Claudine

The great film of an early urban afro-american family struggling through hard time and racism, this is an emaculate film. I am in love with this particular classic film because it shows reality, its emotion, its funny, and its a urban fairytale. I read the review by Brian Koller and basically he's saying that the film left him confused and without a plot. Well! I think that what he seemed to have missed was the fact that they did indeed get married, yes! the police did take Charles (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs) to jail and the family went with him in the wagon to jail right after the wedding. To me that meant that the family was sticking together, no matter what the problem or finances were. Also I love the sound track performed by Gladys Knight and the Pips, titled "On and On". I would love to purchase this film, every time it comes on TV, I miss it. This film is truly a classic and should be in every afro-americans home. I wish somebody had some information for me about purchasing this film......Iama

An important film in its day, it still holds up well. Claudine was one of the first mainstream American dramas to deal with the struggles of urban poor African-Americans without exploitation, violence or exaggeration on one side, or sugar coating or soft peddling on the other. It has sadness, anger and heartache, but also joy, love and humor. It has two smashing central performances by Diahann Carroll as the mother of six, trying to survive on welfare and an off the books job as a housekeeper, and James Earl Jones as a very charming garbage man who woos her despite the risk their getting together could cut her welfare payments.

Carroll is a wonder. One of the most beautiful actresses of her era, here she manages to be believable as an over-worked, under loved mother in the ghetto. Equal parts pain, pride, vulnerability, smarts and strength she was one of the first African Americans to get an Oscar nomination in a drama. Jones does some of his best film work. Always a great of the American theater, in his early films Jones often came off as too theatrical, larger than life. But here is he subtle, sly, complicated, and very sexy. The young actors playing Carroll's six children are uniformly excellent, often a weak spot in a film like this.

There are problems; some plot turns are predictable, some moments feel a bit 'Hollywood', some of it feels awkwardly dated. But much of it is as relevant as ever, and not afraid to be upsetting and angry along with it's gentle comedy.

Two notes, while often marketed as a 'family' film, this deals with sex and nudity in an honest and realistic way, and it's language is salty and true. Also, sadly, the only available DVD is full screen – too bad since the film was quite nicely shot in its gritty way.

If this film is examined closely, it's a bit sad. It is detailed enough to touch upon very real problems children, who grow up in poor, dysfunctional environments. Yet, it retains it's comedic value, with spirited performances by Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones. The sadness lies in the struggles and dysfunction of the mother (Carroll), who cannot truly help her children, not because she doesn't want to, or try, but because, it's obvious she doesn't know how. Remember, this is a comedy, but if you've never seen this, or if you have, watch this film and see the humanity, in the characters. Good film.

I first saw the 1974 film "Claudine" on Showtime in 1996. It's a warm film that is easily embracable, thanks to the humane way in which the characters -- and their misfortunes -- are dealt.

Diahann Carroll, in the title role, plays a single mother raising -- oh, four or five or six -- kids while working as a maid for a wealthy, affluent family.

James Earl Jones, as a garbage man, is smitten with Claudine. However, he has problems of his own, and the idea of committing to Claudine has him running scared.

The characters have pride and love, and, even though this isn't original, I found "Claudine" to be quite inviting. The performances (especially from Carroll, who won a well-deserved best-actress Oscar nomination for a role that had originally been cast with Diana Sands, who had to drop out due to a bout with cancer that would eventually kill her in September 1973) seem flawless, because the actors have a firm grasp and understanding of where "Claudine" is at, in terms of heart, mind, and soul.

And "Claudine" has plenty of those three to spare. It's well-worth checking out, if you haven't already done so.

"Claudine" is a unique insight into the life of the average poor urban black family of the early 1970s. And, it has some exceptional acting. So, despite some flaws (which I'll talk about in a bit), the film is well worth your time.

Claudine (Diahann Carroll) is a mother on welfare who works on the sly in order to support her six kids. She works very hard at low-paying jobs and has little time for anything other than her kids and work. However, when she meets a vivacious garbage collector, Roop (James Earl Jones), she is swept off her feet and they immediately start sleeping together (if guns have a three day waiting period, shouldn't there be a similar system for sex?). Soon, however, it goes from casual sex and good times to something serious--and that's when troubles begin. It seems that the welfare system is designed to prevent women from having families--and destroying marriage. What's to become of this couple and the six kids? See the film and find out for yourself.

The acting is the best thing about this film. In addition to Carroll and Jones' great acting, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs has a very auspicious film debut as Claudine's angry and mixed-up oldest son. The film also has a lot of great insights into the stupidity of the welfare system and what it was like to grown up at that time. However, and I know some folks will think I am a jerk for saying it, but I also couldn't help but feel that some of the problems were CLEARLY caused by the characters. Claudine has six kids she cannot take care of and then jumps into bed with Roop on their first date!! Morality aside, this is insane behavior and shows a nutty unwillingness to accept reality. Despite this dumb mixed message, the film, on balance, is well worth seeing.