Starring Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, and James Callahan
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
Music and Lyrics by various
Billie Holliday and Bessie Smith have a lot in common. Both lived troubled lives in the early and mid 20th century, though Holliday's heyday came slightly after Smith's. They survived abusive childhoods to live troubled lives, had extensive lovers of both sexes, were frequently abused and used by those they loved, earned a ton of money only to lose it all, and both died tragically in their 40's. If anything, Holliday may have had it even worse, suffering from drug addiction along with the abuse and ending up in prison several times. This was also intended to be a vehicle for a major R&B diva of the time, in this case Diana Ross. Ross had appeared on TV with the Supremes, but this would be her first major movie. How did she do as Holliday? Let's begin in 1936, as Holliday is being arrested for drug possession, and find out...
The Story: We jump back to 1928, where we see the young Elenora Fagan working as a cleaning girl in a brothel in Baltimore. After she's attacked at home by a drunk patron, she runs away to live with her mother Sadie (Virginia Capers) in New York. That doesn't turn out to be much better. She's right back to cleaning in brothels again. After realizing that being a prostitute isn't for her, she manages to get a job as a singer in nightclub with the help of a friendly piano player (Pryor). Her first night's work doesn't go well, until one interested patron (Williams) gives her a fifty-dollar tip.
Billie finds her falling for that rich and handsome patron, Louis McKay. A year later, band leaders Reg (Callahan) and Harry Hanley (Paul Hampton) sign her to be their lead singer for a tour of the south in the hope of landing a network radio job. That job turns out to be more perilous than she anticipated when they encounter the lynching of an African-American man and are almost run down by the Klu-Klux-Klan. She's so shaken by what she's seen, it leads her to start taking drugs after she collapses onstage. Louis isn't thrilled about that and gets her to come home.
Even when they return to New York, things don't come easy for Billie. She's unable to sing on the radio, due to the sponsors disapproving of her race. Trying to avoid her family's disappointment leads to drinking and returning to drugs. She ends up so desperate for a fix, she nearly attacks Louis. After her mother dies, she finally checks herself into drug rehab, but has no money. Louis pays her bills. Alas, even when Louis proposes to her, she's arrested for drug possession. Once out of prison, she tries to give up performing, but loves singing too much. Her agent (Vic Morosco) books her into Carnegie Hall in the hope that she'll be able to regain her cabaret license. While his ploy doesn't work, the show is a sell-out and cements her as one of the great jazz performers of all time.
The Song and Dance: Ross made a smashing debut in this searing melodrama. She goes through every bit of heartbreak you can imagine, from drug addiction to abuse to landing in jail and manages to mostly make it believable. Suave Williams nearly matches her as the wealthy man who truly loves her. They're backed by a stylish and lavish production with gorgeous dresses for the ladies, dapper suits for the gentlemen, and beautifully done sets with just enough grunge to look like the Harlem and south of the 1930's and 40's.
Favorite Number: Elenora's first favorite song, and the one heard throughout the first half-hour or so of the film, is "'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do" by Blinky Williams. She herself sings it later in the film as part of her second southern tour...and it's a perfect reflection of how she feels about life and herself. Her first song at the Harlem club is "All of Me." They're not impressed by "The Man I Love," either. She does better by "Them There Eyes" after she finally accepts that $50 from Louis. "Gimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer" is her song once she's settled in at the club and has become more popular.
We see "Any Happy Home" during a montage of the tour, with her not able to get through her own "Don't Explain" without collapsing from exhaustion and fear. "Strange Fruit," which she records after the witnessing the lynching, was controversial at the time for its pro-Civil Rights themes. She gets her own "God Bless the Child" later. Even Louis realizes she's being "Mean to Me" when he comes to see her on tour. "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" and "Our Love Is Here to Stay" depict her relationship with Louis, during her first year singing in Harlem and after she's gotten out of jail. She finally gets her own "'Tain't Nobody's Bizness" later before being arrested.
Trivia: The movie and the soundtrack wound up being two of the biggest hits of 1972, and Ross was nominated for an Oscar.
Other women considered for Holliday included Diahann Carroll, Lola Falana, and Cicely Tyson. Paul Winfield was considered for McKay. Dorothy Dandridge was considered for an earlier Holliday project, but died before it got anywhere. Ava Gardener had also been considered. Diana Sands and Abbey Lincoln were in the running when the project was revised.
Diana Ross' film debut. She and Williams would appear together again three years later in the non-musical drama Mahogany.
What I Don't Like: First of all, there's a lot more to Holliday's tumultuous life than depicted here. Like Bessie Smith, she was bisexual and had affairs with women and men. Unlike Smith, her biopic centers on one relationship with McKay, but she had at least two other husbands and many male and female lovers. We don't hear about how she basically supported her mother in the 40's and 50's, or that she played Carnegie Hall two more times...and was arrested two more times, including while she was dying of liver disease in the hospital. Nor do we hear about her basically being an early Civil Rights advocate, a bit of a surprise given the era this was made in.
Second, this is even more of a standard melodrama than Bessie's story...and even rougher stuff. Be wary of that R rating. There's several harrowing scenes of abuse in all forms, from verbal to physical to realistic portrayals of drug and alcohol abuse. This is not for someone looking for a more upbeat or romantic story. And Pryor, for all his importance in getting Billie recognition early-on, otherwise doesn't have a whole lot to do later in the film other than cheer Billie on and get beaten to a pulp.
The Big Finale: If you love Ross, Williams, or Holliday and can handle the darker scenes, this is a highly recommended portrait of one woman's struggle to overcome addiction and her own fears.
Home Media: Only on disc at the moment, but they're easily found, often for under $10.
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