SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION

Seafarers International Union: translation

This organization commissioned STANLEY KUBRICK’s documentaryTHE SEAFARERS,in 1953. The Atlantic and Gulf Coast district of the Seafarers International Union, which is associated with the American Federation of Labor, hired Kubrick to direct the 30-minute color documentary, which was produced by LESTER COOPER, who turned over to Kubrick the screenplay, by Will Chasan. The movie was intended to promote membership in the ranks of the Seafarers Union and was filmed entirely on location in New York: it was designed to portray a typical day in the life of a seaman on shore leave.

The production was supervised by the staff of theSeafarers Log,the union’s official newspaper, so Kubrick had little editorial control over the picture-unlike his other two documentaries, “DAY OF THE FIGHT” andFLYING PADRE,which he wrote as well as directed. But making this movie did afford Kubrick valuable experience in working in color, an experience that would stand him in good stead when he directed his first color feature,SPARTACUS,in 1960.