History Film / TheLineKingTheAlHirschfeldStory

* TalkingHeads: Besides Hirschfeld himself, on-screen interviewees include Creator/CarolChanning, ''TIME'' magazine editor Stefan Kanfer, Hirschfeld's wife Dolly Haas, and their daughter Nina. (Dolly Haas died before the movie was released; a segment late in the film mentions Hirschfeld's remarriage (at the age of 93!) to Louise Kerz.

* TheVoice: While some people are interviewed on-camera about Hirschfeld, others – including Creator/KatharineHepburn and Creator/TallulahBankhead – are only heard via voiceover.

* TalkingHeads: Besides Hirschfeld himself, on-screen interviewees include Creator/CarolChanning, ''TIME'' Magazine editor Stefan Kanfer, Hirschfeld's wife Dolly Haas, and Hirschfeld's daughter Nina. (Dolly Haas died before the movie was released; a segment late in the film mentions Hirschfeld's remarriage (at the age of 93!) to Louise Kerz.

* TheVoice: While some people are interviewed on camera about Hirschfeld others, including Creator/KatharineHepburn and Creator/TallulahBankhead, are only heard via voiceover.

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''The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story'' is a 1996 film directed by Susan Dryfoos.

It is a documentary about Al Hirschfeld, the famous caricaturist who spent some seventy years drawing for the ''New York Times''. The film follows a standard documentary format, tracing Hirschfeld's life from his birth in St. Louis, then to New York when he was 12. Young Al goes to vaudeville shows in New York and acquires a love of the theater that he keeps for the rest of his life. He sets out to make a living as an artist, trying his hand at {{sculpture|s}}, {{painting|s}} watercolors, moving to Paris for a while because that's what young artists are supposed to do, even spending a little time in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s.

He gets a job making cartoons for the ''New York Herald-Tribune'', which leads to a job with the ''New York Times'', where he worked for the rest of his life. Hirschfeld becomes famous for the line drawings he makes of various Broadway productions that accompany theatrical reviews in the ''Times''. Art historians talk about his technique while various celebrities and Broadway personalities comment on their impressions of Hirschfeld's caricatures of them. Hirschfeld himself is interviewed at length, as is his daughter Nina, whose name Hirschfeld always hid in his drawings.

* TheVoice: While some people are interviewed on camera about Hirschfeld others, including Creator/KatharineHepburn and Creator/TallulahBankhead, are only heard via voiceover.

* TalkingHeads: Besides Hirschfeld himself, on-screen interviewees include Carol Channing, ''TIME'' Magazine editor Stefan Kanfer, Hirschfeld's wife Dolly Haas, and Hirschfeld's daughter Nina. (Dolly Haas died before the movie was released; a segment late in the film mentions Hirschfeld's remarriage (at the age of 93!) to Louise Kerz.

He gets a job making cartoons for the New York Herald-Tribune, which leads to a job with the New York Times, where he worked for the rest of his life. Hirschfeld becomes famous for the line drawings he makes of various Broadway productions that accompany theatrical reviews in the Times. Art historians talk about his technique while various celebrities and Broadway personalities comment on their impressions of Hirschfeld's caricatures of them. Hirschfeld himself is interviewed at length, as is his daughter Nina, whose name Hirschfeld always hid in his drawings.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Hirschfeld does this to himself, talking about his inability to judge how Broadway shows will pan out. He describes being sure that ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}'' would be a disaster, and telling Moss Hart that a musical version of ''Pygmalion'' (namely, ''Theatre/MyFairLady'') was a terrible idea.

* TalkingHeads: Besides Hirschfeld himself, on-screen interviewees include Carol Channing, TIME Magazine editor Stefan Kanfer, Hirschfeld's wife Dolly Haas, and Hirschfeld's daughter Nina. (Dolly Haas died before the movie was released; a segment late in the film mentions Hirschfeld's remarriage (at the age of 93!) to Louise Kerz.

It is a documentary about Al Hirschfeld, the famous caricaturist who spent some seventy years drawing for the New York Times. The film follows a standard documentary format, tracing Hirschfeld's life from his birth in St. Louis, then to New York when he was 12. Young Al goes to vaudeville shows in New York and acquires a love of the theater that he keeps for the rest of his life. He sets out to make a living as an artist, trying his hand at {{sculpture|s}}, {{painting|s}} watercolors, moving to Paris for a while because that's what young artists are supposed to do, even spending a little time in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s.

It is a documentary about Al Hirschfeld, the famous caricaturist who spent some seventy years drawing for the New York Times. The film follows a standard documentary format, tracing Hirschfeld's life from his birth in St. Louis, then to New York when he was 12. Young Al goes to vaudeville shows in New York and acquires a love of the theater that he keeps for the rest of his life. He sets out to make a living as an artist, trying his hand at sculpture, painting watercolors, moving to Paris for a while because that's what young artists are supposed to do, even spending a little time in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s.