Jean Shepherd's America

★ 9 · 1971 · Documentary · Comedy

In these humorous and affectionate television poems, humorist Jean Shepherd celebrates America in all its richness and diversity -- from cars to candy, baseball to beer, motels to money. Each week a different aspect of our national psyche is explored as Shepherd travels to the Okefenokee Swamp, Death Valley, Milwaukee, the Old South, and other far-flung locations -- using the PCP-90 portable camera.

Episodes

▶1. The Phantom of the Open Hearth Lives -- Somewhere in Indiana29m · Shep recalls the sights, sounds, and experiences of working in a steel mill at age 17, as the operations of a contemporary steel mill play out on screen.▶2. ...One Man's Version of Heaven Is a Super Howard Johnson's with 28 Flavors and No Lines for the Rest Room29m · Shep loses his bait but comes up with some tall tales on a fishing trip in Maine's backwaters on the banks of the Kennebec River, with a stop at the Skowhegan County Fair to meet Bob, champion horse weight-puller.▶3. ...The End of an Era -- Riding the 'City of Los Angeles' on Its Last Journey Across the American West29m · While rumbling across Wyoming aboard a Union Pacific railroad car, Shep recalls a previous trip during his World War II Army days when he pulled KP duty on a troop train.▶4. A Bunch of the Boys Were Whooping It Up at the Malamute Saloon29m · Recalling the origins of his interest in Alaska in the second grade, Shep journeys through the Alaskan frontier exploring the captivating landscape, the sights and sounds of an Eskimo village, and the pervading silence.▶5. There's More to Life Than a Hostess Twinkie29m · While he cracks lobster claws, Shep cracks jokes and stories about his crazy love affair with all manner of delicacies, from rainbow trout to pecan pie.▶6. And the Bad Guys Are Back on the Shore, Shaking Their Fists29m · Recalling a comic-strip from his boyhood in which the hero escapes on a houseboat from the pursuing villains, Shep takes the helm of a houseboat and contemplates a nomadic life at sea.▶7. The Perpetual Swish of Windshield Wipers Is the Soundtrack of Our Lives29m · Shep gets behind the wheel and moves out on the turnpike of life, as he muses on the mystique of the open road.▶8. It Won't Always Be This Way29m · Shep contrasts man's "nesting" instinct with his desire for mobility in a vision of tomorrow's styles of living.▶9. ...From Its Golden, Ice-cold Depths Come the Echos of Lost Battles, the Sound of Ancient Victories, the Noise of a Million Ball Games29m · Beer, considered by some to be the universal language, is the focus as Shep travels to the archetypal neighborhood tavern in Milwaukee and presents a poetic pastiche of beer commercials -- "the folk music of our time."▶10. I Might Even Snag One for Old Ahab Himself29m · Shep talks with one of Florida's natural wonders: Sea Weed Ernie, a hermit who lives in an old wrecked boat in the middle of a watery nowhere, trades fish stories and casts a line in the fabled Black Water Bay.▶11. When There's No Place to Go But Up29m · Tall stories -- airborne. Shep takes off at the controls of his four-seater and visits a convention that features home-made airplanes built with some interesting components.▶12. Like All Great Inner-Tube Specialists, He Finally Made the Classic Mistake29m · What happens when you let a guy like Jean Shepherd loose in a place like Hawaii? He has a luau, watches the surfers and talks about his old man, the All Time Inner-Tube Specialist of America.▶13. Make School or Die29m · Stranded during a blizzard in Wyoming, Shep and the crew romp in the snow outside the "Little America" motel while he recalls another childhood memory of cold mornings in northern Indiana, and his mother's unsympathetic reply to his plea to stay home from school.

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