p.r.i.tt.y Boy
In his heydey, the now reportedly ailing Paul Newman was the prettiest white American man I've ever laid eyes on. I saw him this past Monday on an AMC or TCM Sidney Poitier MLK-day marathon. I had just returned home from a King day tribute featuring Mavis Staples (and some photos of her snapped by yours truly) and had prepared myself a lunch of roast potatoes and tofu. I flipped through the channels for something to watch while I munched and stopped at the description of Paris Blues, a 1961 film set in my favorite city, Paris, concerning one of the favorite genres, jazz, and featuring an interracial cast. I put my feet up and quickly found myself enthralled by Newman, who had a moment earlier been no more than the visage on my bottle of low fat salad dressing. The progressive bent didn't hurt either. I was surprised by Joanne Woodward's portrayal of an unapologetically sexually assertive woman and Newman's character's initial attraction to Diahann Carroll's character despite the race difference. But above all, I found myself arrested by Newman's face and I say this as a woman ever and exclusively partial to ebon. It was Pittish, even a little Ledgerish, God rest his soul, but better even. He's old and wrinkly now, and if the Enquirer is right in its speculation, nearing his deathbed but good lord he shined in Paris Blues. To think I used to confuse him with Richard Dreyfuss.
The other leading man, the trailblazing Sidney Poitier, sort of worked my nerves. His indignation held over at least through Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1967, was hackneyed and in both cases exclusively funneled towards Black female characters. I need to again plow through his catalog but I'm wondering to what extent he is a one note performer. I'm not seeing a lot of range, not that the flat Black characters written for film and TV then and now allow(ed) for much else. The jury remains out.
In parting, here is a clip of Louis Armstrong performing in Paris Blues:
Tags: Film
de.licio.us
digg
Furl
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Comments
There are no comments on this entry. Be the first!