Four relentless door-to-door salesmen deal with constant rejection, homesickness and inevitable burnout as they go across the country selling very expensive bibles to low-income Catholic families.
The Maysles brothers decided they wanted to be the first to make a nonfiction feature film (which turned out to be "Salesman") after learning that Truman Capote had made the claim that his newly released book "In Cold Blood" was a nonfiction novel. The film was made on a low budget; just under seven minutes into the film, one of the two cameras used can be seen in the shot. The hand-held microphone used to record the film's sound is visible in other shots.
When Salesman was completed, there were challenges in showing the film. As the Maysles brothers tried to get distribution, they were told that the content was too depressing and realistic for the public. Indeed, there are depressing aspects. But even more, this tells me two things: one, it is no surprise that door-to-door salesmen have died out, because this approach is pretty awful, forcing people to purchase something they do not want and cannot afford.
But what is even stranger is the sale of the Bible. $40 for a Bible in the 1960s? I feel like any corner bookstore would have sold one for under $5 easily, and didn't most people already own one? And then you see these men interacting away from customers, and they are rather coarse men, not what you might call the most principled Christians. Is this right? Pushing of the Bible by people who clearly are not strict adherents?
The Maysles brothers decided they wanted to be the first to make a nonfiction feature film (which turned out to be "Salesman") after learning that Truman Capote had made the claim that his newly released book "In Cold Blood" was a nonfiction novel. The film was made on a low budget; just under seven minutes into the film, one of the two cameras used can be seen in the shot. The hand-held microphone used to record the film's sound is visible in other shots.
When Salesman was completed, there were challenges in showing the film. As the Maysles brothers tried to get distribution, they were told that the content was too depressing and realistic for the public. Indeed, there are depressing aspects. But even more, this tells me two things: one, it is no surprise that door-to-door salesmen have died out, because this approach is pretty awful, forcing people to purchase something they do not want and cannot afford.
But what is even stranger is the sale of the Bible. $40 for a Bible in the 1960s? I feel like any corner bookstore would have sold one for under $5 easily, and didn't most people already own one? And then you see these men interacting away from customers, and they are rather coarse men, not what you might call the most principled Christians. Is this right? Pushing of the Bible by people who clearly are not strict adherents?