Facts about the Film Version of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

One glance through the Ernest J. Gaines Center's archives reveals the overwhelming popularity and influence of the film version of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974). Scattered throughout the collection are film reviews, letters congratulating Gaines on the film, call sheets, promotional materials, and other items. In this post, I would just like to highlight a couple of items from the collection to show the film's impact in 1974.

In a short documentary on the 30th anniversary of the film, the director John Korty says that after the film debuted white callers inundated radio talk shows saying, "I didn't realize. . . " in regards to the struggles that African Americans went through. Likewise, Odetta, who portrayed Big Laura, essentially voiced why Gaines decided to start writing. She says, "The book is telling me other than what I seen in movies." The film's impact could clearly be seen during the 1974 Emmy Awards where it was nominated for 12 awards and won 9 of them, including the Best Actress award fro Cicely Tyson's portrayal of Miss Jane.

To become Miss Jane, Tyson had to arrive on set at least 4 hours before her scheduled shoot time because it took 4 to 4 1/2 hours to apply the makeup that would transform her into a 110 year old woman. After shooting, Tyson would then have to endure another 2 1/2 hours of makeup removal. The picture above shows the transformation  from a 40 year old woman to a 110 year old. Along with putting on and taking off the makeup, Tyson also studied her role diligently. Korty mentions that she would visit old folk's homes and visit elderly African American women, talking with them and recording their speech. On set, as the older Miss Jane, she would act 110, having people assist her instead of walking normally. All of this led to a performance that brought Miss Jane to life.

While Tyson's preparation breathed life into Miss Jane, there were some notable difference between the film and the novel. One of these was discussed earlier. Another key difference is the ending. The book concludes with Miss Jane heading to Bayonne after Jimmy's death. In contrast, the film concludes with Miss Jane walking to the "Whites's Only" drinking fountain. This scene, as powerful as it is, does not occur in the book. Even when the film debuted in 1974, the scene's impact was almost instantaneous. Arthur Unger, writing in The Christian Science Monitor, called the final moments of the film perhaps "the most effective nine minutes [he has] ever seen in fictional film." Even the title of Unger's article shows the impact of the final scene: "110-year walk to a fountain." What makes this ending so much stronger than the one found in the novel, or does it?  In the novel, Jimmy and the other activists chose a young woman to drink from the "White's Only" fountain. They chose an Hebert girl, a mulatto, "to show the world what the South would do to a nigger-not even half nigger in the girl's case-just because she wanted a drink of water" (246). What are your memories of the film? Which ending do you prefer? As usual, let's discuss this in the comments below. 

Gaines, Ernest J. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.  New York: Bantam Books, 1972. Print.
Unger, Arthur. "110-year walk to a fountain." The Christian Science Moniter. [Boston, MA] 30 Jan. 1974: F6. Print.

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman Film

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the film version of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. In January 1974,CBS premiered the film version of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. That year millions watched the movie and it won nine Emmy awards including a best actress award for Cicely Tyson's portrayal of Miss Jane. Without the film's success on prime time national television, it could be argued that Alex Haley's Roots would not appear three years later in 1977. If The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman failed, it would've shown that the country was not prepared for a prime time film that centers around African American characters. Instead, the overall success of the film proved that the nation was ready, in some form, to see a story about African American characters specifically, thus paving the way for the Roots mini-series.  

Like any film adaptation, though, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman differs from the book. Most notably, instead of an African American teacher approaching Miss Jane about her story, the film version has a white reporter from New York coming to Louisiana to get Miss Jane's story for a magazine. It must be noted that the novel does not specify the teacher's race; however, through context, I assume the editor to be an African American teacher. This difference is important. In the book, the school teacher, who has been trying to get Miss Jane to tell her story for a while, goes to the plantation where she lives in 1962. Upon arrival, Mary Hodges confronts the teacher and asks why he is there to interview Miss Jane. He simply tells her that he teaches history and "her life's story can help [him] explain things to [his] students" (v). Mary then asks what's wrong with the books at the school, and the teacher responds, "Miss Jane is not in them" (v). The teacher wants to provide a voice to those who have no voice, or presence, in the history books or elsewhere. He wants his students, presumably African American students, to see and understand themselves better.

In the film, the white reporter comes to speak with Miss Jane, and just like the book, Mary asks the reporter why he wants to talk with her. He only says, "I'm writing a feature story."When pressed, he only responds by saying Miss Jane used to be a slave and he wants to hear (get) her story. Apart from these things, the reporter does not give much information. Compared to the novel's "editor," the reporter appears to be more interested in prestigious gain rather than in telling Miss Jane's and the community's story to  others. The scene ends with Miss Jane walking inside and Mary informing the reporter that Miss Jane is tired and she will make a decision the next day regarding whether or not to speak with him.After Jimmy and others get arrested, she decides to speak. Framed this way, the movie still contains the community aspects of the novel;  however, unlike the novel, they are firmly centered around the Civil Rights movement because the film opens not with the reporter speaking with Miss Jane but with Jimmy asking her to stand up as a symbol for the movement.

Over the next few posts, I will discuss the film version of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. I will show items from the collection such as reviews and correspondence. I will also take the time to talk about Gaines' comments regarding the film and other items. The video below is Ned's speech at the river. As always, if you have a comment, or questions, feel free to leave it down below.    

Gaines, Ernest J. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. New York: Bantam Books, 1972. Print.