Tuesday Morning Ride

This is not a film about going anywhere. Cobb and Dee truly humanize the plight of sharecroppers and flesh out the story A SUMMER TRAGEDY by Arna Bontemp, the Louisiana African American writer. He won numerous awards for this story in 1932.

An elderly couple have reached an impasse, they can no longer take care of each other or the land, and their sharecropper boss is forcing them off the land. They put on their Sunday clothes, and spoil each other and prepare for their great migration, their trip to the "promised land", their own death.

As they say goodbye to their life's work, to their friends and to each other, you get a real sense of the tragedy of the Great Depression and the plight of any African American caught in the vicious grip of sharecropping in the South. But there's no bitterness, no caustic diatribe to detract from the beautiful story of love and compassion these two characters have for each other. The story is one of redemption, not suicide, because they make the only decision that could be made and they make it together.

An elderly couple wake up on a Tuesday morning and finish preparing for their last few hours in their house as they leave it to move into a old people's home. With memories all around, leaving is never easy to do, although Jeff seems more accepting of this fate than his blind wife Jennie. However for both of them the morning has more emotional upheaval in store than simply moving house.

With a couple of interesting actors in the cast, I decided to give this film a try one night despite being rather surprised to see how few viewers it had had (based on IMDb voting etc). I reckon that this must be related to the fact that this short had come and gone by the time it had been added to this online resource because this is a fine film in terms of writing, directing and acting. The story is a simple journey from the home to the nursing home but along the way we get to see and understand a lot of the couple's feelings about the passage of time and their desire of how they want their lives to go. It is well written so that this is not in our face at any point but is well brought out and convincing. In this way we get to feel for the characters and share a bit of their view of the world they now live in. The direction isn't showy but it is simple and it uses the locations well – whether it be the confines of the small house or the open road.

The cast take well to the material – particularly Cobb and Dee, who both are up to the job. They have an easy chemistry and they each produce a convincing person within the script, essentially they make the script work where lesser actors could have seen it being cloying or sentimental. Support from people like Summer and Curtis-Hall is OK but the film truly belongs to the lead two and rightly so.

Overall an interesting and unexpectedly engaging short film that is well written and well acted, producing a short film that deserves to be seen by more people than this database would suggest have seen it recently.

Despite the incredibly short length of this film, it is perhaps the singular best film I have ever seen. The story is fairly simple, in and of itself, but the complex underlying theme is one which is prevalent within society, and also quintessentially portrayed within this film.

I was introduced to Diane Houston's film in a film course at a west coast university this past year. It made such an impression upon me that I have been trying to get my hands upon a copy since first having viewed it. I really cannot say enough about this film. The script is superb, the storyline is excellent, the acting is wonderful, and it would be a wonderful film to analyze within a film, sociology, women's studies, or human consciousness class. It is not only pertinent to the academic field, but I really urge all individuals of all ages and backgrounds to take the time to see it. If there is any way you can find a way to view it, do not miss the chance--it is such a treasure in the film industry.

This is a wonderfully engaging film with a great script and superb acting. The ending is totally unexpected so I won't give it away here. The chemistry between the two leads, Ruby Dee and Bill Cobb is amazing. As the story unfolds, the viewer feels as though he/she has been invited to watch and listen to a conversation among friends and family. Produced for the Showtime network new director competition, the film lost to a film directed by Christine Lati which was interesting but not nearly as innovative as Tuesday Morning Ride. If you have the opportunity to see this film, do your self a favor, run, don't walk, to the theater.