The life and work of writer James Agee provides the substance of this engrossing documentary by Ross Spears. Spears put together a portrait of Agee with excerpts from his prose and interviews with the people who either worked with him or provided material for his books. Among those interviewed are President Jimmy Carter, critic Dwight Macdonald, historian and writer Robert Fitzgerald, and John Huston, who worked with Agee on The African Queen. Agee’s three former wives, his priest (Father James Frye), and other personal friends round out the picture of this hard-drinking, chain-smoking, intense writer who died as a result of a heart attack at the age of 45.
Director: Ross Spears.
Writer: Ross Spears.
Stars: James Agee (archive footage), Mia Agee, Mae Burroughs, Jimmy Carter, Walker Evans (voice), James Flye, Robert Fitzgerald, John Huston, Dwight Macdonald, Earl McCarroll (voice), Alma Neuman, Robert Saudek, Elizabeth Tingle, Olivia Wood.
Cinematographer: Anthony Forma.
Composer: Kenton Coe.
1981 Academy Awards – Nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary, Features.
Impressive. The script to THE AFRICAN QUEEN is brilliant. Great to see the endlessly witty Dwight Macdonald and the intense John Huston and the dignified Jimmy Carter in the same flick.