THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609110179
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: COVER STORY
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 116 lines
IF YOU THINK slaves dressed shabbily, think again.
``Nat Turner's Burning Spirit,'' a video produced in Southampton County and other local sites, shows them wearing sneakers and clothes that look like something from a department store.
The men wear nice, short-sleeved shirts over their undershirts, little Nat is garbed nattily, and everyone - even those working in the fields - look freshly scrubbed.
While ``Nat Turner's Burning Spirit'' may not measure up to big-studio standards, the advertising blurb for the two-hour video urges viewers to ``experience the passion, the courage, the bravery, the hardship and suffering of one of the pioneers of Black American freedom in America.''
Made earlier this year, it was photographed ``where it happened,'' according to Stanley E. Holcomb, its 75-year-old producer.
For four months, his lone cameraman and his amateur cast of characters ran around Southampton, Sussex, Isle of Wight and Dinwiddie counties, spending a great deal of time in and around the producer's Waverly home. Some of his outbuildings serve as authentic looking slave quarters.
Some cast members are Turner descendants, some descendants of those killed during the uprising, according to Holcomb.
The film, which covers Turner's life from birth to death - 1800 to 1831 - cost about $100,000 to make, he said.
``I defy him to prove that . . .,'' said Bill Bryant of Williamsburg, a former journalist who has spent five years researching and writing a novel and screenplay about Turner.
During an interview at Rawls Library in Courtland, the producer called ``Nat Turner's Burning Spirit,'' a ``remarkable video presentation.''
Among the remarkable things in this film about the 1820s are tire tracks on a dirt road, wires on the side of a building and electric lights in a classroom.
The movie follows the familiar story line of Nat Turner's two-day rebellion, which claimed 57 white lives and, in retaliation, many black ones.
Another plus for the video is a former Richmond used car salesman. The Rev. Marvin Charity, who is no longer in the area, acquits himself well as the title character.
Not surprisingly, the part-time preacher is most effective in the scenes that call for him to preach.
Turner preached rebellion. The end result was a house-to-house killing spree that, as drama, is terror - the slaughter of men, women and children.
In this movie, some scenes are unintentionally comedic. A woman cowers under the covers on one side of her bed. One of the slaves, ax in hand, chops away on the other side. Nevertheless, she bleeds and screams.
Some of the outdoor scenes are equally silly - people in the fields trembling while the rebellious slaves chop the ground around them. Nevertheless, the ``victims'' bleed and scream.
In one bullet-saving scene, a marksman fires one shot and kills two people who were standing side by side.
According to Holcomb, filming of the massacre was done at the original sites, at times using the same homes.
The first house Turner and his men entered, the home of Joseph Travis, still stands, the producer said, adding, ``We even used the same window Turner went in.''
Not so, according to David Carl Brown, who authored a treatise on Turner for a College of William and Mary publication: The site is there, but not the building.
``Holcomb . . . told me he was in it to make money,'' said Bryant, who has Southampton County roots. ``He asked me to collaborate with him. I wouldn't. He is wrong, misguided, monetarily driven. His comments about the event ranged from inaccurate to ridiculous.''
The film, which may be rented at Walter Cecil Rawls Library in Courtland, will go to church organizations to be used as a fund-raiser, Holcomb said. ``Every black organization will get fliers,'' he said. ``There are more than 400 such organizations. And, there are about 400 black-owned auto agencies in the United States. I'll send them fliers. You know, buy a car, get a tape.''
About 5,000 copies have been made ``to start with. I'm hoping for 100,000,'' said the producer, adding that the film is available in several local video stores.
Holcomb, who owned several businesses before retiring, said, ``I got interested in making movies because I thought they could be historical and profitable.''
The Turner tale was not Holcomb's first movie.
``In California, I produced `Weapons of Choice,' '' he said. ``It was sold all over the world.''
What's next for Holcomb?
``I'm going to try and start an historical museum in Southampton County,'' he said. ``We'd have the history of Turner and all types of memorabilia about area blacks - any black person with notoriety.''
Holcomb also envisions tours of the area, ``going the route Turner took when he led the rebellion.'' ILLUSTRATION: ON THE COVER
Staff color photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Stanley E. "Squire" Holcomb holds a shooting board as he marks a
point in the ``Nat Turner'' video where a scene will begin.\
Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
Some of the outbuildings around Stanley E. Holcomb's Waverly home
served as authentic looking slave quarters for the filming of ``Nat
Turner's Burning Spirit.''
It took four months to film the `Turner' script.
Left to right, Hattie Davis, Sharon Artis and Danita Turner take a
break during the filming of ``Burning Spirit.''
Graphic
AT A GLANCE
``Nat Turner's Burning Spirit'' may be borrowed from Walter Cecil
Rawls Library, Courtland.
The price is $19.95 retail, $10 wholesale.
Call 834-3901.
``Nat Turner Insurrection - 1831,'' four videos showing locations
of the historic event, is presented by Southampton County Historical
Society Living Library.
The cost is $75, including postage.
Write to Milton Futrell, P.O. Box 407, Courtland, Va. 23837, or
call 657-2123. by CNB