BLACK in WHITE films. 🖤

I was very saddened to hear of the death of Mr James Earl Jones. When Star Wars was first released in 1977 I was at school. Until I saw that film my only other Si Fi watch had been the TV show 'Lost in Space'.  The actor inside Darth Vader's costume was the man from the Green Cross Code road safety adverts, David Prowse. The character as we all know was voiced by James Earl Jones. Although I went to an all girls school his voice always reminded me of that of an headmaster, the sort that you would never dare disobey. Although, in some films it had a beautiful comic twist, such as the "I want to be left alone" character in Fields of Dreams Terence Mann or King Jaffe Joffer.in Coming to America . He was magnificent as a lawyer defending a racist serial killer in an episode of Law and Order . I really regret I missed the opportunity to see him on stage as Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof .  I think it was a lovely goodbye message from Mark Hamill who simply wrote ...

I recently saw  T he Well  (1951) .  A little black girl is missing after being seen talking to a white man who is a stranger in town. The film deals with the racial tensions which build up due to misinformation. (Always a dangerous situation).  The child's father is played by Ernest Anderson.  At the start of his career Anderson played the usual porter parts but in 1942 received a National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for his role as a  law student innocent of a hit and run incident which leaves a white woman injured and her child died.  The film was called  In this Our Life (1942). Anderson wanted to play a qualified paralegal but the film company thought that would not be accepted by a white audience, so with the formidable support of the film's leading lady Bette Davis the director agreed he could be a student working in a lawyer's office, studying part time for the bar.  I think Anderson was very handsome. My mother used to say a...

Among the great authors I learned about at my south London state school, I was never told about James Baldwin.  I am a little ashamed to admit I never read any of his work until recently. I have seen the film version of his book If B eale Street could talk  (2018) and   it is very good. Between 1999 and 2021 I visited New York almost every year (except 2001) and walked around Harlem where Beale Street is.  I love the song  Across 110th street  by Bobby Womack. Harlem reminded me of Brixton in the 1970s; children's noise, music and women doing hair on the pavement (sidewalk). Like Brixton, The Harlem I visited in 2023 is being gentrified and losing its old school character. What a shame. James Baldwin was one of the characters in Truman Capote vs. The Swans . They were friends. How refreshing to see a black man in a piece set in the 1970s who is not a drug dealer or criminal. 

 O J Simpson. Capricorn One (This is Houston). I am English and know next to nothing about American baseball or the players. I  first saw O J Simpson  in the TV mini series  Roots .  (1977).  In 1978 he played an astronaut in the film Capricorn One . It is one of my all time favourite films. I love the film for three reasons; Its a great film. I have never believed the US landed on the moon in 1969. NASA were p***** off and made an almighty fuss when the film was released because it showed how a fake landing could be staged, but all they did was give it more publicity, thank you. In the film Simpson's character Walker was one of three astronauts who had to run for their lives when things go wrong and the space agency doesn't want the world to know the truth, sound familiar? Simpson played his part well and as in most films with a black character ( Spoiler Alert ) he was the first of the three to be killed.  Later he became infamous regarding the m...

  Eartha Kitt was one of the first black faces I ever saw on television, her voice blow me away. As an adult I have been lucky enough to find and purchase some of her vinyl records such as 'Love for Sale'. Ms Kitt was also an actress, I have only seen one of her films  Anna Lucasta (1958), which had an all black cast. It was a remake of the earlier version from 1949, Anna is a rebellious young girl working in a Brooklyn Bar. Fast forward nine years and Anna (Eartha Kitt) is a slut working a San Diego bar turning tricks on visiting sailors. Oh dear. She later became the iconic Cat Woman in the American 'Batman' television series. Her voice and face were perfect for the role.  Last month I was elated to learn the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has placed a plaque at the BBC Riverside Studios for Ms Kitt's appearance in their first production on June 17, 1956. It acknowledges her stay in London and the positive inspiration she was and still is for black women...

Nigger, Snowflake, Snowball, Whittie, Blackie, Chalky, Molasses & Charcoal are some of the names I have heard black men called in old films. Although I don't like it I recognise the terms are of the time. You can't use todays 'acceptable language' in films set in the past, it just doesn't work. It's one reason I don't like remakes. In The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974 version, not the hideous remake) a dozen passengers on a New York subway train are held hostage for 1,000,000 dollars. A handsome black man is not convinced they will not be harmed if the ransom is paid. He says assurances were given America would win when he went to Vietnam. Guess what? in the credits he is listed as pimp not veteran. At no time are the names, professions or any other personal details of the hostages given. For speaking up he is hit and told "Shut up nigger". (I still love the film though). I have watched the film  Mary Poppins countless times and did not realise ...

I love the films Island in the Sun and Carmen Jones .  Both films had Harry Belafonte as the leading man, Joan Collins (also in Island in the Sun) once described Belafonte as a most beautiful man. In 2012 I was in the audience of the Q and A at The Brixton Academy cinema. The evening was to promote his book Sing your Song. I did not ask a question but one young woman's enquiry had the whole auditorium in stitches. Her question to Mr Belafonte was "Have you seen the film Beetlejuice ?" He said "No, why". She then went on to explain there is a dinner party scene which is regarded as the funniest bit of the film. One of his staff moved to his side and whispered something in his ear. "Oh I see, when I return home I shall watch it with my grandchildren". More laughter and clapping. He talked about family, his friendship with Sidney Poitier and his involvement with The Civil Rights Movement. Recounting many incidents such as the time in the deep south a pic...