Salesman (1969 film)
| Salesman | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by |
Albert Maysles David Maysles Charlotte Zwerin |
| Produced by | Albert Maysles David Maysles |
| Written by | Albert Maysles David Maysles |
| Cinematography | Albert Maysles |
| Edited by | David Maysles Ellen Hovde Charlotte Zwerin |
| Distributed by | Maysles Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Salesman is a 1969 direct cinema documentary film about door-to-door Bible salesmen, directed by brothers Albert and David Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin.
The documentary follows four salesmen as they travel across New England and southeast Florida trying to sell expensive Bibles door-to-door in low-income neighborhoods, and attend a sales meeting in Chicago. The film focuses in particular on salesman Paul Brennan, a middle-aged Irish-American Catholic from Jamaica Plain, Boston, who struggles to maintain his sales.
The Maysles brothers decided they wanted to be the first to make a nonfiction feature film (which turned out to be Salesman) after learning that Truman Capote had made the claim that his newly released book In Cold Blood was a nonfiction novel. The film was made on a low budget; just under seven minutes into the film, one of the two cameras used can be seen in the shot. The handheld microphone used to record the film's sound is visible in other shots.
Salesman was self-funded by the Maysles brothers, costing approximately $100,000. The Maysles brothers paid each salesman $100, along with their expenses. During production, the crew consisted of Albert Maysles shooting and lighting and David Maysles doing sound. Albert Maysles never prompted anyone for the film, except when he asked Paul to describe his fellow salesmen. In determining who and what they were going to film, the Maysles brothers looked at the salesmen's schedules. Throughout production, the Maysles brothers sent the footage to Zwerin, who viewed the footage and provided feedback. When post-production began, David Maysles and Zwerin tried to structure a story about the four salesmen but found they did not have the material. Instead, they realized that they were dealing with a story about Paul.
The Maysles brothers had themselves been door-to-door salesmen in the past, selling everything from cosmetics to encyclopedias. While filming, they became part of the pitch, telling those who let the salesmen and the camera crew into their homes that they were now part of "a human interest story."
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