What Happened to Kerouac? (1986)

Directors:

Richard Lerner
Lewis MacAdams

Writer:

Jack Kerouac (works "On the Road", "Visions of Cody", "Desolation Angels", "Mexico City Blues" and "Dr. Sax and others")

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | History

Tagline:

An investigation of the king of the Beat Generation.

Plot Keywords:

Archive Footage | Interview | Writing | Poet | Counter Culture

Cast

Gregory Corso	...	Himself
Jan Kerouac	...	Herself
Herbert Huncke	...	Himself
Fran Landesman	...	Herself
William F. Buckley	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ed Sanders	...	Himself (archive footage)
Allen Ginsberg	...	Himself
Edie Kerouac Parker	...	Herself
William S. Burroughs	...	Himself (as William Burroughs)
Michael McClure	...	Himself
John Clellon Holmes	...	Himself
Lawrence Ferlinghetti	...	Himself
Ann Charters	...	Herself
Gary Snyder	...	Himself
Neal Cassady	...	Himself (archive footage)
Carolyn Cassady	...	Herself
Ed White	...	Himself
Diane Di Prima	...	Herself
Armand Morissette	...	Himself (as Father 'Spike' Morissette)
Steve Allen	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Joyce Johnson	...	Herself
Robert Creeley	...	Himself
Lewis Yablonsky	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dizzy Gillespie	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jack Kerouac	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lewis MacAdams	...	Himself - Interviewer (voice)
Charlie Parker	...	Himself (archive footage)

Directed by
Richard Lerner
Lewis MacAdams

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jack Kerouac		works "On the Road", "Visions of Cody", "Desolation Angels", "Mexico City Blues" and "Dr. Sax and others"

Produced by
Nathaniel Dorsky	....	co-producer
Gregg Gannon	....	coordinating producer
Malcolm Hart	....	co-producer
Eve Levy	....	associate producer
Lewis MacAdams	....	co-producer

Film Editing by
Nathaniel Dorsky
Robert Estrin

Sound Department
Jim Nisbet	....	production sound: interviews

Camera and Electrical Department
Pat Darrin	....	additional photographer: interview
Gregg Gannon	....	additional photographer: interview
Gregg Gannon	....	gaffer: interviews
Jerry Hiler	....	additional photographer: Times Square
Richard Lerner	....	photographer: interviews
Randy Vik	....	video engineer: interviews

Editorial Department
Sandra Adair	....	assistant editor
Robert Beverly	....	color timer
Steven E. Browne	....	on-line editor

Other crew
Arlene Erb	....	production assistant: interviews
Barry Hall	....	video director: interviews
Beth van der Water	....	catering manager: interviews
Thom Williams	....	title designer: main titles

Thanks
Steve Allen	....	thanks
Steve Bassett	....	thanks
William F. Buckley	....	thanks (as William Buckley)
Rudy Burckhardt	....	acknowledgment: archival footage, "Square Times", "Climate of New York" (as Rudy Burkhardt)
Stella Kerouac	....	thanks

Distributors

• New Yorker Films (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• Nowonmedia (2005) (Japan) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Animagic Entertainment Corporation  post-production
• Image Transform  prints
• New American Cinema  post-production
• One Pass Inc.  post-production
• Production Center  post-production (as Production Center West)
• Sterling Lord Literistic  thanks (as Sterling Lord Agency)
• Video Transitions Inc.  post-production

Also Known As:

"Kerouac" - International (English title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Trivia:

New York theatrical run 5/23/86; San Francisco 7/11/86.

Movie Connections:

Features "Firing Line: The Hippies (#3.32)" (1968)

Essential Kerouac

Anyone who's a fan of Kerouac, or who would like to know about him, will be thrilled to see so much great stuff packed into one film. Aside from the usual anecdotes by people who knew him (Burroughs, Ginsberg, Corso etc.), there are numerous scenes of him on TV guest shows and in all kinds of home movies. The stuff with him on the Steve Allen Show is particularly invaluable as he reads some of his work with Allen playing background jazz piano. If you've never heard Kerouac read his work before, he is amazing. He has a rhythm and a beat that is like that of a great jazz vocalist.

This film beautifully chronicles his life from his early years when he seemed frivolous and free-spirited, to the mid-late 1950s, when he was becoming more intense and serious. It also covers the mid-late 1960s, when he was bloated, burnt-out and indigent (you can't blame him for being a little indigent toward William F. Buckley though!). There's a lot of great speculation about his personality and the meaning of his writings by those who knew him. My favorite bits though were just incredible B/W scenes of San Francisco's deserted seedy dock areas seemingly shot in late afternoon, with a jazz trumpet background and Kerouac's voice reading his work. Which is to say, that this film is more than just a well-researched documentary about a writer. It captures his tone and essence visually and musically. Everything one can hope for in a documentary!