Harlem Halloween 1948

"In the Street": Released 1948 and again in 1952 is in b/w (1940s - SILENT) - An urban documentary focusing on the children of New York City's Upper East Side capturing New York's street energy with scenes of candid social interaction; children playing adults, dancing around, fighting, playing rough games hitting each other, making neighboring adults upset for rowdiness, wearing masks on Halloween, etc. Good shots of Puerto Rican ghettos, good shots of black ghettos and Italian ghettos, women observe the world from their tenement windows, young girls nervously await their dates, bored woman looking down window while smoking, idly unemployed men on porch, black father walking down street holding hands of his children, elderly man defends young child being hit by older boys, children playing in junkyard w/ bottles, cardboard and other trash items, boys cry after playing rough and hurting each other, children enjoying water from open fire hydrant, woman in mink coat waiting for date underneath the subway train overpass, boy jumps on the back bumper of passing car, black children smiling posing for camera, short artistic documentary show the youthful spirit of people of Spanish Harlem poverty scenes overcome by the exuberance of the children and adults.

From Helen Levitt and James Agee (filmed in 1940s-released in 1953)