Stills from Reform School , 1939, showing the changing office décor before and after Mother Barton’s intervention
only one last resort for them—they turn to crime, just to get enough food to keep life in their bodies.”
22
“Discipline must be tempered with justice and understanding.”
Explore: Group discussion
“I would change the system in handling the youngsters. There’s no reason for treating them like caged animals. They should be permitted to talk, to sing, to dance, to play games, to have regular hours of recreation. In other words, to live life as normal as possible. Educate the public and businessmen of this country to know that when reform schoolboys are released, they’re not criminals. They’re ready to take their place in society.”
• How does the complexion of the characters challenge stereotypes?
• Consider the set, and particularly the office after Mother Barton moves in. How does the change in furniture, décor, and lighting reflect the different leadership styles of Mother Barton and Mr. Stone? • Louise Beavers is the only female actor in the film. How significant is it that her character,
Mother Barton, has so much power and that she wields it with moral courage?
Explore: Group discussion
• Reflect on images you have come across in recent social media, movies, or episodic shows. Have you seen images that you would classify as stereotypes?
• How do scripts directly and indirectly communicate a message or theme?
• Consider the dialogue in this movie. How were the filmmakers, both in front of and behind the camera, making a statement about what was happening in the real world?
If so, in what ways are they stereotypical? Can you trace any of these new stereotypes to old Hollywood stereotypes and tropes?
CINEMATOGRAPHY AND EDITING
CASTING, CHARACTER, AND PRODUCTION DESIGN
Despite budget constraints, the filmmakers tapped new CINEMATOGRAPHY and EDITING techniques to shape the Reform School storyline. There are noticeable differences between the films of the early and late 1930s. Technological advances in cameras, sound, film stock, color technology, and editing propelled story construction to new heights. These advances are evident in Million Dollar Productions’ Reform School . Ellen C. Scott writes: “What the Popkins’ scrappy outfit lacked in budget for props and sets it made up for with complex cinematography and editing. Diverging from the bare-bones, B-cinema visual style of race films, the cinematographer William Hyer, a veteran of Hollywood westerns, artfully filmed Reform School using complex shot structure and stylized tracking shots. The editing was efficient and creative as in the film’s cross-cut opening chase scene, which builds drama and subverts Hollywood’s ideology by leading the audience to root for the ‘criminal’ to escape” ( Regeneration , p. 120). breakdown to analyze the techniques the filmmakers used to build tension in the scene.
Film stills from Reform School , 1939, showing the chang- ing office decor before and after Mother Barton’s inter- vention. Courtesy of the Academy Film Archive, Academy
Louise Beavers was cast as the lead, Mother Barton, and is the only woman in the movie. Born in Cincinnati in 1902, Beavers was a prolific actress in SILENT FILMS. She made the transition to TALKIES and appeared in over 100 films and TV shows. She was usually cast as a servant, maid, or enslaved person. Thus, Mother Barton was a radical departure from these subservient characters, with Beavers’s strong performance providing emotional depth and a persuasive perspective on educational values. As Mother Barton carries on her battle for justice, one cannot ignore the filmmakers’ keen attention to CHARACTER DESIGN. She is impeccably dressed, confident, and carries herself with the dignity her position requires. To see a Black woman on the screen not dressed as a servant was making a big statement. A remarkable aspect of the CASTING in Reform School is that the film features Black people from all walks of society and resists the STEREOTYPES prevalent in mainstream cinema of the day. We see a working-class parent, a middle-class probation officer, management-
class reform school officials, police officers and guards, and young boys who are talented, caring, and willing to learn and grow. Together these depictions create a complex society, and each role is essential to the story of reform. The humanity afforded the characters on screen is reinforced by the casting of people of various skin tones and the treatment of the characters as equal, again pushing back against the TROPE of dark-skinned Black people as less civilized or intelligent than Black people with lighter skin. In addition to casting, PRODUCTION DESIGN plays an important role in communicating the trajectory of a story. Here, the visual space of the film transforms as the story unfolds, as illustrated in two images from before and after Mother Barton moves into the office of the reform school:
Pages 3–4 of the Reform School script. Courtesy of Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
*Words set in ALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts (section F of this guide).
*Words set in ALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts (section F of this guide).
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