DVD Review: Nelson Algren: The End Is Nothing, The Road Is All

Nelson Algren: The End Is Nothing, The Road Is All is a documentary about writer Nelson Algren, who is probably most well-known for his novel The Man With The Golden Arm, and for writing about folks who are marginalized by mainstream society, including criminals, the poor and prostitutes. Much of his story is fascinating, as his life is closely tied to many of the social and political situations of the twentieth century, including the Great Depression and the Joseph McCarthy witch hunts of the 1950s.

The film begins with Nelson Algren himself reading a passage from one of his works. (Passages from several of his books are read by Warren Leming at other moments throughout the film.) And the film includes footage from interviews with Algren. Some of that material is actually quite funny. For example, early on he talks about looking for a job in journalism during the Depression, and of course not finding one. He says: “I never went voluntarily into the world of pimps and thieves and wandering people. I was pushed into it.” And then, when talking about his work with the Federal Writers’ Project (part of the New Deal), he says, “I don’t recall doing any real work.” He mentions being fired from it, then re-applying. It’s humorous, but the information about the Writers’ Project, as told by some of those actually involved, is also truly interesting.

There are several interviews with fellow writers, including Kurt Vonnegut, Paul Buhle and Studs Terkel. It’s interesting to hear other writers talk about his writing and about the characters he’d create. There is some great stuff with Studs Terkel talking about how A Walk On The Wild Side was picked apart by the critics. And we learn about the troubles Algren had, beginning with his books being banned from the Chicago libraries because of the portrayal of certain Polish characters. Polish politicians in Chicago actually wrote to Hoover at the FBI, asking that organization to keep an eye on Algren. And hey, the FBI was never an organization to turn down such requests.

There is also information about his relationships, including that with Simone de Beauvoir which began in the 1940s, and how existentialism crept into his work as a result. The film does include a portion of an audio interview with Simone de Beauvoir. By the way, throughout all of this, old footage is shown to give us a sense of the political and social climate. That’s particularly important when we get to the material on the House Un-American Activities Committee, with footage of Hoover testifying about communism. There is also some audio from an interview with Algren about that time, and about the fear that people had.

His story is interesting, and at times funny, at times depressing (particularly toward the end, with his financial troubles). Kurt Vonnegut calls Algren “the loneliest man I ever knew.” You certainly don’t have to be familiar with his work to appreciate and enjoy the story told here.

Special Features

The DVD includes Algren’s Last Night, a short film by Warren Leming and Carmine Cervi. It’s about Algren’s Chicago, and some portions of it are used in the feature. There is also some bonus footage, including more with Studs Terkel telling an anecdote about Algren and the police, as well as biographer Bettina Drew talking about Algren and de Beauvoir. The bonus features also include a photo gallery.

There is also a segment in which Denis Mueller and Mark Blottner talk about the documentary on The Heartland Show recorded live at the Heartland Café. They talk about how the documentary was started quite a while ago, which is how it happens to include interviews with Kurt Vonnegut and Studs Terkel, and they talk about Nelson Algren himself, and how they became interested in him. This is approximately thirteen minutes.

Nelson Algren: The End Is Nothing, The Road Is All was produced and directed by Mark Blottner, Ilko Davidov and Denis Mueller, and is scheduled to be released on DVD on March 8, 2016 through First Run Features.