Minstrel Man (1944 film)
Encyclopedia
Minstrel Man is a 1944 American film directed by Joseph H. Lewis
and produced by Producers Releasing Corporation
. It was nominated for two Academy Awards
(Best Original Song and Best Original Score).
Production began in late 1943. Director Lewis was drafted during production; he was replaced briefly by Edgar G. Ulmer. The studio shut the film down until the scheduling conflicts of cast and crew could be resolved. Lewis was released from the army in March 1944, and completed the film.
) and his wife Caroline (Molly Lamont
) 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 (Alan Dinehart
) refuses. Caroline dies in childbirth and Dixie is shattered. He leaves the baby in the care of his friends, Lasses and Mae (Roscoe Karns
and Gladys George
), and drops out of sight. Presumed dead, Dixie stays under cover and takes an assumed name, as a shipboard entertainer. Years later, Lew Dunn grooms Dixie's daughter Caroline (Judy Clark) for stardom in a revival of Dixie's Broadway show. Dixie's former agent (Jerome Cowan
) sees an opportunity to sue Dunn for damages, and arranges for Dixie to confront his daughter and his old friends.
Joseph H. Lewis
Joseph H. Lewis 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...
and produced by Producers Releasing Corporation
Producers Releasing Corporation
Producers Releasing Corporation was one of the more lower-end Hollywood film studios on Poverty Row from the late '30s to the mid-'40s. PRC, as it was commonly known, made low-budget B-movies for the lower-half of a double bill. A few of its films have gained a respectable reputation over the...
. It was nominated for two Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
(Best Original Song and Best Original Score).
Production began in late 1943. Director Lewis was drafted during production; he was replaced briefly by Edgar G. Ulmer. The studio shut the film down until the scheduling conflicts of cast and crew could be resolved. Lewis was released from the army in March 1944, and completed the film.
Plot summary
Singing star Dixie Boy Johnson (Benny FieldsBenny Fields
Benny Fields was a popular singer of the early 20th century, best known as one-half of the Blossom Seeley-Benny Fields vaudeville team...
) and his wife Caroline (Molly Lamont
Molly Lamont
Molly Lamont was a British film actress.Lamont was born in Boksburg, Transvaal, South Africa. She began her career in British films in 1930 and for several years played small, often uncredited roles...
) 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 (Alan Dinehart
Alan Dinehart
Alan Mason Dinehart was an American Broadway actor, director, writer, stage manager and later, a Character actor and supporting player featured in at least 88 films between 1931 and 1944...
) refuses. Caroline dies in childbirth and Dixie is shattered. He leaves the baby in the care of his friends, Lasses and Mae (Roscoe Karns
Roscoe Karns
Roscoe Karns was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 150 films between 1915 and 1964.He played the title role in the popular DuMont Television Network series Rocky King, Inside Detective from 1950 to 1954...
and Gladys George
Gladys George
Gladys George was an American actress.-Early life:She was born as Gladys Clare Evans on September 13, 1904 in Patten, Maine to English parents.-Career:...
), and drops out of sight. Presumed dead, Dixie stays under cover and takes an assumed name, as a shipboard entertainer. Years later, Lew Dunn grooms Dixie's daughter Caroline (Judy Clark) for stardom in a revival of Dixie's Broadway show. Dixie's former agent (Jerome Cowan
Jerome Cowan
Jerome Palmer Cowan was an American film and television actor. At eighteen he joined a travelling stock company, shortly afterwards enlisting in the navy in World War I. After the war he returned to the stage and became a vaudeville headliner, then gained success on the New York stage...
) sees an opportunity to sue Dunn for damages, and arranges for Dixie to confront his daughter and his old friends.
Cast
- Benny FieldsBenny FieldsBenny Fields 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 GeorgeGladys GeorgeGladys George was an American actress.-Early life:She was born as Gladys Clare Evans on September 13, 1904 in Patten, Maine to English parents.-Career:...
as Mae White - Alan DinehartAlan DinehartAlan Mason Dinehart was an American Broadway actor, director, writer, stage manager and later, a Character actor and supporting player featured in at least 88 films between 1931 and 1944...
as Lew Dunn - Roscoe KarnsRoscoe KarnsRoscoe Karns was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 150 films between 1915 and 1964.He played the title role in the popular DuMont Television Network series Rocky King, Inside Detective from 1950 to 1954...
as Lasses White - Jerome CowanJerome CowanJerome Palmer Cowan was an American film and television actor. At eighteen he joined a travelling stock company, shortly afterwards enlisting in the navy in World War I. After the war he returned to the stage and became a vaudeville headliner, then gained success on the New York stage...
as Bill Evans - Judy Clark as Caroline (daughter, age 16)
- Molly LamontMolly LamontMolly Lamont was a British film actress.Lamont was born in Boksburg, Transvaal, South Africa. She began her career in British films in 1930 and for several years played small, often uncredited roles...
as (Mrs.) Caroline Johnson - John RaittJohn RaittJohn Emmett Raitt was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theater.-Early years:...
as himself
Soundtrack
- Benny Fields - "Cindy" (music by Harry RevelHarry RevelHarry Revel was an English composer of musical theatre.Revel was born in London. Before emigrating to the United States in 1929, he wrote musicals for productions in Paris, Copenhagen, Vienna and London....
, lyrics by Paul Francis WebsterPaul Francis WebsterPaul Francis Webster was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Song and was nominated sixteen times for the award.-Biography:...
) - Judy Clark - "Cindy" (music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
- Benny Fields - "Remember Me to Carolina" (music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster; Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song)
- Benny Fields - "I Don't Care if The World Knows About It" (Music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
- Judy Clark - "I Don't Care if The World Knows About It" (Music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
- John Raitt - "Shakin' Hands With the Sun" (music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster as Paul Webster)
- Benny Fields - "My Bamboo Cane" (music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster as Paul Webster)
- The minstrel show chorus, danced by Johnny BoyleJohnny BoyleJohnny Boyle is the former drummer of Irish band The Frames. He first came to the attention of the Irish music scene when he joined Picture House before the release of their second album, Karmarama. He left the band shortly after the third studio album, Madness, Sadness, Gladness to join Marianne...
- "Minstrel Man" - Benny Fields - "My Melancholy Baby" (music by Ernie Burnett, lyrics by George A. Norton)