Salesman
Seen it?1969 | 90 min | Documentary
Weeknight Watchearly ratingWhy it’s a Weeknight Watch
With soft box office and little lasting buzz, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- One for anyone who likes learning something new. Expect to bring it up in conversation afterwards.
- The mood
- Eye-opening.
- The pace
- Moves through the story clearly, at 1 hr 30 min. Short enough for a weeknight.
- What might put you off
- Made in 1969: an older pace and style.
- Skip it if you want made-up drama tonight.
This documentary from Albert and David Maysles follows the bitter rivalry of four door-to-door salesmen working for the Mid-American Bible Company: Paul "The Badger" Brennan, Charles "The Gipper" McDevitt, James "The Rabbit" Baker and Raymond "The Bull" Martos. Times are tough for this hard-living quartet, who spend their days traveling through small-town America, trying their best to peddle gold-leaf Bibles to an apathetic crowd of lower-middle-class housewives and elderly couples.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
- AudiencesSolid
Our audience score: 61%
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Reach & staying powerBelow par
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactBelow par
About 22K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin, Albert Maysles
- Paul BrennanHimself - 'The Badger'
- Charles McDevittHimself - 'The Gipper'
- James BakerHimself - 'The Rabbit'
- Raymond MartosHimself - 'The Bull'
- Melbourne I. Feltman
- Margaret McCarron
- Kennie Turner