The Quiet One
Cast & Crew
Sidney Meyers
Gary Merrill
Donald Thompson
Clarence Cooper
Sadie Stockton
Estelle Evans
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Ten-year-old Donald Peters, who is black, is one of the boys attending the Wiltwyck School for Boys at Esopus, New York. For months Donald makes no friends, does not smile and barely talks. Donald, whose father abandoned his family, and whose mother became involved with another man and rejected him in favor of her new family, receives no letters and cannot read. Donald's life before coming to Wiltwyck was hard: After his mother leaves him, Donald stays with his grandmother, who resents his presence and frequently beats him. Donald has a hard time in school, and the teachers are too busy to help him. Donald often wanders alone through the city, and his anger at his situation often erupts in destructive behavior. This background has brought him to Wiltwyck. Eventually, Donald shyly makes friends with Clarence, one of the counselors. Mrs. Johnson, one of the teachers, helps the children work out their problems by making various objects. One day, while working with clay, Donald remembers a day at the beach with his family and, for the rest of the afternoon, is deeply disturbed. Clarence helps comfort him and through that connection, Donald starts to change. Donald learns to read and begins to interact with the other boys. When Donald wishes to give his mother a bowl he has made, the psychiatrist sadly tells him that his mother has disappeared. After some thought, Donald puts a plant in the bowl and gives it to Clarence, a sign of healing. Donald is not healthy enough yet to understand that he must share Clarence's attention with the other boys, however, and jealously takes back his gift and then tears apart the dorm room. The teachers allow Donald to work out his problems for himself. After stealing Clarence's cigarette lighter, Donald runs away, but eventually begins to accept his life and returns to school. He returns the lighter to the sympathetic Clarence and begins to make friends with other boys his age. Although he has not overcome all his pain, Donald has started on the road to recovery.
Director
Sidney Meyers
Cast
Gary Merrill
Donald Thompson
Clarence Cooper
Sadie Stockton
Estelle Evans
Paul Baucum
Sidney Meyers
Crew
James Agee
Richard Bagley
Richard Bagley
Viola Bernard M.d.
Robert L. Cooper
Stanley Katis
Ulysses Kay
Jack Kling
Helen Levitt
Helen Levitt
Helen Levitt
William Levitt
Janice Loeb
Janice Loeb
Janice Loeb
Janice Loeb
Sidney Meyers
Sidney Meyers
Nathan Stillman
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb and Sidney Meyers' credit reads: "Written and edited by." The film begins with the following written foreword: "This film was made in New York City and at the Wiltwyck School at Esopus, New York. Wiltwyck is a school for boys of New York City who have reacted with grave disturbance of personality to neglect in their homes and in their community, and who, for various reasons of age, religion, race or special maladjustments are not cared for by other agencies." According to reviews, the story was based on case histories at Wiltwyck.
Production notes add the following information about the film: This was the first production of Film Documents, Inc., which had been organized two years earlier. Donald Thompson was not a professional actor. Because his father would not allow him to miss school to make the film, the picture was shot after school and on the weekends. Filming took place during the summer, when Thompson lived at Wiltwyck with the other boys. Clarence Cooper was an actual counselor at Wiltwyck, and Paul Baucum was a musician. Estelle Evans and Sadie Stockton were the only professional actors in the film. Levitt and Loeb had previously made a short film in East Harlem, and according to the Variety review, some scenes in this film were also shot in Harlem. The review also notes that "while Thompson is a Negro, the film makes no explicit comments on any racial problems, developing a story that could have happened to any kid." A November 12, 1948 Hollywood Reporter news item notes that the 16mm film was made for $30,000. It received Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature and for Best Writing.
