''Conrack'' is a 1974 American drama film based on the 1972 autobiographical book ''
The Water Is Wide'' by
Pat Conroy
Donald Patrick Conroy (October 26, 1945 – March 4, 2016) was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books '' The Water is Wide'', ''The Lords of Discipline'', ''The Prince of Tides'' and '' The Great Santini'' w ...
, directed by
Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt (March 2, 1914 – December 8, 1990) was an American director and actor who worked in both film and theater, noted for his socially conscious films.
Some of the films he directed include '' The Long, Hot Summer'' (1958), '' The Black ...
and starring
Jon Voight
Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, h ...
in the title role, alongside
Paul Winfield
Paul Edward Winfield (May 22, 1939 – March 7, 2004) was an American stage, film and television actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark fil ...
,
Madge Sinclair
Madge Dorita Sinclair CD (née Walters; April 28, 1938 – December 20, 1995) was a Jamaican actress best known for her roles in '' Cornbread, Earl and Me'' (1975), ''Convoy'' (1978), ''Coming to America'' (1988), ''Trapper John, M.D.'' (1980†...
,
Hume Cronyn
Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor and writer.
Early life
Cronyn, one of five children, was born in London, Ontario, Canada. His father, Hume Blake Cronyn, Sr., was a businessman and ...
and
Antonio Fargas
Antonio Juan Fargas (born August 14, 1946) is an American actor known for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation and comedy movies, as well as his portrayal as Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series '' Starsky & Hutch''.
Early life
Fargas was born in New ...
. The film was released by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
on March 15, 1974.
The novel was remade as ''The Water Is Wide'' in 2006, a
Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie starring
Jeff Hephner
Jeffrey Lane Hephner (born June 22, 1975) is an American actor, best known for the role of Jeff Clarke, first on the NBC television series '' Chicago Fire'' and then on its sister show, ''Chicago Med''. More recently, he co-starred with Jennifer ...
and
Alfre Woodard
Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King ...
.
Plot
The story follows a young teacher, Pat Conroy, in 1969 assigned to isolated Yamacraw Island (
Daufuskie Island
Daufuskie Island, located between Hilton Head Island and Savannah, is the southernmost inhabited sea island in South Carolina. It is long by almost wide – approximate surface area of (5,000 acres). With over of beachfront, Daufuskie is sur ...
) off the coast of South Carolina and populated mostly by poor black families. He finds out that the children as well as the adults have been isolated from the rest of the world and speak a dialect called
Gullah
The Gullah () are an African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. Their language and cultu ...
, with "Conrack" of the novel's title being the best they can do to pronounce his last name. The school has only two rooms for all grades combined, with the principal teaching grades one through four and Conroy teaching grades five through eight. Conroy discovers that the students aren't taught much and will have little hope of making a life in the larger world.
Conroy tries to teach them about the outside world but comes into conflict both with the principal and Mr. Skeffington, the superintendent. He teaches them how to brush their teeth, who
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
is, and has the children listen to music, including
Flight of the Bumblebee and
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
The Symphony No. 5 in C minor of Ludwig van Beethoven, Op. 67, was written between 1804 and 1808. It is one of the best-known compositions in classical music and one of the most frequently played symphonies, and it is widely considered one of ...
. He explains that when Beethoven wrote the Fifth Symphony, he was writing about "what death would sound like". He is astounded they've never even heard of Halloween, and he decides to take them to
Beaufort on the mainland to go
trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The ...
, which the superintendent has forbidden. He also must overcome parental fears of "the river." As a result, he's fired. As he leaves the island for the last time, the children come to see him leave, all of them lined up on a rickety bridge. As he is about to leave by boat, one of the students then begins playing a record, which is the beginning movement of
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
The Symphony No. 5 in C minor of Ludwig van Beethoven, Op. 67, was written between 1804 and 1808. It is one of the best-known compositions in classical music and one of the most frequently played symphonies, and it is widely considered one of ...
.
Cast
Production
This film was shot in and around
Brunswick, Georgia and used pupils from C.B. Greer Elementary school as the cast of students.
Reception
Box office
On a budget of $2.37 million, ''Conrack'' grossed $2 million in the United States and Canada.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 73% based on 11 reviews, with an average score of 6.08/10.
Nora Sayre of ''The New York Times'' wrote that "despite Mr. Voight's skill, the teacher's character never jells...Another weakness is the glaze of sentimentality that sugars much of the narrative." A review in ''Variety'' stated "Its computerized warmth may make 'Conrack' seem a bit self-congratulatory at times, but at least its creative participants deserve outsiders' congrats for translating hokum into potentially viable b.o. fodder." Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune'' gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and praised it as "an undeniably tender film full of affecting moments, genuine tension, and much good will. It's also one of those rare film commodities: a nice family picture." Charles Champlin of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote "''Conrack'' has Voight's commanding characterization as its center, and those kids, and a strong visual sense throughout. And in its warm concern for human values, it is beyond question a welcome alternative to the hard-edge melodramas which have been conspicuous in recent times. The disappointment is that to achieve a sentimental optimism, it is felt necessary to create a world which, however real it looks and sounds, turns out to be make-believe at its center." Gary Arnold of ''The Washington Post'' called it "an unusually decent and appealing adventure, a commercial entertainment that also reflects the best of human and social intentions. One trusts that it will be a popular film, and it deserves to be." John Raisbeck of ''
The Monthly Film Bulletin
''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...
'' wrote "With its lingering long shots, ''Conrack'' is a constant visual delight; but for all its craftsman-like virtues, it seems a conscious turning aside from the complexities of modern cinema to the simpler alternatives of yesteryear. Indeed, with underpriveleged white children instead of black and
Greer Garson
Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was an English-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the hom ...
substituting for Jon Voight, the film might have been made all of thirty years ago."
Release
The film was released on
VHS and DVD in 2001.
Twilight Time released a limited edition (3,000 copies) Blu-ray version of the film in 2014.
Accolades
The film is recognized by
American Film Institute in these lists:
* 2006:
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated
Tommy Tedesco played guitar on the introduction theme.
See also
*
List of American films of 1974
A list of American films released in 1974.
'' The Godfather Part II'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
A–Z
Documentaries
See also
* 1974 in the United States
References
External links
1974 films ...
*
List of drama films of the 1970s
*
Daufuskie Island
Daufuskie Island, located between Hilton Head Island and Savannah, is the southernmost inhabited sea island in South Carolina. It is long by almost wide – approximate surface area of (5,000 acres). With over of beachfront, Daufuskie is sur ...
*
Sea Islands
The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States. Numbering over 100, they are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of South Caroli ...
* ''
The Water Is Wide''
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{Pat Conroy
1974 films
1970s English-language films
Films directed by Martin Ritt
1970s biographical drama films
American biographical drama films
Films scored by John Williams
Films set in 1969
Films set in South Carolina
Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state)
20th Century Fox films
Films based on American novels
Films based on works by Pat Conroy
Biographical films about educators
1974 drama films
1970s American films