For first-time screenwriter/producer, JOHN “MILES” MURPHY, who first encountered the lynching story when at San Jose State University in the early 1970’s, the quest to bring Valley of the Heart’s Delight to the screen was over three decades in the making as he went about achieving other professional and personal goals. “The San Jose lynchings had become a fable interwoven with the culture of the region. Since the lynchings in 1933, two films, Fury, starring Spencer Tracy, and Try and Get Me, starring Lloyd Bridges, loosely based on the lynchings were made.” Murphy’s research on the history included microfiche newspaper accounts, various historical articles published over the years, and hundreds of pages contained in the FBI file on the Brooke Hart kidnapping. His 1982 novel, Harry Tabasco, was the first product of his research followed by a screenplay of the same name copyrighted in 1983. Contained in the FBI file was a verified account of the only eyewitnesses to the actual kidnapping.
“To make this story dramatically compelling, I created a character who comes to believe, after personal investigation, the men who were eventually lynched were innocent of the crime. To say that this approach flies in the face of the received wisdom about this lynching would be a gross understatement. One would be hard-pressed to find persons familiar with this history in the Santa Clara Valley who believe anything other than that the two suspects were absolutely guilty. My protagonist, based on actual third party documentation about the kidnapping and murder, makes a factual case for their innocence. Literally no one at the time seriously opposed or tried to stop this lynching. Seventy-three-plus years later, a fictional character undertakes that effort. Since the two men were never arraigned, much less received a trial, and all local law enforcement records have disappeared or been destroyed, no one will ever know for sure.”
Director TIM BOXELL was introduced to Miles early on and the two met regularly in San Francisco to refine the story for the screen. To produce a period film on a very small budget it was necessary to plan and pre-visualize in great detail. "I did close to a thousand storyboards for the film, giving Miles the opportunity to see the movie as images. This proved invaluable in taking the project from script to set." While Boxell drew, Miles continued to research the '30's carefully selecting cars, environments and clothing styles that would be needed to bring the story's era back to life in front of the camera. All of Boxell's experience directing and designing films of every kind and his love of working with actors would be needed to deliver such an ambitious project on a tight schedule. He and Miles never wavered from their belief that there is a niche for smart, quality films that speak to a more critical audience and were committed to doing what ever it would take to bring this story to the screen.
Executive producers SCOTT ROSENFELT and B. BILLIE GREIF are two such Hollywood producers who choose to work within the independent world and fill a niche gap – producing quality, low budget features that promote a cultural point of view. Miles selected this producing team for this reason alone. Scott Rosenfelt has a background as an accomplished producer with such big budget features as Home Alone and indie films like Smoke Signals under his belt.
“I started my career doing independent films, and segued into studio movies. But studio projects are sometimes more about the meetings and politics, which can get boring. After doing several studio pictures I made a conscious decision to go back to indies, to be able to work with new directors, writers. A director’s first film is often their best film, and that’s usually because they’re dealing with character more than plot. The energy is also different because you’re generally working with a younger crew…” Rosenfelt laughs, “… except on this film – everyone was older.”
The goal to shoot the film in the San Francisco Bay Area and employ local talent was also a factor . “The story is a Northern California fable, and it was important to Miles to have a Northern California crew” says Rosenfelt. “Many production veterans make their home in the bay area, and their experience was a blessing for this film.” Boxell agrees. “We assembled a great cast and local crew based on the power of the script, and people were willing to work for less than what they make on a big budget movie because we all shared in what this picture is about.”
Casting director ROBIN GURLAND (Star Wars Episodes I & II, James and the Giant Peach) was instrumental in putting together a great cast to bring the film alive. “The cast delivered astonishing powerful performances. And Gabe – actor GABRIEL MANN (The Bourne Supremacy) – really drove the film as the voice of reason in all the madness,” Boxell says. Mann, who portrays young reporter Jack Daumier, sees a direct parallel between the past and present in the story. “The political implications of what the movie deals with… corruption of power, manipulation of the press, I find those to be very current topics in this day and age. I think the best thing we can do is learn from the past and if that means revisiting stories like these, then by all means we should do it,” says Mann. “The bigger picture aspect of this is it’s a pretty incredible story, a true story. This was a very horrific but compelling historical event in our history, especially in California, because I don’t think many people equate California with lynching country. So it felt like a movie that’s time had come, it needed to be told.” On a lighter note, Mann adds, “Plus, I wanted to wear a fedora.”
Murphy also sees a direct tie to events that are playing out in the world today. “This paradigm has been regularly employed throughout history by the powers-that-be, most recently to justify the war in Iraq. The designation of evil is offered as the justification for a response that may be grossly in excess of what is required or deserved. Now that and brave, patriotic American men and women are dying in Iraq, it will prove almost impossible to seriously undo the justification so utilized. The same goes for undoing the lynching of two San Jose men in 1933.”
Challenges are what attracted production designer DOUG FREEMAN to the film, and he’s remarkably candid about it. “Getting the period right, that’s easy. Photos provide all the homework you need to set the period. In many ways, making a period look like the 70’s is harder. A 30’s period picture is easier because there aren’t a lot of people still living who would know the difference. Of course, the challenge is making it look real on a tight budget. Where I am at in my career, low budget is more fun because less money means more challenges. I don’t take it as a liability. It was also a big help that we all made the setting of the picture - the bay area - our home. We knew the turf, and that helps to keep costs down.”The challenge of shooting a low budget period film entirely on location also appealed to cinematographer HIRO NARITA (The Darwin Awards, James and the Giant Peach). Narita brings a long list of credits including Apocolypse Now, Star Wars and Local Hero. Shot entirely on HD digital format, “This film has the look and feel of a major Hollywood movie, the master lighting and cinematography bring the film to a higher level,” says executive producer Rosenfelt. “I really wanted to capture the romantic period of California at this point in history, which means warm colors, but given the intense subject matter, I also made a conscious decision to gradually take the color out and de-saturate the final scenes, to manipulate the images,” said Narita.
Murphy adds that while shooting a scene from the movie where the mob becomes enraged, an interesting validation of the mob mentality was revealed. “As the extras were instructed to yell and rant in the particular scene as the two accused men were dragged from the jail to the hanging tree, the roar of the mob was so loud that the director’s ‘cut’ could not be heard.” Granted, this was a movie depicting a fictional situation to a real life event, the filmmakers were a taken aback by how quickly a mob could become ‘uncontrollable.’ “Reports of the real incident state the roar of the mob could be heard ten miles away, throughout San Jose. We all saw what people are capable of in extreme situations, what happens when society breaks down, and give way to rage.”
