''Go, Man, Go!'' is a 1954 American
sports film
A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the s ...
directed by
James Wong Howe
Wong Tung Jim, A.S.C. (; August 28, 1899 – July 12, 1976), known professionally as James Wong Howe (Houghto), was a Chinese-born American cinematographer who worked on over 130 films. During the 1930s and 1940s, he was one of the most soug ...
, starring
Dane Clark
Dane Clark (born Bernard Zanville; February 26, 1912September 11, 1998) was an American character actor who was known for playing, as he labeled himself, "Joe Average."
Early life
Clark was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Jewish imm ...
,
Sidney Poitier,
Ruby Dee,
Patricia Breslin
Patricia Rose Breslin (March 17, 1925 – October 12, 2011) was an American actress and philanthropist. She had a prominent career in television, which included recurring roles as Amanda Miller on '' The People's Choice'' (1955–58), and as Laur ...
, The
Harlem Globetrotters and
Slim Gaillard. Clark plays
Abe Saperstein, the organizer of the Globetrotters. Poitier's character is Inman Jackson, the team's showboating
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
. Breslin plays Sylvia Saperstein, the love interest, and Abe's daughter. Gaillard plays himself.
The film tracks the Globetrotters from humble beginnings through a triumph over a major-league basketball team, as they struggle to overcome racial discrimination. Actual Harlem Globetrotter players portray the team in basketball action throughout the picture. The friendship between Saperstein and Jackson, and their wives, is an important storyline.
Cast
Hollywood blacklist
Screenwriter and producer Alfred Palca was accused by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
in 1953 of being a
Communist. He refused to cooperate with their investigations. No distributor was willing to release the film with his name credited, so he gave the producing credit to his brother-in-law,
Anton Leader
Anton Leader (December 23, 1913 – July 1, 1988) was an American television director. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 23, 1913. He directed radio dramas in New York in the 1940s and moved to Los Angeles in 1948. Subsequently, ...
, and the screenwriting credit to his cousin, Arnold Becker, a pediatrician. He never worked in the film industry again. According to Palca, the F.B.I. saw his casting of Poitier as further evidence of his Communism.
In 1997, a ceremony at the
Academy Theatre
''Academy Theatre'' is an American drama anthology series that aired on NBC in 1949. It ran for eight weeks as the summer replacement for '' Chevrolet on Broadway''.
Format
The series utilized a different cast each week who appeared in short w ...
honored blacklisted Hollywood writers and directors and restored Palca's writing credit for the film.
Reception
Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
, reviewing the film for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', observed, "This is the second little picture in which the Globetrotters have been starred. The encore is not excessive. They still give an entertaining show."
The film is recognized by
American Film Institute in these lists:
* 2006:
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated
References
External links
*
*
*
1954 films
1950s sports drama films
American basketball films
American sports drama films
American black-and-white films
Biographical films about sportspeople
Cultural depictions of the Harlem Globetrotters
Films scored by Alex North
United Artists films
1954 directorial debut films
1954 drama films
1950s English-language films
1950s American films
{{sport-film-stub