Conrack (1974)

Today many people probably have not heard of the movie Conrack (1974), directed by Martin Ritt. It received mixed to positive reviews upon its release, and it did somewhat poorly at the box office. Regardless, it is significant for its portrayal of life on Daufuskie Island (fictionalized in the film as Yamacraw Island), as well as one of the earlier portrayals of trick-or-treating in a feature film.Conrack (1974) was based on the book The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy, which was based on his experience as teacher on Daufauskie Island in the late Sixties. Daufuskie Island is an island located between Hilton Head Island and Savannah, George, and is part of the state of South Carolina. At the time that Pat Conroy taught school there and even now, it is only assessable by ferry. In the late Sixties, most of the inhabitants were descended from slaves and spoke the Gullah language. Most had little to no contact with the mainland, and many knew very little about the outside world.Like the…