Ballad of Buster

Date1972

Can DescriptionsDonor's letter: 'Ballad of Buster' is an art film produced in 'context of a true story which took place on the Maine coast. Buster Estes was a Harpswell fisherman who took two young boys duck hunting in Winter on a half tide ledge. Something happened to the skiff which had taken them from the lobster boat, anchored off-shore, to the ledge, and the man and two boys were left stranded on the ledge in the on-coming tide and in the face of a building winter snow storm. It was a classic tragedy about which Larry Hall, professer of Bowdoin College wrote an award winning short story called, 'The Ledge.''

Viewing Notes[a byron color-correct print] Shot of clouds over the sun while a voice over gives a marine forecast for Casco Bay on Dec. 27. An anemometer. A boat’s wake. Shot of the water and coastline with the subtitle ‘Ballad of Buster’. An anemometer. Sea birds. Shots of the water, with a voice singing the ballad as narration. Three shotguns resting in the bow of a boat. A bucket full of duck decoys. A person rowing. The boat stops at the rocks and people disembark. Close up of a barometer. Throwing decoys into the water. Panning shot of the water. The anemometer. A weather vane. Singing narration. Loading a shotgun. A boy shooting at ducks. The anemometer, weather vane, and barometer. Drawing the boat farther up on land. Shooting at ducks. The rowboat filling with water and drifting away. Singing narration. Shots of snow and surf. Snow covered lobster traps. Shots of the water. Credits: ‘vocal and music Nancy S. Pulsifer’, ‘sound Community Productions, Inc. EAB Recording Studios’, ‘hunters Richard Hornbeck, Tommy Vroom, Matt Solotaire’, ‘filmed and edited Martin Meltz’. [End of Reel]