Joe Hill

HISTORIANS FILM COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER Edited by: Martin A. Jackson John E. O'Connor Vol . I , number 4 December, 1971 JOE HILL by Michael Wreszin It has been suggested that in the summer of 1969 most of the youthful citizens of the great Woodstock Nation didn't know who Joe Hill was when Joan Baez sang the song of the legendary figure of the Wobbly crusade. Perhaps it was Bo Widerberg's intention, as the director of the movie, Joe Hill, to acquaint America's current guitar army with the historical sources of their own contemporary romanticism. On that level the movie is a success and has both entertainment and historical value. Joe Hill, insofar as anyone knows much about him, was a legend from the start. He was surely not as important a figure or as authentic a hero in the I.W.W.'s brief but dramatic history as Big Bill Heywood or Frank Little. Nor did he die the martyr's death of Little and Wesley Everest, both victims of lynching, the latter in his army uniform on Armistice Day. Hill came to a rather ignominious death at the hands of a firing squad in Utah after his conviction for a grocery store hold-up killing. Given his radical connections and the tense atmosphere of industrial warfare that prevailed at the time, it is undoubtedly true that his trial was less than fair and the prosecution's weak circumstantial evidence hardly justified conviction and death. However, some scholars not unsympathetic to the I.W.W. have concluded continued on page 5 AHA Convention The 1971 AHA Convention reflects the growing interest in film among American historians with a cluster of panel discussions and meetings which should concern all our members. In addition to the annual business meeting of the Committee, there will be a fullfledged film festival utilizing films from the Museum of Modern Art. In short it appears to be a busy convention for those who deal with film. We are listing on the following page the titles and meeting times of the relevant sessions for the convenience of our members. FILM REVIEWS Film reviews are intended to provide teachers with a critical evaluation of films to be considered for classroom use. The opinions expressed are those of other historians and teachers rather than of producers or rental firms. All members are invited to contribute reviews and we will print as many as possible in each issue of the Newsletter. Unless otherwise noted, all films reviewed here are in l6mm. With this issue of the Newsletter we are beginning to print reviews of films in current commercial distribution, reviewed by scholars with recognized reputations in the areas concerned. They are meant not only to make us more critical movie^goers, but to guide our use of these films for teaching purposes whenever possible. Eopefully our reviews will have some influence upon the historical accuracy of commercially made films. The opinions expressed here are neither those of the editors nor the historians Film Committee but of independent scholars well known in their respective fields. If you have opinions regarding the review of Joe E ill or any others we may print in the future, please send us your comments and we will be happy to consider printing them. The film producers will also be invited to reply. continued from page 1: that Hill may well have been guilty and that his illusive past offered some evidence that he was not above larceny and violence. In any event his defense at the trial contained all the evidence of the perfect romance. Hill claimed that the bullet wound he received on the same night as the robbery was inflicted not by the store owner but by the outraged husband who had interrupted an illicit affair and that as a principled gentleman he could not defame the lady in question by naming her. That may say something for Joe's principles but not much for the lady's since she never came forth to save his life. But what more could an expert on romance ask for - a guitar playing, radical drifter with a Victorian's respect for the sacredness of...