Film, Motion Picture

China Town Work Printouts
Citi Outs #2

Silent 16mm black and white film containing several scenes relating to Detroit's Chinatown. The film often cuts between subjects. A clapboard visible during one of the scenes identifies the production as "Chinatown," the director as "Taylor," the camera operator and producer as "McGill," and the date as January 7, 1962.

The film begins with a shot of old Chinatown taken from a rooftop overlooking Howard Street and Second Avenue (likely the nearby Hotel Fort Shelby), facing roughly northwest. The camera pans from west to north, and back.

Shots of a woman in a kitchen stirring a wok while consulting Wallace Yee Hong's "The Chinese Cook Book," make up the second segment.

The third segment concerns a Chinese general store, and the family which runs it. It begins with shots inside the store, including close-ups of produce. This leads into shots of canned goods, shoes, and a boy presenting a fortune cookie fortune. Afterward a girl is fitted for a cheongsam, and a jacket. In a later scene, the girl shows off the outfit.

The following segment features the Chinese language school teacher interviewed in film 2015.011.010. Her classroom and students are featured in shots later in the film.

A group of five people talk while drinking tea in several segments spread throughout the film.

The construction of the John C. Lodge Freeway through old Chinatown is suggested by office scenes which include close up shots of the "City of Detroit Master Plan Redevelopment Priorities" map.

Chinese artifacts at the Detroit Institute of Arts are photographed in several shots.

George W. Stark is featured, seated for an interview, in another shot.