Louisiana Story (1948)

The idyllic life of a young Cajun boy and his pet raccoon is disrupted when the tranquility of the bayou is broken by an oil well drilling near his home.

Director:

Robert J. Flaherty (as Robert Flaherty)

Writers:

Frances H. Flaherty (original screenplay) (as Frances Flaherty), Robert J. Flaherty (original screenplay) (as Robert Flaherty)

Stars:

Joseph Boudreaux, Lionel Le Blanc, E. Bienvenu

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Joseph Boudreaux	...	The Boy
Lionel Le Blanc	...	His Father
E. Bienvenu	...	His Mother (as Mrs. E. Bienvenu)
Frank Hardy	...	The Driller
C.P. Guedry	...	The Boilerman
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Oscar J. Yarborough	...	Oil Company Lessor

Storyline

A young Cajun boy named Alexander Napolean Ulysses Latour spends his time on a Louisiana bayou. There he plays, fishes and hunts, worrying only about the alligators which infest its waters. The boy's innocent routine changes forever when his father signs a lease agreement with an oil company which brings a derrick into their corner of the bayou.

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | bayou | raccoon | louisiana | cajun | 

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Taglines:

Being the Adventures of a "Cajun Huckleberry Finn" in the Bayous of Louiaiana...

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

28 October 1948 (France)

Also Known As:

Cajun

Filming Locations:

Petit Anse Bayou, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$258,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert Flaherty Productions Inc., Standard Oil

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1994.

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Goofs

When the raccoon escapes from the boat and swims through the bayou, the edge of a pontoon or boat appears at the right side of the frame

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Connections

Featured in Louisiana Story: The Revers Angle (2009)

User Reviews

Pretty Bad

The idyllic life of a young Cajun boy and his pet raccoon is disrupted when the tranquility of the bayou is broken by an oil well drilling near his home.

The script was written by Frances H. Flaherty and Robert J. Flaherty, directed by Robert J. Flaherty, and was commissioned by the Standard Oil Company. As with Flaherty's other films, he tried to create a sense that this was a documentary, when it really was not in any sense of the word.

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

The film has been preserved by the Library of Congress, though I cannot imagine why other than that it captures a (fictional) part of American life. The movie is in the public domain, and is therefore more often than not found in awful quality. But even if it was shiny and new, this is a rather boring and pointless film... how it ever achieved the recognition it did is completely beyond me.