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''The Cool World'' is a 1963 feature film directed by
Shirley Clarke Shirley Clarke (née Brimberg; October 2, 1919 – September 23, 1997) was an American filmmaker. Life Born Shirley Brimberg in New York City, she was the daughter of a Polish-immigrant father who made his fortune in manufacturing. Her mother w ...
about
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
life in the Royal Pythons, a youth gang in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
.New York Times
/ref> In 1994, the film was selected for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...
by the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


Plot

The plot concerns the obsession of Duke (Hampton Clanton), a 15-year-old member of the gang Royal Pythons, to get a gun from a racketeer named Priest (Carl Lee), in order to become the president of the Pythons and a big shot in Harlem. After their friend Littleman's father was forced out of his apartment, the Pythons take over the place and install Luanne, Python president Blood's girlfriend, as resident prostitute. Discovering that Blood is a heroin addict, Duke assumes leadership of the gang and Luanne becomes his girl. During an outing at Coney Island, however, Luanne vanishes, and Duke returns to Harlem alone. Priest, who is pursued by his enemies, seeks refugee in the Python headquarter and is allowed to stay. In an ensuing battle with the Wolves, a rival gang, Duke stabs an antagonist. Seeking refuge, he returns to Python headquarter and discovers Priest's corpse. Duke then rushes back home and is apprehended by the police. Utilizing first-time actors and true-life ghettos for scenery, Shirley Clarke's film dramatizes the life of young gang bangers in 1960s Harlem and transcends its narrative to deliver a vivid picture of inner city life.


Cast and crew

''The Cool World'' stars real Harlem youth and some real gang members:


Production

This semi-documentary style movie was produced by soon-to-be documentary filmmaker
Frederick Wiseman Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is "devoted primarily to exploring American institutions". He has been called "one of the most important and original filmmakers wor ...
, directed by
Shirley Clarke Shirley Clarke (née Brimberg; October 2, 1919 – September 23, 1997) was an American filmmaker. Life Born Shirley Brimberg in New York City, she was the daughter of a Polish-immigrant father who made his fortune in manufacturing. Her mother w ...
, and adapted by Clarke and Carl Lee from the 1959 novel ''The Cool World'' by Warren Miller, with original music was by Mal Waldron and
cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...
by
Baird Bryant Wenzell Baird Bryant (December 12, 1927 – November 13, 2008) was an American filmmaker. He was well known in documentary circles for his hand-held ability to almost instantaneously capture live action as it was happening. Hired as the cameraman o ...
A play, written by Miller and
Robert Rossen Robert Rossen (March 16, 1908 – February 18, 1966) was an American screenwriter, film director, and producer whose film career spanned almost three decades. His 1949 film '' All the King's Men'' won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor and Be ...
based on the novel, was first shown in Philadelphia and then twice at Broadway's
Eugene O'Neill Theatre The Eugene O'Neill Theatre, previously the Forrest Theatre and the Coronet Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 230 West 49th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and ...
on February 22 and 23, 1960, featuring Raymond St. Jacques,
James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
, Calvin Lockhart,
Hilda Simms Hilda Simms ( Moses; April 15, 1918 – February 6, 1994) was an American stage actress, best known for her starring role on Broadway in '' Anna Lucasta''. Early years Hilda Simms was born Hilda Moses in Minneapolis, Minnesota, one of 9 siblings ...
, and others. The film helped launch
Antonio Fargas Antonio Juan Fargas (born August 14, 1946) is an American actor known for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation and comedy movies, as well as his portrayal as Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series '' Starsky & Hutch''. Early life Fargas was born in New ...
,
Clarence Williams III Clarence Williams III (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) was an American actor. He played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television series ''The Mod Squad'' from 1968 to 1973. He also appeared in films such as '' Purple Rain'', '' 52 ...
, Carl Lee, and
Gloria Foster Gloria Foster (November 15, 1933 – September 29, 2001) was an American actress. She had acclaimed roles in plays ''In White America'' and '' Having Our Say,'' winning three Obie Awards during her career. Foster played the Oracle in ''The Matrix ...
, who married Williams three years later.


Release and reception

''The Cool World'' debuted 2 September 1963 at the Venice Film Festival with a running time of 125 minutes. It received a standing ovation and was nominated for the festival’s Golden Lion award, as noted in the 4 Sep 1963 ''New York Times.'' Following its loss to the Italian film ''Hands Over the City'' (1963), the 18 Sep 1963 ''Variety'' reported that at least one Italian publication, ''Il Messaggero,'' decried the judges’ decision. Early reviews were mixed. While ''Variety'' commended Clarke for her achievement and ''The New York Times'' gave a largely positive review, ''The Los Angeles Times'' expressed disappointment, adding that African Americans were better qualified to make films about their people. In the Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds positive reviews from six of six of the site's designated top critics. Richard Brody of the ''New Yorker'' praised the film: "Clarke's images endow the characters' energies with a sculptural grandeur and embrace street life with a keenly attentive, unsentimental avidity." Jonathan Rosenbaum also reviewed it positively: "It certainly had a visceral impact when it first appeared, helped enormously by Baird Bryant's cinematography and Dizzy Gillespie's score." Currently there is no home video release of the film.
Frederick Wiseman Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is "devoted primarily to exploring American institutions". He has been called "one of the most important and original filmmakers wor ...
owns the rights, and he is unwilling to release a home video version of ''The Cool World'' or to allow
Milestone Films Milestone Film and Video is an independent film distribution company, founded in 1990 in the United States by Dennis Doros and Amy Heller. The company researches and distributes cinematographic material from around the world, including silent film, ...
to release it among its Shirley Clarke series.
Amy Taubin Amy Taubin (born September 10, 1938) is an American author and film critic. She is a contributing editor for two prominent film magazines, the British ''Sight & Sound'' and the American ''Film Comment''. She has also written regularly for ''The V ...
has, in response, called for a boycott of Wiseman films.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack to the film was recorded by Dizzy Gillespie and his quintet, and was released as an album of the same name in 1964.


See also

* List of American films of 1963 *
List of hood films This is a list of hood films – films focusing on the culture and life of African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and/or in some cases, Asian Americans living in segregated, low-income urban communities, as well as comparably deprived and crime-ri ...


References


Further reading

* Sieving, Christopher J.
Soul Searching: Black-Themed Cinema from the March on Washington to the Rise of Blaxploitation
', Wesleyan University Press (2011). 280 pp.


External links

* *''The Cool World'' essay by Daniel Eagan in
America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry
', A&C Black, 2010 , pages 600-601
Contemporary review
in LIFE Magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Cool World, The 1963 films United States National Film Registry films Blaxploitation films Films directed by Shirley Clarke Films based on British novels 1963 drama films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films