'Just the Facts': Aspiring film student pays tribute to his late grandfather

May 09, 2008 01:26 pm

— By Scott Meeker
smeeker@joplinglobe.com
He was a man who didn’t speak much.
But to Will Blanchard, his late grandfather — Karl W. Blanchard Sr. — was always a celebrity.
“I use my words more than he did, but we were still very good friends,” Will said of his memories of his grandfather. “He didn’t tell me a lot about himself, but just because it was in his nature. He was very humble.”
An aspiring filmmaker, the 18-year-old student at Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School said he thought his grandfather, a longtime Joplin attorney, would make a fascinating film subject.
“The more time I spent with him last spring, the more I became fascinated with him, his career and how his firm went to where it is now,” he said. “I’m big on celebrities and pop culture and, to me, he was a celebrity.”
Completed earlier this year, “Just the Facts” examines the life and career of Karl Blanchard through the eyes of those he worked with over the years.
The documentary had its debut screening Saturday for family members and those involved in its production.
Influences
Will said he’s always had a love for visuals.
“When I was really young, my favorite movie was ‘Fantasia,’” he said. “I could never understand why, but now I think it makes more sense.”
As his cinematic horizons broadened, he found himself enthralled by the works of directors such as Martin Scorsese, Orson Welles and Stanley Kubrick.
His passion for filmmaking has led to his acceptance at New York University’s film school.
“Just the Facts” marks Will’s fourth film. He’s already filmed two narratives and a documentary about the annual toy drive at First United Methodist Church.
But his latest project is more personal in nature than his previous efforts.
A major influence for “Just the Facts” was the 1971 documentary “Directed by John Ford.” The film features interviews with actors the director had worked with — including John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda — as well as filmmakers influenced by him, including Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese.
“To me, (my grandfather) was a great lawyer, and I wanted to make a movie like that,” said Will, “with people who not only worked with him but were influenced by him.”
In June 2007, he began shooting interview footage of his grandfather, who died the following month at the age of 91.
“After he passed away, I started scheduling interviews and recording stuff like crazy,” said Will.
‘Great work ethic’
Learning about his grandfather’s background helped Will understand more about the man he became.
Growing up in a middle-class family in the town of Chillicothe, Karl Blanchard’s family was — like so many others — hit hard during the Great Depression.
“They had nothing overnight,” said Will. “They moved to Memphis, Tenn., and he was the only person in the family who was able to get a job for a while, and it was packing biscuits for 5 cents an hour.”
It was during these lean times that Karl Blanchard developed the work ethic that would carry over to his future legal career, his grandson believes.
After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1940, he came to Joplin at the suggestion of a friend from school, Robert Sieler — who would later go on to serve as a Missouri Supreme Court judge.
Sieler was an associate for Grover James, one of Joplin’s biggest attorneys at the time, Will said.
“When (James) died, my grandfather’s friend asked him to come help him keep the firm open,” he said.
Along with Fred Hughes — who later served as publisher of The Joplin Globe — they kept the firm going until they were drafted during World War II. The firm had hired an attorney named Herbert Van Fleet, who was too old to be drafted and kept the firm going during the war.
After the war, Karl Blanchard and Sieler returned to practice at the firm, which became Sieler, Blanchard and Van Fleet.
“He stayed in his position for his entire career, and became the senior partner at the firm,” said Will.
“He had that really great work ethic, which just amazed me. He would work from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., go home for two hours to have dinner with his wife and kids, and then go back to work from 8 p.m. to midnight if he was preparing for a lawsuit.
“When Mr. Sieler went on to become a Supreme Court judge, they started hiring new partners and adding on associates. The firm got bigger and bigger.”
The firm — now called Blanchard, Robertson, Mitchell & Carter — is still located at 320 W. Fourth St. in downtown Joplin.
‘He left it to them’
Through interviews with those that had worked with Karl Blanchard on both sides of the aisle, his grandson said he discovered personality traits of his grandfather he never knew.
“I learned a lot about his compassionate side,” said Will. “He wasn’t just Mr. Professional. He cared for other people. He was interested in helping out younger attorneys and his friends.
“I heard that there were clients who couldn’t pay for an attorney and he would tell them the price was this, but kept it from them that the price was higher. He wanted them to feel that they were being taken care of.
“Some of the stories I heard — whether they appeared in the movie or not — really moved me.”
Taking nine tapes of interview and B-roll footage, he spent from October 2007 until January putting the film together.
Henry Robertson — a longtime friend of Karl Blanchard and former owner of Joplin’s Chevrolet dealership — lent his voice to “Just the Facts” as narrator.
“It’s my longest film yet,” said Will. “But I wanted to make it long enough to cover him, but still short enough to keep people’s attention.”
While the subject was personal in nature, how viewers would see it was also important.
“I wanted other people to be able to take something from this film,” he said. “That people could see something in him that is interesting even though they may not have a personal relationship.
“I like to make films for people who, like me, like to watch films.”
Robert Carlson, director of communications and technology at Thomas Jefferson, said that “Just the Facts” is successful on that front.
“When I watched it, I was shocked at how touching it was,” said Carlson. “I didn’t know his grandfather, but after watching it and listening to people talk about him, I felt like I knew him.“A project like this, a documentary, is tough to take a theme and carry it through,” he said. “But the movie is simple, straight to the point and highlights what people had to say instead of using effects or odd shooting techniques.
“(Will) put his heart into it and you can see his style in the way that he shot and edited it.”
Prior to Saturday’s screening, Will kept the documentary largely under wraps. He sought input from family members in shaping the film, and had an early viewing of the finished work for his grandmother, Margaret Ellen Blanchard.
“I showed it to her just like I’d show it to him if he were here,” he said. “She and I watched it together.”
Will said he’s considering submitting the documentary to Ozarks Public Television to see if they might have an interest in broadcasting it.
But while he said he would be honored if a larger audience found something to take away from “Just the Facts,” it is, in the end, an extremely personal film.
“We all had a pretty hard time losing him,” Will said. “My dad, his siblings and their families and my grandmother especially, this film is for them. It was originally for my grandfather, but he left it to them when he died.”

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