Big Fella

Dock worker Paul Robeson and sloon singer Elisabeth Welch shelter runaway Eldon Gorst, whose rich parents want him back.

It's a very slight story with the point being to show Robeson's easy-going charm with children, and to listen to him and Miss Welch sing. This they do several times over the course of 73 minutes, and it's a pleasure to listen to Miss Welch's bel canto, and Robeson's deep bass, but it's another case of a show where they should have thrown away the script and given the audience a straight revue.

Except for Robeson hanging on the Marseille docks and singing about the joys of...hanging on the Marseille docks, or Eliz. Welch's crooning an ode to Harlem in a Gallic nightclub, this sure is one dead film. C minus. PS...Good to see Robeson at a nightclub, sitting between two Caucasians and being served a drink by a white waiter 'stead of doing the serving or clearing the dishes, huh?

Paul Robeson was an amazing man. During an age when black men were, at best, second-rate, he managed to excel in so many ways--graduating from a top college at the top of his class, a four-letter man, aster of 20 languages, professional athlete, a lawyer and one of the greatest singers of his age. Considering how much he accomplished in the repressive early to mid-20th century, you wonder just how far he might have gone had he been born a half century later.

While Robeson only made a few films, most of them are wonderful...though sadly "Big Fella" is not wonderful in any way except for the singing. Even the nice and seemingly effortless performance by Robeson and his amazing singing isn't enough to support this film--mostly because the plot sucks. It's obvious that the plot was secondary and was just an excuse to have him sing-often at the most bizarre times. But, considering how dumb the whole kidnapping plot was and how obnoxious the little jerk was, it was hard to care one bit about the film. On top of that, it was obvious that British Lion Films simply didn't care much about the production, as it was supposed to take place in Marseilles but practically everyone either has a strong American accent or British one. Aside from a few stock pieces of footage, it's pretty obvious this was made in a UK studio. A dumb plot, annoying and one-dimensional characters and low production values really sink this film. It's a shame and a film clearly beneath Robeson's immense talents.

After starring in Song of Freedom together, Paul Robeson and Elizabeth Welch reunited in this, Big Fella. They end up temporarily caring for a rich white kid (Eldon Gorst) who's run away from his parents because he feels stifled. I'll stop there and just say it's wonderful to once again hear both Robeson and Ms. Welch singing to their heart's content whenever they get the chance. I was partly amused by the plot and some of the interactions though this is probably the most trifle of Robeson's British movies. Good thing it's only an hour and 10 minutes. Since this is Black History Month, I have to note also the appearance of Lawrence Brown as one of Paul's friends. Oh, and also Paul's wife Eslanda as the café proprietor who gives him a tongue lashing at one point. Both previously appeared with him in Jericho. So on that note, Big Fella is worth a look.

This is one of a number of films that Robeson made here in the UK simply because he couldn't get decent parts in American films because of the colour of his skin.Its just a shame that some of the films he made here,like this one were second rate.So the best thing to do is wait for the numerous musical numbers from both Robeson and Welch.He had a truly magnificent voice.