Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)

Wisconsin Death Trip is an intimate, shocking and sometimes hilarious account of the disasters that befell one small town in Wisconsin during the final decade of the 19th century. The film ... See full summary »

Director:

James Marsh

Writers:

Michael Lesy (book), James Marsh

Stars:

Ian Holm, Jeffrey Golden, Jo Vukelich

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ian Holm	...	Narrator (voice)
Jeffrey Golden	...	Editor (as Jeff Golden)
Jo Vukelich	...	Mary Sweeney
Marcus Monroe	...	Young Anderson
Marilyn White	...	Pauline L'Allemand
John Schneider	...	Asylum Clerk / Whispering Voice
John Baltes	...	Undertaker
Raeleen McMillion	...	Crying Woman
Krista Grambow	...	Mourning Woman
Clay Anton	...	Eloping Couple (male)
Bobbie Jo Westphal	...	Eloping Couple (female)
Scott Hulbert	...	Pouch
Zeke Dasho	...	Edgar L'Allemand
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kathryn Anderson	...	Mrs. Larson
Kevin Anderson	...	Larson Child

Storyline

Wisconsin Death Trip is an intimate, shocking and sometimes hilarious account of the disasters that befell one small town in Wisconsin during the final decade of the 19th century. The film is inspired by Michael Lesy's book of the same name which was first published in 1973. Lesy discovered a striking archive of black and white photographs in the town of Black River Falls dating from the 1890s and married a selection of these images to extracts from the town's newspaper from the same decade. The effect was surprising and disturbing. The town of Black River Falls seems gripped by some peculiar malaise and the weekly news is dominated by bizarre tales of madness, eccentricity and violence amongst the local population. Suicide and murder are commonplace. People in the town are haunted by ghosts, possessed by devils and terrorized by teenage outlaws and arsonists. Like the book, the film is constructed entirely from authentic news reports from the Black River Falls' newspaper with ...

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Plot Keywords:

river | 19th century | newspaper | wisconsin | photograph | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Hands On Productions, Inc.

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 March 2000 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Kuoleman loukko

Filming Locations:

Black River Falls, Wisconsin, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Arena, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Cinemax Reel Life

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Broadcast in the UK as part of the BBC's prestigious Arena series.

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Soundtracks

"Barcarolle"
by Offenbach

User Reviews

The not so good old days in Wisconsin .................

"Wisconsin Death Trip" Is a compilation of newspaper accounts from the Black River Falls area in the 1890s. The film delivers the facts along with glorious black and white photographs. Apparrently at the time, life had little value, and depression ran rampant. A nice assortment of calamities are covered including, irrational behavior (window smashing), suicides, dementia, a Diptheria epidemic, superstitions, murder, witchcraft, spirits, and lots of other depressing matters. Many perpetrators of these calamitous acts are dealt with by simply locking them away in the local insane asylum. The movie is loosely structured around crimes committed during the the four seasons. Though somewhat redundant, "Wisconsin death Trip" is also frequently fascinating. - MERK