Algren will spotlight the hard-knock life and authentic creative legacy of one of the most underrated writers of the twentieth century, Nelson Algren. Algren's brutally honest portrayal of the American underclass and his hard-nosed lifestyle became his pathway to compassion. Through interviews with Algren contemporaries, experts, and "literary soulmates," as well as through the photography of Algren's friends, Art Shay and Stephen Deutch, the film will tell his story. It will celebrate his tremendous contribution to and influence on American letters, and push Algren, champion of the marginalized, out from the margins.
Direction
Caplan clearly loves his subject—maybe too much.
Writing
Algren's prose reads like a punch to the gut, in a good way.
Director
Michael Caplan
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Algren's 'The Man with the Golden Arm' was so raw that the 1955 film version had to fight the Production Code—Sinatra's junkie role helped break censorship barriers.
Billy Corgan recorded his interview in one take, apparently having read Algren's entire bibliography the week before. Classic Smashing Pumpkins intensity.
US
