<I>The Sky is Gray</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1980
name: label: Directed by
content: Stan Lathan, American, born 1945
label: Written by
content: Ernest J. Gaines, American, 1933 - 2019
label: Written by
content: Charles Fuller, American, born 1939
label: Subject of
content: Olivia Cole Actress, born 1942
label: Subject of
content: James Bond III, American
label: Subject of
content: Margaret Avery, American, born 1944
label: Subject of
content: Cleavon Little, American, 1939 - 1992
label: Subject of
content: Chez Lister, American, born 1969
label: Subject of
content: Henry Fonda, American, 1905 - 1982
label: Owned by
content: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
notes: label: Caption
content: This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
label: Description
content: A feature film with the title The Sky Is Gray. It consists of two reels of 16mm acetate film with color and sound.
label: Description
content: The film is a coming of age story about a young boy named James (James Bond III) from a sharecropper family in 1940s Louisiana. Through various encounters during a trip to see the dentist about a toothache, James learns about race, religion, gender, and poverty. The film opens with an introduction by actor Henry Fonda who describes life in the slave quarters and Ernest Gaines’ rise to prominence. In the next scene, James and another boy are seen in bed discussing James' toothache. Despite his companion’s suggestions, James refuses to inform the adults in the quarters of his discomfort. Later, James accompanies his mother, Octavia (Olivia Cole), to the cane fields but is still visibly in pain from his toothache. After a few home remedies fail, including prayers by one Monsieur Bayonne (Cleavon Little), James' mother resolves to take him to the dentist.
label: Description
content: On the way, they walk underneath a Confederate flag in the town, shortly before entering the dental office. In the waiting room, James witnesses conversations about topics such as religion and the nature of reality before the nurse informs everyone that the dentist would be going to recess shortly. After some futile persuasion, James and his mother leave the dental office and head to a nearby restaurant where James witnesses an altercation between his mother and a man who makes unwelcome advances toward her. In the final scenes, James and his mother meet Helena (Susan French), a white shopkeeper who offers them some food on their way back to the dental office.
place: label: Place used
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Agriculture
label: Topic
content: American South
label: Topic
content: Families
label: Topic
content: Film
label: Topic
content: Labor
label: Topic
content: Poverty
label: Topic
content: Race relations
label: Topic
content: Rural life
label: Topic
content: Youth
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: DC Public Library Film Collection
label: Classification
content: Time-based Media - Moving Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2017.55.98.1ab
objectType: label: Type
content: sound films
label: Type
content: color films (visual works)
label: Type
content: feature films
label: Type
content: 16mm (photographic film size)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: acetate film
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (Reel 1): 22 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 800 Feet
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (Reel 2): 21 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 750 Feet