Louisiana Story

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Louisiana Story
Lopert Films
Release date
  • September 28, 1948 (1948-09-28) (U.S.)
Running time
78 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
French

Louisiana Story is a 1948 American

Standard Oil Company to promote its drilling ventures in the Louisiana bayous
.

Plot

The film deals with the adventures of a young

Cajun boy and his pet raccoon, who live a somewhat idyllic existence playing in the bayous
of Louisiana. A sub-plot involves his elderly father allowing an oil company to drill for oil in the inlet that runs behind their house. An inland barge is towed into the inlet from interconnecting waterways. Most, if not all, of South Louisiana swamps and inland waters without land access were and are explored using dredged channels and barge rigs. The film presents the rig crew tripping pipe (an oilfield operations term), changing a bit, and closing valves on the blow out preventers. The rig crew are not actors, they are actual roughnecks. Even though there is a moment of probable manufactured crisis when the rig drills into a trouble zone, the crew's actions are not choreographed per se. The timeframe is pre-OSHA, however, there are serious doubts that drillers at that time allowed shoeless kids to hang out on the rig floor - ever. As the story progresses, the rig completes its operation and friendly drillers depart, leaving behind a phenomenally clean environment and a wealthy Cajun family.

Conflict and action for the plot is provided by the presence of a giant alligator in the area, which is believed to have eaten the pet raccoon and which is hunted in revenge. There is no individual or organized resistance to the incursion of the oil seekers, even after the (brief, offscreen) disaster, who are unequivocally portrayed as friendly, progressive humanitarians.

The boy, named in the film as Alexander Napoleon Ulysses Le Tour, but in the credits just identified as "the boy", was played by Joseph Boudreaux. The film was photographed by

Lopert Films
.

Cast

  • Joseph Boudreaux as The Boy
  • Lionel Le Blanc as His Father
  • E. Bienvenu as His Mother (as Mrs. E. Bienvenu)
  • Frank Hardy as The Driller
  • C.P. Guedry as The Boilerman

Production

The film was shot on location in the Louisiana bayou country,[1] using local residents for actors. However, none of the members of the Cajun family (boy, father and mother) were related, and the film does not deal with Cajun culture, the reality of the hard lives of the Cajun people, or with the mechanics of drilling for oil. The story is completely fictional.

In 1952, it was reissued by an exploitation film outfit with a new title, Cajun, on the bottom half of a double-bill with another film titled Watusi.[2]

Reception and awards

The film was nominated for an

Sight and Sound poll in 1952.[8]

The film is recognized by the American Film Institute in this list:

See also

References

  1. ISSN 0024-3019
    .
  2. ^ Calder-Marshall, Arthur; Rotha, Paul; Wright, Basil (1963). The Innocent Eye: The Life of Robert J. Flaherty. Harcourt, Brace & World. p. 224.
  3. ISBN 978-0-520-20964-0
    .
  4. ISBN 978-1441124579
    .
  5. ^ Wikipedia list of Pulitzer Prizes for Music
  6. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  7. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  8. ^ "The Greatest Films of All Time… in 1952". British Film Institute. Retrieved 2024-04-24.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louisiana_Story&oldid=1220585052"