The Learning Tree, first feature film by a Black director financed by a major Hollywood studio, 1969 Lobby Card archive

Gordon Parks, The Learning Tree

About this Item

[African American Film] One of the first feature films by a Black director financed by a major Hollywood studio, The Learning Tree. Archive of 8 original vintage Lobby Cards. Warner Bros. 1969. All measure about 11" x 14", all are in color. The Learning Tree was the first feature film by an African American director to be financed by a major Hollywood studio, Warner Bros. Director Gordon Parks, making his film debut, also wrote and produced the visually stunning and bittersweet, coming-of-age story about a year in the life of 14-year-old Newt Winger, born into a poor Black family in Kansas, who learns about love, fear, racial injustice, and immorality. The Kansas location sets The Learning Tree apart from many African American themed films, which often take place in the South. No film before had so honored the legacy of the Exodusters, the tens of thousands of African Americans who, in the late nineteenth century, moved west of the Mississippi River, primarily to Kansas among them Parks s ancestors. The film is based on his autobiographical novel. Star Kyle Johnson is featured in several lobby card images as well as Carole Lamond and Estelle Evans. Many focus on the courtroom drama scenes, while others show the carnival scenes and boxing match. Another features the young cast in a Kansas field all wearing jeans and overalls. All have the film title, production credits, and Warner Bros. copyright in the lower section. All are labeled 69/255 in the lower right hand white margin. Images are clear with no wear from age. Archive is in very good condition.

Seller Inventory # 20257

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Learning Tree, first feature film by a Black director financed by a major Hollywood studio, 1969 Lobby Card archive
• Seller catalogs:
  • 1960s-1970s
  • Film and Entertainment
  • African American