Salesman

"The best seller and the world."

1969 1h 30m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🔥

100%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.7

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 103🍅100%Rotten Tomatoes●80Metacritic★7.7IMDB · 5,892

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“The best seller and the world.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Paul Brennan
Himself - 'The Badger'
Charles McDevitt
Himself - 'The Gipper'
James Baker
Himself - 'The Rabbit'
Raymond Martos
Himself - 'The Bull'
Melbourne I. Feltman
Margaret McCarron
Kennie Turner

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Maysles
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

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

57 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

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

Directed by David Maysles, shot by Albert Maysles. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Paul Brennan and Charles McDevitt and James Baker carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The best seller and the world.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Maysles directs. Albert Maysles behind the camera. David Maysles cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
357 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by David Maysles, shot by Albert Maysles. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor David Maysles shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Paul Brennan and Charles McDevitt and James Baker carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The best seller and the world.".
9IMDB entry: tt0064921 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "bible", "salesman", "traveling salesman", "woman director".