Private Project

88 Days in the Mother Lode: Mark Twain Finds His Voice

150 years ago, Samuel Clemens lived in Virginia City, San Francisco and spent three months in the Mother Lode country in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. It is here that he heard the story of the jumping frog that would make him famous as Mark Twain. This film tells that story through his own words from his letters home, his autobiography and his stories.

  • John C. Brown
    Director
    The Last First Comic
  • Bert Simonis
    Director
    Quiet Elegance: The Architecture of Hugh Kaptur
  • Mark Twain
    Writer
    The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
  • John C. Brown
    Producer
    The Last First Comic
  • Bert Simonis
    Producer
    Quiet Elegance: The Architecture of Hugh Kaptur
  • Thomas Maguire
    Key Cast
  • Matt Sweetland
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    History, literature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 12 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 21, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    22,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • American Documentary Film Festival
    Palm Springs
    March 28, 2015
    Southern California Premiere
  • Reno-Tahoe International Film Festival
    Reno, Nevada
    June 6, 2015
    Nevada Premiere
  • Las Cruces International Film Festival
    Las Cruces, New Mexico
    United States
    March 3, 2016
    Southwest Premiere
    Best Documentary Feature - Las Cruces International Film Festival
Director Biography - John C. Brown, Bert Simonis

John C. began his career as a news intern with WMUR-TV in his home state of New Hampshire. He attended the University of NH and holds a B.A. in Television/Film Production from the Communications Department.

While a student at UNH, he worked for NH Public TV, most notably as Associate Producer for Ciao Italia, a cooking series seen nationally on PBS. He continued with NHPTV as a producer/editor after graduation and his work on the locally broadcast NH Crossroads earned him two Telly Awards.

This 'n That Films was born in 2002 after John moved to Los Angeles from New York. His award-winning, feature length documentary The Last First Comic is now available on DVD. John freelances as an editor, videographer and educator.

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