Centralight

S Tigner about scheduling two showings to debut his documentary – "Purple: Organized Crime in a Small Town" – at the Ideal Theatre in Clare. omething concerned Benjamin This is the city where the broadcast and cinematic arts faculty member shot the fi lm that chronicles the organized crime syndicate named The Purple Gang that operated throughout Michigan in the 1920s and 1930s. "I feared it was just going to be (my wife) Shannon and me sitting with a bucket of popcorn in an empty theater for two shows that started at 7 and 9," says Tigner, who fi lmed, edited and produced the documentary. His fears subsided when people started arriving at 4:30 p.m. Responding to the fl ood of moviegoers lining up along Clare's North McEwan Street, sometimes with more than 500 people waiting in line, "Purple" played for four sold-out shows that night. "People are passionate about organized crime," Tigner says. "And people from the area are close to this story and its impact on the community." "Purple" gives viewers a look at the era's values and social norms while exposing the challenges residents faced with organized crime in the community. It includes interviews with those present during the Purple Gang's reign, recounting its use of violence and intimidation as the gang made its way through Clare. The fi lm addresses in great detail the 1938 murder of Isaiah Leebove, who was linked to the Purple Gang and killed in the bar at Clare's Doherty Hotel. Behind the criminal scenes Growing up in the area helped spark his interest in the subject. A Coleman native, Tigner says organized crime often is depicted as something cool, but the brutality of these criminals would never have been seen as cool in the modern era. "I was intrigued by the perception of organized crime and how it diff ers from the reality of organized crime," Tigner says. "There's no such thing as a 'clean hit.' If you murder someone, that someone has a brother, an uncle, a friend. Organized crime aff ects the community." It took some time for Tigner to establish credibility for his project and connect with knowledgeable sources who could share their insights. Momentum built with each interview, and throughout the process Tigner turned to some of his students for production support. "It was critical to have students involved," he says. Justin Jones is a fi rst-year broadcast and cinematic arts production graduate student who was a camera operator for the documentary. While he's worked on shoots for public/government access television, Jones says he's never been involved in a project of this size. "It was a great fi rst experience working on a full-length documentary, an area in fi lm I'd like to pursue," Jones says. "The most rewarding part is just being a part of a successful production and working with good people." CMU's Offi ce of Research and Sponsored Programs helped fund the three-year research project through an Early Career Initiative grant. "He had access to some of the people who could give fi rsthand experience of what was going on back in this era," says Jim Hageman, former interim vice provost for research. "This was the perfect time to do it." Tigner says he intends to enter "Purple" into fi lm festivals as well as license it with CMU to distribute the fi lm on DVD. Proceeds will benefi t grant funding for the Early Career Initiative. • Benjamin Tigner, top, says producing and fi lming his documentary, "Purple," would have been "nearly impossible" to do by himself and without the help of CMU broadcast and cinematic arts students such as Justin Jones, bottom. centralight winter '12 11

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