All the Way Home (1957 film): Difference between revisions

All the Way Home | When A Black Family Moves Next Door is a 1957 documentary short film directed by Lee R. Bobker and written by American poet and political activist Muriel Rukeyser.

The film depicts a white family in the 1950s who has just put their house on the market. As soon as the family show the home to an interested black family, neighbors within the all-white community begin to gossip. The white family becomes the target of harassment and threats by bigoted residents in the community, who do not want a black family in the neighborhood.

The film was produced by Dynamic Films, Inc., a New York-based film production company founded in 1948 to produce educational, documentary, industrial, and theatrical films, as well as TV production series and commercials.

Plot

The film begins with a male narrator's depiction of a quiet suburban American neighborhood in the 1950s. An elderly white man, Ed, is nailing a "For Sale" sign in his front yard. A a well-dressed African-American gentlemen drives up to the property, gets out of his late-model automobile, and greets the elderly man. As the African-American man is soon joined by his well-dressed wife and daughter, two white neighborhood women standing nearby begin to gossip, hoping that the elderly man won't sell the property to the African-American family. Nonetheless, the elderly man invites the African-American family to tour his home.

As soon as the elderly man and the family enter the home, one of the white women runs to her home to call her husband Dick. Soon after, neighbors throughout the community begin incessant telephone calls between each other to gossip about the possibility of an African-American family moving into their community.

Ed's wife, standing in their dining room, begin to reminisces about their fond memories in the home. The telephone rings; the wife answers. Someone complains about the

The next day, Ed is standing at the bus stop with Tom, a fellow lodge member. Tom begins to complain to Ed about his intentions to sell the home to an African-American family. Startled, Ed heads down to visit the local realtor, Ted. Ted tells Ed to take down his "For Sale" sign so that he can sell the house to the "right buyer".

Later that day, Ed chats about the complaints from neighbors in his living room with his wife, his daughter and son-in-law Bob. Suddenly, a car pull up in the front yard and throw a can of black paint onto "For Sale" sign. Some of the pain land onto the clothing of Ed's young granddaughter Laurie, as grandson Bobby chases the car down the street.

Ed stands in a school yard watching children play as he listens to two neighbors complain

Ted, the realtor, visits the local banker, Ralph, to complain that Ed will set off a chain reaction lower housing values if an African-American family moves into the community. Banker who considers himself a "practical man", believes that land values will not necessarily go down if an African-American family moves in. Ted demands that Ralph to bank to make a policy decision on real estate loans that "will reassure the homeowners of this community, and the merchants and the service companies."

Ed's wife visits her local church minister to discuss her biased upbringing and her impulse to do the right thing by the African-American family. Her minister shares that the church's position should not allow ignorance and hate to wreck their neighborhood.

Ralph reconvenes with Ed. Ralph reads his bank's policy: "