''Minstrel Man'' is a 1944 American
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Joseph H. Lewis
Joseph H. Lewis (April 6, 1907 – August 30, 2000) was an American B-movie film director whose stylish flourishes came to be appreciated by auteur theory-espousing film critics in the years following his retirement in 1966. In a 30-year direc ...
and produced by
Producers Releasing Corporation
Producers Releasing Corporation was the smallest and least prestigious of the Hollywood film studios of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called "Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower Street in Hollywood where shoest ...
(PRC). It was a vehicle for
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
headliner
Benny Fields
Benny Fields, occasionally billed as "Bennie Fields" (born Benjamin Geisenfeld; June 14, 1894 – August 16, 1959), was a popular singer of the early 20th century, best known as one-half of the Blossom Seeley-Benny Fields vaudeville team. ...
.
Plot
Singing star Dixie Boy Johnson and his wife Caroline are jubilant over Dixie's headlining a Broadway show and Caroline's impending motherhood. On opening night, Caroline is rushed to the hospital and Dixie begs to leave the theater and join her, but producer Lew Dunn refuses. Caroline dies in childbirth and Dixie is shattered. He leaves the baby in the care of his friends, Lasses and Mae, and drops out of sight. Presumed dead, Dixie stays undercover and takes an assumed name, as a shipboard entertainer.
Years later, Dunn grooms Dixie's daughter Caroline for stardom in a revival of Dixie's Broadway show. Dixie's former agent Bill Evans sees an opportunity to sue Dunn for damages, and arranges for Dixie to confront his daughter and his old friends.
Cast
*
Benny Fields
Benny Fields, occasionally billed as "Bennie Fields" (born Benjamin Geisenfeld; June 14, 1894 – August 16, 1959), was a popular singer of the early 20th century, best known as one-half of the Blossom Seeley-Benny Fields vaudeville team. ...
as Dixie Boy Johnson
*
Gladys George
Gladys George (born Gladys Clare Evans; September 13, 1904 – December 8, 1954) was an American actress of stage and screen. Though nominated for an Academy Award for her leading role in ''Valiant Is the Word for Carrie'' (1936), she spent most ...
as Mae White
*
Alan Dinehart
Mason Alan Dinehart Sr. (born Harold Alan Dinehart; October 3, 1889 – July 18, 1944) was an American actor, director, writer, and stage manager.
Biography
Dinehart initially studied to be a priest, but he turned to the theater instead. ...
as Lew Dunn
*
Roscoe Karns
Roscoe, also spelled Rosco or Roscow, may refer to:
People
* Roscoe (name)
Places United States
* Roscoe, California (disambiguation)
*Roscoe Township (disambiguation)
* Roscoe, Georgia, an unincorporated community
*Roscoe, Illinois, a village
* ...
as Lasses White
*
Jerome Cowan
Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Early years
Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...
as Bill Evans
*
Judy Clark
Judy Clark (June 9, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American film and television actress and singer. Clark adopted a brash and energetic singing style, similar to that of musical-comedy star Betty Hutton (with trade critics almost alw ...
as Caroline (daughter, age 16)
*
Molly Lamont
Molly Lamont (22 May 1910 – 7 July 2001) was a South African-British film actress.
Life and career
Lamont was born in Boksburg, Transvaal, South Africa. After winning a beauty contest in South Africa she was offered a contract by Britis ...
as (Mrs.) Caroline Johnson
*
John Raitt
John Emmet Raitt (; January 29, 1917 – February 20, 2005) was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theatre.
Early years
Raitt was born in Santa Ana, California, United States. He got his start in theatre ...
as Finale Singer
Production
Production began in late 1943, but was shut down for four weeks and retooled when various cast and crew members became unavailable. Director
Joseph H. Lewis
Joseph H. Lewis (April 6, 1907 – August 30, 2000) was an American B-movie film director whose stylish flourishes came to be appreciated by auteur theory-espousing film critics in the years following his retirement in 1966. In a 30-year direc ...
was
drafted during production; he was briefly replaced by
Edgar G. Ulmer
Edgar Georg Ulmer (; September 17, 1904 – September 30, 1972) was a Jewish- Moravian, Austrian-American film director who mainly worked on Hollywood B movies and other low-budget productions, eventually earning the epithet 'The King of PRC', ...
and then
Wallace W. Fox. Lewis was released from the army in March 1944 and completed the film.
Female lead
Binnie Barnes
Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973.
Early life
Barnes was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Rosa Eno ...
had a prior commitment to
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
and had to drop out; she was replaced by
Gladys George
Gladys George (born Gladys Clare Evans; September 13, 1904 – December 8, 1954) was an American actress of stage and screen. Though nominated for an Academy Award for her leading role in ''Valiant Is the Word for Carrie'' (1936), she spent most ...
. The juvenile role was intended for PRC contractee Gerra Young, who was sidelined by illness; she was replaced by
Judy Clark
Judy Clark (June 9, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American film and television actress and singer. Clark adopted a brash and energetic singing style, similar to that of musical-comedy star Betty Hutton (with trade critics almost alw ...
. Character comedian
Lee "Lasses" White
Leroy Robert White (August 28, 1888 – December 16, 1949), better known as Lee "Lasses" White or Leroy (sometimes Le Roy or Lee Roy) "Lasses" White, was an American vaudeville pianist, songwriter and entertainer who became an actor of the stage, ...
was replaced by a bigger name,
Roscoe Karns
Roscoe, also spelled Rosco or Roscow, may refer to:
People
* Roscoe (name)
Places United States
* Roscoe, California (disambiguation)
*Roscoe Township (disambiguation)
* Roscoe, Georgia, an unincorporated community
*Roscoe, Illinois, a village
* ...
; Karns's screen character is still named "Lasses White." White himself remained in the film as "Tiny," featured in the minstrel-show sequence. Production resumed after the scheduling conflicts of cast and crew were resolved.
Producer Leon Fromkess originally budgeted ''Minstrel Man'' at $80,000,
slightly above average for the very-low-budget PRC studio. When Fromkess saw how well the project was progressing, he allocated more money. Composer
Harry Revel
Harry Revel ( Glaser; 21 December 1905 – 3 November 1958) was a British-born American composer, mostly of musical theatre, working with various lyricists, notably Mack Gordon. He is also seen as a pioneer of "space age pop".
Early life and car ...
co-wrote the original songs with
Paul Francis Webster
Paul Francis Webster (December 20, 1907 – March 18, 1984) was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and was nominated sixteen times for the award.
Life and career
Webster was born in New York City, United St ...
; Revel was equally impressed with the project and invested his own money, earning an "associate producer" credit. The final budget was "more than $200,000", according to ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''.
["PRC's 'Minstrel Man' Reaching Epic Stage," ''Variety'', March 1, 1944]
Reception
PRC's most elaborate production was booked into many major first-run theater chains. ''Minstrel Man'' became the biggest critical and financial success the company enjoyed. The film was nominated for two
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
: Best Original Score (
Ferde Grofé
Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, known as Ferde Grofé (March 27, 1892 April 3, 1972) (pronounced FUR-dee GROW-fay) was an American composer, arrangement, arranger, pianist and instrumentalist. He is best known for his 1931 five-movement tone poem, ...
and
Leo Erdody) and Best Original Song (Harry Revel and Paul Francis Webster).
Songs
* "Remember Me to Carolina" (Harry Revel, Paul Francis Webster; Academy Award nominee) – Benny Fields
* "I Don't Care If the World Knows About It" (Revel, Webster) – Fields; reprise by Judy Clark
* "Cindy" (Revel, Webster) – Fields; reprise by Clark
* "My Bamboo Cane" (Revel, Webster) – Fields
* "
My Melancholy Baby
"My Melancholy Baby" is a popular song published in 1912 and first sung publicly by William Frawley. The music was written by Ernie Burnett (1884–1959), the lyrics by George A. Norton.
Background
Ernie Burnett, who composed the music, was wo ...
" (Ernie Burnett,
George A. Norton
George Addison Norton (April 18, 1880 – November 18, 1923), usually credited as George A. Norton, was an American lyricist and composer of popular songs.
Biography
He was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His earliest credits came in 1899, with ...
) – Fields
* "Shaking Hands with the Sun" (Revel, Webster) – John Raitt
* "Minstrel Man" – Minstrel chorus, danced by
Johnny Boyle
Johnny Boyle is the former drummer of Irish band The Frames.
He first came to the attention of the Irish music scene when he joined
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minstrel Man
1944 films
1944 musical films
Blackface minstrel shows and films
1940s English-language films
American black-and-white films
Producers Releasing Corporation films
Films directed by Joseph H. Lewis
American musical films
1940s American films