A Well Spent Life

1971 0h 44m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 14

DocumentaryMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A musical portrait of Texas blues songster Mance Lipscomb.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Mance Lipscomb
Himself
Elnora Lipscomb
Herself
Hattie Franklin
Herself
Alfred Franklin
Himself

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Les Blank
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 44-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

55 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Part of the "Les Blank: Always for Pleasure" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Les Blank shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mance Lipscomb and Elnora Lipscomb and Hattie Franklin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0067968 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 14 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Les Blank directs. Les Blank cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 44-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
255 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Les Blank: Always for Pleasure" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Editor Les Blank shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Mance Lipscomb and Elnora Lipscomb and Hattie Franklin carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0067968 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 14 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "blues music", "traditional music", "rural life", "rural texas".

The technical file

Editing: Les Blank
Runtime: 44 min · 0h 44m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: A Well Spent Life (1971)

Part of

Les Blank: Always for Pleasure

An uncompromisingly independent filmmaker, Les Blank made documentaries for nearly fifty years, elegantly disappearing with his camera into cultural spots rarely seen on-screen—mostly on the peripheries of the United States, but also occasionally abroad. Seemingly off-the-cuff yet poetically constructed, these films are humane, sometimes wry, always engaging tributes to music, food, and all sorts of regionally specific delights. This collector’s set provides a diverse survey of Les Blank’s vast output, including fourteen of his best-known works and eight related short films.