working is both an exploration of the individuals' occupations and a lament for lost hopes and dreams.

Harley Cokeliss's Chicago Blues filmed in 1972 was a remarkable film; remarkable in that it was not just a competent documentary but a film crafted with care by professionals with a love and understanding of music and a respect for its history and artists. The music and its artists of Chicago Blues reflect faithfully the structure of the city's Blues activity of the late '60s from unknown amateur to world famous stars, from house to small bar, from traditional down home to modern city style. Thus Johnny Lewis, a housepainter who played for his own amusement at home and was almost a discovery of the film team, to Muddy Waters, Chicago Blues' most famous figure.