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Palmour Street, A Study of Family Life
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Wikipedia article
'Palmour Street, A Study of Family Life (1949)' (also titled "Palmour Street (1949) | A Black Family in Gainesville, GA") is a short black and white documentary film written, produced and directed by the prolific filmmaker and "father of Public Access Television", George C. Stoney, and his collaborator Bill Clifford.Youtube. "Palmour Street (1949) | A Black Family in Gainesville, GA." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtOoSdymtOE Premiering at the old Fair Street School in Gainesville, Georgia, the film's purpose was to promote the growth of the African American middle class.
With a runtime of 24 minutes, the film was produced in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Public Health, the Hall County, Georgia Health Department and the Southern Educational Film Production Service. The film sits within the Library of Congress and its American Archives Of The Factual Film Collection Repository - Motion Picture, Broadcasting And Recorded Sound Division.Library of Congress. "Palmour Street : A Study in Family Life." https://www.loc.gov/item/mbrs02035389/
"Palmour Street" stands apart from the majority of 1950 films incorporating African-Americans by portraying an African-American family living a normal life, atypical of the standard racist narratives and stereotypical scenarios of that era.Amazon. "Celebrating African American Culture: Palmour Street (1957)". https://www.amazon.com/Celebrating-African-American-Culture-Palmour/dp/B003JNW7I8
Production
Film production took place at the unpaved 511 Palmour Street in Gainesville, Georgia in the middle of Gainesville's African American community. No longer in existence, Palmour Street was located between Gainesville's Center Street and College Avenue.The Times. "Column: Film Palmour Street inspires writer to revisit views." Johnny Vardeman. Published: Nov 20, 2020. https://www.gainesvilletimes.com/columnists/johnny-vardeman/column-film-palmour-street-inspires-writer-to-revisit-views/
As he also would do with his Georgia production of his All My Babies documentary film in 1953, Stoney partnered with local Hall County, Georgia-based African American physicians, Dr. William Alfred Mason and Dr. Emmett Ethridge Butler, to gain the trust of the black community. Stoney worked closely with the Hall County Health Department to gain trust from the local white community. To gain their trust, Stoney assured the white community that the film would not suggest an unhappy relationship between blacks and whites existed and worked with the local press to publish favorable articles.
The actual residents of 511 Palmour Street, James Wesley Merritt (better known as "Wes Merritt"), his wife Mrs. Mildred Moss Merritt, and their four children, played the role of the fictitious Vernon Rogers family. Married to Mildred since 1938, Wes Merritt was a famed local Gainesville Disc jockey, Gainesville School Board Member, and community activist who hosted two popular radio shows on WDUN: Athens Street on Revue and The Wes Merritt Show. He also was an announcer for Fair Street High School Tigers football games. Honored by Gainesville, Georgia with a "Wes Merritt Day" on February 23, 1992, Merritt passed away in 1999.The Times. "Column: Film Palmour Street inspires writer to revisit views." Johnny Vardeman. Published: Nov 20, 2020. https://www.gainesvilletimes.com/columnists/johnny-vardeman/column-film-palmour-street-inspires-writer-to-revisit-views/Access WDUN. "Black History Month: The showmanship of DJ, community leader Wes Merritt." Alyson Shields, Reporter. 22nd February 2019. https://accesswdun.com/print/2019/2/765921/the-wes-merritt-showFind a Grave. "J. Wesley Merritt." https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196673135/j.-wesley-merritt Mildred passed away in 1988.Find a Grave. "Mildred M. Merritt". https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68535626/mildred-m-merritt At the time of Wes' passing, he and his wife had 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.Access WDUN. "Black History Month: The showmanship of DJ, community leader Wes Merritt." Alyson Shields, Reporter. 22nd February 2019. https://accesswdun.com/print/2019/2/765921/the-wes-merritt-showFind a Grave. "J. Wesley Merritt." https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196673135/j.-wesley-merritt
Plot
The film shows events in the family life of rural African-American families living on Palmour Street in Gainesville, Georgia. It illustrates basic concepts of mental health as they relate to family life and highlights some of the ways that parents influence the mental and emotional development of their children. Also addressed are the challenges for a household in which both parents work outside the home.Library of Congress. "Palmour Street : A Study in Family Life." https://www.loc.gov/item/mbrs02035389/
Shots include: a health clinic waiting room, people dancing on the front porch, pea-shelling, communal outdoor clothes-washing with washboards and tubs, and other scenes.The U.S. National Library of Medicine Digital Collection. "Palmour Street (a study in family life)." https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-9000322A-vid
Cast and Crew
* 'Wes Merritt -' "Vernon Rogers"
* 'Mildred Merritt' - "Mrs. Rogers"
* 'Shirley Merritt' - Rogers' daughter
* 'James W. Merritt Jr.' - Rogers' son
* 'Randall Merritt' - Rogers' son
* 'Vernon Merritt' - Rogers' son
* 'Unknown Actress' - Aunt Esther and the Roger's next-door neighbors
* 'Unknown Actors' - Aunt Esther's Three Children
* 'Unknown Extras' - Neighborhood People
* 'George C. Stoney' - Director, Writer and Producer
* 'Bill Clifford' - Photography
* 'Rev. William Holmes Borders' - Narrator. Longtime Pastor of the famed Wheat Street Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
* 'Louis Applebaum' - Music
* 'Phil Bangs' - Sound
* 'William Alfred Mason' - Chief Technical Adviser
* 'Emmett Ethridge Butler', also known as Dr. E.E. Butler, MD - Chief Technical Adviser, and the first African American to practice medicine in Hall County, Georgia.Northeast Georgia Health Systems. "Who was E.E. Butler?" February 8, 2021. https://www.nghs.com/2021/02/08/who-is-e-e-butler/
References
Category:1949 documentary films
Category:Documentary films about African Americans
Category:1949 short films
Category:American documentary films
Category:1949 films
Category:1940s American films
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