The Exiles (1961 film)
Encyclopedia
The Exiles is a film
by Kent MacKenzie (6 April 1930, Hampstead
, England
- 16 May 1980, Marin County, California
) chronicling a day in the life of a group of twenty-something Native Americans
who left reservation
life in the 1950s to live in the district of Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, California
. Bunker Hill was then a blighted
residential locality of decayed Victorian
mansions, sometimes featured in the writings of Raymond Chandler
, John Fante
and Charles Bukowski
. The structure of the film is that of a narrative feature, the script pieced together from interviews with the documentary subjects. The film features Yvonne Williams, Homer Nish, and Tommy Reynolds.
Filming was done in 1958. The film features rock and roll
music composed for the film and performed by The Revels
. The cast of American Indian actors are notable for their lack of self-consciousness as they drink and socialize during a night out on the town ending in a 49 party of drumming and dancing on "Hill X" overlooking downtown LA.
The Exiles did not find a distributor
to release it theatrically in 1961, and so over the years it fell into obscurity, known to cinephiles
but remaining largely unseen by the public. A restored version produced by the UCLA Film and Television Archive
premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2008, and a U.S. commercial re-release by Milestone Film and Video was scheduled for summer 2008.
In 2009, it was named to the National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant and will be preserved for all time.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
by Kent MacKenzie (6 April 1930, Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
- 16 May 1980, Marin County, California
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
) chronicling a day in the life of a group of twenty-something Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
who left reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
life in the 1950s to live in the district of Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, California
Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, California
Bunker Hill, in the downtown area of Los Angeles, California, is a short, developed hill with its peak located roughly around 3rd Street. It is located directly east of the Harbor Freeway...
. Bunker Hill was then a blighted
Urban decay
Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
residential locality of decayed Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
mansions, sometimes featured in the writings of Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
, John Fante
John Fante
John Fante was an American novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Italian descent. He is perhaps best known for his work, Ask the Dust, a semi-autobiograpical novel about life in and around Los Angeles, California, which was the third in a series of four novels, published between 1938...
and Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
. The structure of the film is that of a narrative feature, the script pieced together from interviews with the documentary subjects. The film features Yvonne Williams, Homer Nish, and Tommy Reynolds.
Filming was done in 1958. The film features rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
music composed for the film and performed by The Revels
The Revels
The Revels were an American rock band, associated with the 1960s surf music craze. Their most famous song was "Church Key." The group started near the end of the 1950s as a high school band called Gil Serna & The Rockets, before changing their name to The Revels in 1959...
. The cast of American Indian actors are notable for their lack of self-consciousness as they drink and socialize during a night out on the town ending in a 49 party of drumming and dancing on "Hill X" overlooking downtown LA.
The Exiles did not find a distributor
Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
to release it theatrically in 1961, and so over the years it fell into obscurity, known to cinephiles
Cinemaphile
Cinephilia is the term used to refer to a passionate interest in cinema, film theory and film criticism. The term is a portmanteau of the words cinema and philia, one of the four ancient Greek words for love...
but remaining largely unseen by the public. A restored version produced by the UCLA Film and Television Archive
UCLA Film and Television Archive
The UCLA Film and Television Archive is an internationally renowned visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles. It holds more than 220,000 film and television titles and 27 million feet of...
premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2008, and a U.S. commercial re-release by Milestone Film and Video was scheduled for summer 2008.
In 2009, it was named to the National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant and will be preserved for all time.
Cast
- Yvonne Williams
- Homer Nish
- Tommy Reynolds
- Rico Rodrigues
- Clifford Ray Sam
- Clydean Parker
- Mary Donahue
- Eddie Sunrise
- Jacinto Valenzuela
- Ann Amiador
- Delos Yellow Eagle
- Louis Irwin
- Norman St. Pierre
- Marilyn Lewis
- Bob Lemoyne
- Ernest Marden
- Frankie Red Elk
- Chris Surefoot
- Sedrick Second
- Leonard Postock
- Eugene Pablo
- Matthew Pablo
- Sarah Mazy
- Gloria Muti
- Arthur Madrull
- Ted Guardipee
- Ned Casey
- Jay Robidaux
- I.J. Walker
- Julia Escalanti
- Danny Escalanti
- Della Escalanti
- Tony Fierro
Production crew
- Written, Produced and Directed by Kent MacKenzie
- Cinematography by Erik Daarstad, Robert Kaufman, John Morrill
- Production by Ronald Austin, Sam Farnsworth, John Morrill, Erik Daarstad, Robert Kaufman, Beth Pattrick, Sven Walnum, Paula Powers
- Additional Photography by Sven Walnum, Nicholas Clapp, Vilis Lapenieks.
- Archive Photographs by Edward S. CurtisEdward S. CurtisEdward Sheriff Curtis was a photographer of the American West and of Native American peoples.-Early life:...
- Editing by Kent Mackenzie, Warren Brown, Thomas Conrad, Erik Daastad, Thomas Miller, Beth Patrick
- Music by Anthony Hilder, The Revels, Robert Hafner, Eddie Sunrise
- Sound by Sam Farnsworth
- Sound Effects Edited by Thomas Conrad
Additional crew
- Marvin Walowitz
- Lawrence Silberman
- Stuart Hanisch
- Mindaugus Bagdon
- Charles Smit
- Judy Bradford
- Ken Nelson
- Ron Honthaner
- David MacDougall
- James Christensen
- Stanley Follis
- Ramon Ponce
External links
- Milestone Films (distributor)
- The Official Exiles Website (with Trailer)