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A Bench in the Park

1958 , Johannesburg, South Africa (Other)

Cat no. 2999

A young man tries to get to know a young woman he has noticed in the park, but she only reluctantly divulges information about herself.

A young man determines that he will try to get to know a young woman in the park. He has often seen her in the park as she keeps to the same routine; she sits on the same bench, brings a magazine but does not pay it much attention, preferring instead to watch what is going on around her. The young man joins her on the bench and they begin to get acquainted. They talk about the weather, the park and comment on the passers-by but even though he introduces himself, she does not divulge her name or anything about herself. The couple go for a walk and take a boat out onto the lake. The woman still says nothing about herself. Eventually, hesitantly, she says a little about her ‘jet set’ lifestyle; with its wealth, luxury, parties, worldwide travel, gambling and eager suitors. The woman says she finds life empty and that she could only fall in love with a working man. The woman asks the man about his life. He tells her he is a working man, a waiter in the park’s restaurant. The woman suddenly says she has to go but asks the man only accompany her so far, as she does not want her chauffeur to see her with a stranger. By the way, he might have noticed her car, the red convertible. The young man says he has. Intrigued, he follows at a discreet distance. The woman, however, does not go to the car but to the restaurant. She is a waitress in the restaurant in which he claimed to work. The young man understands now why she left abruptly. The man leaves the park in his chauffeur driven red convertible.

Keywords

Parks; Park benches; Park life; Boating lakes; Harpers magazine; Lincoln Mark III; Waitresses; Chauffeurs; O Henry stories; South Africa in Autumn; Autumnal weather

Other Places

Zoo Lake, Johannesburg

  • Maker : Bianca Sergay

  • Camera : Bianca Sergay

  • Maker : Dr Julius Sergay

  • Director : Dr Julius Sergay

  • Woman in park/ waitress Jackie [surname not known]

Manifestations

A Bench in the Park

  • Award:
    • Group 1:
      • Note: Awards (data migration 25/06/2021): Amateur Cine World Ten Best Film Competition, Ten Best winner, 1958.

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