The Corner (Robert Ford, 1962)

The Corner (Robert Ford Collection, 1970, 16mm, black-and-white, sound)

In 2012, the National Film Preservation Foundation awarded CFA a grant to preserve two films that document the activities and social-political transformation of the Vice Lords, a black street gang from Chicago’s west side: LORD THING (1970) and THE CORNER (1962).

Robert Ford’s THE CORNER (1963) was filmed as a student project and is a more personal exploration of the Vice Lords gang members. The west-side youths struggle to better understand themselves in the context of their neighborhood, slowly exposing the underpinnings of gang mentality. This film received a Golden Eagle certificate from the Council on International Non-theatrical Events (CINE).

More information about this film and its preservation: http://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/pres-projects/lord-thing-and-the-corner-1963