HWY: An American Pastoral
Encyclopedia
HWY: An American Pastoral is a film by Jim Morrison
and Paul Ferrara
and stars Morrison as a hitchhiker. It is a 50-minute experimental film
in Direct Cinema
style. It was shot during the spring and summer of 1969 in the Mojave Desert
and in Los Angeles
.
over. The next sequence shows landscape and then turns to a clip of the hitchhiker looking for a book with the car parked outside a gas station (visible through the window). The hitchhiker is shown back on the highway together with two other people and a police officer. He gets into the car and drives off. He looks for directions on a map at night. The cars are shown driving into the sunset. Finally, the hitchhiker makes a phone call to American poet Michael McClure
and explains with disimpassioned voice why the original driver was not with him for much of the journey. The hitchhiker killed him. The final shots show the hitchhiker at a local pub.
280 miles to meet his then girlfriend Mary Werbelow in Clearwater
. Morrison financed the low budget film project through his company “HiWay Productions”. The production of HWY was supported by Morrison's friends Paul Ferrara
, Frank Lisciandro and Babe Hill. The soundtrack was produced by pianist Fred Myrow.
Parts of the movie were meant to be used for fundraising purposes in order to complete the whole project. As soon as October 1969 the film story was outpaced, though, by the Tate-Labianca murders which were carried out by members of the Manson Family in Los Angeles and shattered the American public. Morrison's plans to show HWY during his second stay in Paris
in early 1971 did not materialize. The film fragment was publicly shown only once in Vancouver
in 1970 and again in Paris in 1993. An audio sequence from the film was published on The Doors
' spoken word album
An American Prayer
in 1978.
It has been suggested that the inspiration for the Protagonist in the film, played by Morrison, with the script name 'Billy' was inspired by the very real Hitchhiker serial killer Billy Cook
who murdered six people on a 22-day rampage between Missouri and California in 1950–51.
s documentary When You're Strange
. However, the complete film was not included in the Special Features on the "When You're Strange" DVD, and there have been no further accouncements regarding a DVD release for the film. Bootleg copies of the film (with a visible timecode at the bottom of the screen) can be found on the internet.
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
and Paul Ferrara
Paul Ferrara
Paul Ferrara is an American photographer known for his relation with singer Jim Morrison of the band The Doors . He started as The Doors still photographer and his first production was a souvenir book that was sold at concerts. Many of the iconic images of Morrison’s persona were created by...
and stars Morrison as a hitchhiker. It is a 50-minute experimental film
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
in Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema is a documentary genre that originated between 1958 and 1962 in North America, principally in the Canadian province of Quebec and the United States...
style. It was shot during the spring and summer of 1969 in the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
and in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Storyline
The opening sequence shows the hitchhiker (Jim Morrison) coming out of a pond, and putting his clothes on over whatever he is already wearing. He proceeds to walk up the mountain from the pond. He starts walking down the highway and a voice-over of Morrison talks about his incident with dead indians as a child. He is shown emerging from a car stuck in the sand. He successfully tries to pull a carFord Mustang (first generation)
The first-generation Ford Mustang is the original pony car, manufactured by Ford Motor Company from 1964 until 1973.It was initially introduced as a hardtop and convertible with the fastback version put on sale the following year...
over. The next sequence shows landscape and then turns to a clip of the hitchhiker looking for a book with the car parked outside a gas station (visible through the window). The hitchhiker is shown back on the highway together with two other people and a police officer. He gets into the car and drives off. He looks for directions on a map at night. The cars are shown driving into the sunset. Finally, the hitchhiker makes a phone call to American poet Michael McClure
Michael McClure
Michael McClure is an American poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist. After moving to San Francisco as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets who read at the famous San Francisco Six Gallery reading in 1955 rendered in barely fictionalized terms in Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums...
and explains with disimpassioned voice why the original driver was not with him for much of the journey. The hitchhiker killed him. The final shots show the hitchhiker at a local pub.
Screenplay, production and public screening
The original, barely structured HWY screenplay, published in 1990, contained many differences to the actual 1969 film version. The film was based on Morrison's experiences as a hitchhiker during his student days. As a college student Morrison had regularly been commuting as a hitchhiker from TallahasseeTallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
280 miles to meet his then girlfriend Mary Werbelow in Clearwater
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
. Morrison financed the low budget film project through his company “HiWay Productions”. The production of HWY was supported by Morrison's friends Paul Ferrara
Paul Ferrara
Paul Ferrara is an American photographer known for his relation with singer Jim Morrison of the band The Doors . He started as The Doors still photographer and his first production was a souvenir book that was sold at concerts. Many of the iconic images of Morrison’s persona were created by...
, Frank Lisciandro and Babe Hill. The soundtrack was produced by pianist Fred Myrow.
Parts of the movie were meant to be used for fundraising purposes in order to complete the whole project. As soon as October 1969 the film story was outpaced, though, by the Tate-Labianca murders which were carried out by members of the Manson Family in Los Angeles and shattered the American public. Morrison's plans to show HWY during his second stay in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in early 1971 did not materialize. The film fragment was publicly shown only once in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
in 1970 and again in Paris in 1993. An audio sequence from the film was published on The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
' spoken word album
Spoken word album
A spoken word album was a record album that did not consist mainly of music or songs, but of spoken material. It could be said to be the ancestor of today's audiobook format...
An American Prayer
An American Prayer
An American Prayer is the last studio album by The Doors. In 1978, seven years after lead singer Jim Morrison died and five years after the remaining members of the band broke up, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore reunited and recorded backing tracks over Morrison's poetry...
in 1978.
It has been suggested that the inspiration for the Protagonist in the film, played by Morrison, with the script name 'Billy' was inspired by the very real Hitchhiker serial killer Billy Cook
Billy Cook
-Personal life:Cook was born in Menlo Park, New Jersey in 1928, and died in 1981 in Kennebunkport, Maine.-Filmography:*The Major and the Minor as a cadet*Naval Academy as Dick Brewster...
who murdered six people on a 22-day rampage between Missouri and California in 1950–51.
When You're Strange
In 2009, restored and re-mastered excerpts from "HWY" were featured in Tom DiCilloTom DiCillo
Thomas A. "Tom" DiCillo is an American film director, screenwriter and cinematographer.-Early life:He was born in Camp Le Jeune, North Carolina. His father was Italian and his mother was from New England...
s documentary When You're Strange
When You're Strange
When You're Strange is a 2009 documentary about the life of The Doors. It is written and directed by Tom DiCillo and for the first time makes material from Jim Morrison's 1969 film fragment HWY: An American Pastoral publicly available....
. However, the complete film was not included in the Special Features on the "When You're Strange" DVD, and there have been no further accouncements regarding a DVD release for the film. Bootleg copies of the film (with a visible timecode at the bottom of the screen) can be found on the internet.
Screenplay
- Jim Morrison: The Hitchhiker (An American Pastoral). In: The American Night. The Writings of Jim Morrison. Viking, London 1990, p. 69–82.