In the Street
About In the Street
Children and other people move through the streets of Spanish Harlem. The camera stays on sidewalk games, gestures, and passersby, with no narration and no spoken plot. Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb, and James Agee shot the footage in the mid-1940s and released it in 1948.
Cast & crew
More about In the Street
Levitt, Loeb, and Agee used small hidden 16mm cameras. Levitt edited. The film was released again in 1952.
Themes
Background
The footage was made in Spanish Harlem in the mid-1940s and first released in 1948.
Making
The three filmmakers kept the cameras small and out of sight so the street scenes would not turn into posed shots.
Look
Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb, and James Agee filmed with hidden 16mm cameras, mostly on children in the street.
Music
Arthur Kleiner later composed and played a piano score. Ben Model wrote another score for the 2020 Museum of Modern Art screening.
Preservation
Prints have carried Kleiner's piano score since the re-release. MoMA showed the film in 2020 with Ben Model's music.
Notes
- It is silent.
- After the first release, a piano track by Arthur Kleiner was added.
- For a 2020 Museum of Modern Art screening, Ben Model wrote a new score. That version runs about 18 minutes.
- Wikidata also lists James Agee among the cinematographers.
Scenes
- Children play in the street while the camera watches from close by.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (In the Street (1948, MoAAAEF).webm)