''Mahogany'' is a 1975 American

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

and produced by

Motown Productions Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

. The Motown founder Gordy took over the film direction after British filmmaker

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film ''Tom Jones''. Early ...

was dismissed from the film. ''Mahogany'' stars

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

as Tracy Chambers, a struggling fashion design student who rises to become a popular

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashio ...

in Rome. It was released on October 8, 1975. The soundtrack included the single " Theme from ''Mahogany'' (Do You Know Where You're Going To)", which peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1976.

Plot

Tracy Chambers dreams of becoming a fashion designer and has worked her way up to assistant to the head buyer at a luxury department store (modeled after and filmed at Marshall Fields on State Street) in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

.Mahogany and Marshall Field's
/ref> Her supervisor, Miss Evans, believes that Tracy's night school courses will interfere with her responsibilities at the store. Her aunt, however, encourages her and visits prospective buyers, who tell Tracy her designs are good for Paris, but not for Chicago. One evening, she gets into a shouting match with Brian Walker, a local activist fighting against

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ...

in their community. Sean McAvoy, a great fashion photographer, comes to the department store to photograph models, all of whom are white, and with whom he is dissatisfied. Sean mistakes Tracy for a new model and creates an impromptu shoot with her, featuring a rainbow-colored gown made by her aunt. As Sean prepares to leave Chicago, he invites Tracy to Rome. Tracy again encounters Brian during her walk to work and surreptitiously pours milk into his bullhorn's mouthpiece. Brian assumes that one of the construction workers has played a prank on him and a fight begins. Brian is arrested and Tracy bails him out. He insists that he will return the money. She tells him to put it in her door's mail slot, which he does. Brian becomes her boyfriend, but the relationship does not last long as Brian does not support Tracy's aspirations. Sean reinvents Tracy as "Mahogany" and she becomes among the most in-demand fashion models. An uneasy relationship develops with Sean, who is possessive and jealous of anyone vying for Tracy's attention, which includes Brian when he visits. Tracy, feeling she owes Sean for her new career, reluctantly agrees to sleep with him. Sean's implied latent homosexuality makes the union a failure. Brian fails to persuade Tracy to return home with him to support him in his political aspirations. During their next photo shoot on an elevated highway in an expensive sports car, Sean causes an accident in which he's killed and Tracy sustains severe injuries. A new benefactor, Count Christian Rosetti, lends Tracy his villa for her recovery and a studio space in which she may finally create her own fashion label. Because of the tremendous job pressures, Tracy becomes demanding and cruel to her employees. She is unwilling to express her appreciation to her new benefactor by becoming his mistress. She finds her career emotionally empty and not what she dreamed it would be without Brian's love and support. Following the tremendous success of her first collection, Tracy realizes that she must decide whether to continue with her empty life in Rome or return to the man she loves in Chicago, and use her talents to boost his political prospects.

Cast

as Tracy Chambers *

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thir ...

as Brian Walker *

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influentia ...

as Sean McAvoy *

Jean-Pierre Aumont Jean-Pierre Aumont (born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons; 5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Early life Aumont was born Jea ...

as Count Christian Rosetti *

Beah Richards Beulah Elizabeth Richardson (July 12, 1920 – September 14, 2000), known professionally as Beah Richards and Bea Richards, was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was also a poet, playwright, author and activist. Rich ...

as Florence *

Nina Foch Nina Foch ( ; born Nina Consuelo Maud Fock; April 20, 1924 – December 5, 2008) was a Dutch-born American actress who later became an instructor. Her career spanned six decades, consisting of over 50 feature films and over 100 television appea ...

as Miss Evans *

Marisa Mell Marisa Mell (born Marlies Theres Moitzi; 24 February 1939 – 16 May 1992) was an Austrian actress. Typecast as a femme fatale in European arthouse and genre films, she is best regarded for her performances as Eva Kant in Mario Bava's criticall ...

as Carlotta Gavina *

Lenard Norris Lenard is a surname. Notable people with the name include: *Aldon Lewis Lenard (1921-2007), Canadian sports person *Alexander Lenard (1910-1972), Hungarian physician, writer, and translator * Henry M. Lenard (1903-1983), American politician *Ma ...

as Wil *

Jerome Arnold Jerome Arnold (born Romeo Maurice Arnold; November 12, 1936, Chicago) is an American bassist, known for his work with Howlin' Wolf, and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the 1960s. As an original member of the Butterfield band, he was subsequentl ...

as Campaign Worker *

Pemon Rami The Pemon or Pemón (Pemong) are indigenous people living in areas of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana.See pp.112,113 and 178 of ''Venezuela: the Pemon'', in ''Condé Nast Traveler'', December 2008. They are also known as Arecuna, Aricuna Jaricu ...

as Campaign Worker * Obelo as Campaign Worker * Ira Rogers as Stalker * Kristine Cameron as Instructress * Ted Liss as Sweatshop Foreman *

Bruce Vilanch Bruce Gerald Vilanch (born November 23, 1948) is an American comedy writer, songwriter and actor. He is a two-time Emmy Award-winner. Vilanch is best known to the public for his four-year stint on ''Hollywood Squares'', as a celebrity participan ...

as Dress Manufacturer * Don Howard as Dress Manufacturer * Albert Rosenberg as Dress Manufacturer * Marvin Corman as Cab Driver * E. Rodney Jones as Radio Announcer (voice) * Dan Daniel as Giuseppe (as Daniel Daniele) * Princess

Irene Galitzine Princess Irene Galitzine ( ka, ირინა გალიცინი; russian: Ирен Голицына; 22 July 1916 – 20 October 2006) was a Russian-Georgian fashion designer whose best known creation was the palazzo pyjama. Early life ...

as herself *

Jacques Stany Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are ove ...

as Auctioneer – Fashion Show

Soundtrack

''Mahogany'' was the second original motion picture soundtrack by

, following her 1972 release '' Lady Sings the Blues''. The soundtrack included the single " Theme from ''Mahogany'' (Do You Know Where You're Going To)", which peaked at number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in January 1976. The single's B-side, "No One's Gonna Be a Fool Forever", was taken from Diana's "Last Time I Saw Him" album of 1973. The soundtrack reached #19 in the USA and sold over 275,000 copies.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Michael Masser; except where indicated

Side one

#" Theme from ''Mahogany'' (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" (lyrics:

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You Lo ...

) – 3:25 #"Feeling Again" – 3:22 #"You Don't Ever Have to Be Alone" – 2:40 #"Can You Hear It in My Music" – 3:38 #"Christian's Theme" – 1:46 #"After You" – 2:17 #"Theme from ''Mahogany''" (Instrumental) – 3:52

Side two

#"My Hero Is a Gun" – 3:18 #"Cat Fight" (

Gil Askey Gilbert Askey (March 9, 1925 – April 9, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and musical director who was born in Austin, Texas, and emigrated to Australia in 1988. Personal life Askey was born in Austin, Texas, on March ...

) – 1:31 #"Erucu" (Don Daniels,

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and bassist. He is best known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of The Jackso ...

) – 3:34 #"Let's Go Back to Day One" (Gil Askey,

Gloria Jones Gloria Richetta Jones (born October 19, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter who first found success in the United Kingdom, being recognized there as "The Queen of Northern Soul". She recorded the 1965 hit song " Tainted Love" and has w ...

, Patrice Holloway) – 1:42 #"Tracy" (Gil Askey) – 2:14 #"She's the Ideal Girl" (Don Daniels, Jermaine Jackson) – 2:46 #"Sweets (And Other Things)" – 2:01 #"Mahogany Suite" – 5:31

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release and reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

the film has an approval rating of 30% based on reviews from 20 critics. ''Mahogany'' was released on VHS

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

in the 1990s, and was issued on DVD on May 1, 2007.

Awards and nominations

The film is recognized by the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

in this list: * 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: ** " Theme from ''Mahogany'' (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" – Nominated

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahogany (Film) 1975 films 1975 LGBT-related films 1975 romantic drama films 1970s English-language films African-American drama films African-American LGBT-related films African-American romance films American romantic drama films Films about fashion Films set in Chicago Films set in Rome Films shot in Chicago Films shot in Rome LGBT-related romantic drama films Motown Productions films Paramount Pictures films 1970s American films