Minstrel Man

All the previous reviews/critiques are probably right-on. I was happy to see the film because it presented a bit of theatrical history, showing something of what minstrel shows were like, especially in the opening "Gentlemen Be Seated" bit. Of course, there are similar historical pieces in other movies as well. I don't know that I had ever seen Benny Fields before, although he apparently had done many television appearances in the past, so I was curious to see him and hear him sing. Having seen this film, I rather understand why Ralph Meeker was chosen to play Fields in "Somebody Loves Me" opposite Betty Hutton and I now appreciate that bit of casting.

As cheap musicals go, it's not bad. The subject matter is respectable, avoiding unnecessary comedy that B-musicals of the mid forties boosted. The problem appears to be casting. For Benny Fields this is his only major dramatic lead in films, and one can easily understand, why. He is a relatively unexciting old man with no remarkable talents to showcase. He does sing, but his voice is very soft and definitely not one that would carry in a live theatre. Judy Clark is so perk that it makes your eyes hurt, and as natural as Duracel bunny. How did a quality actress like Gladys George get lost in that vehicle, is a minor mystery. Said all that, the film is quite entertaining, and the music (not meaning some well-known standards that get used but the original score) is better than is usual for a small time musical. Plus it's a reasonably short flick that doesn't let you get bored. It's also very nice to look at a good old fashioned, dignified minstrel show. Makes you wonder what the world would be like if minstrels hadn't paved the way to making black music part of our everyday life.

Only watch if you want a negative example of just how insulting old Hollywood could get. Contrary to the other reviews, minstrel and blackface was going strong until the 1950s and even made its way onto TV, until civil rights protests put an end to it. There was even blackface in films into the 1980s, Soul Man and Trading Places. (Yes, Tropical Thunder much later. But that was criticizing and mocking the practice of clueless whites portraying other races.)

The music is terrible and the comedy is far worse. Blackface was half imitating Black culture and half mocking Black people. But here the music is corny and tone deaf.

Blackface makeup can be incredibly jarring to see, to be reminded of just how deep racist hatred went to dehumanize Blacks. Here the mockery is also of Blacks who would dare to dress well or have money, for the clothes are over the top too.

Only see if you have a strong stomach and have a historical interest in Hollywood stereotypes.

Benny Fields stars as Dixie Boy Johnson, a vaudeville singer who performs in black face. His signature tune, "Remember Me to Carolina", is sung each night to his wife, also named Carolina. When she dies in childbirth, Johnson skips town, leaving the newborn, also named Carolina, in the care of friends Mae (Gladys George) and Roscoe (Roscoe Karns). Years later, the now grown Carolina (Judy Clark) tries to follow in her father's footsteps as a minstrel performer. Also featuring Jerome Cowan, Alan Dinehart, Molly Lamont, and Lee "Lasses" White.

I had never heard of Benny Fields before watching this. I've since learned that he and his wife Blossom Seeley had a very successful vaudeville singing and comedy act in the 1920's. They lost their fortune in the Great Depression, and Fields took the act solo. This movie was another comeback attempt for the 50-year-old Fields, and it was a hit at the time, leading to Fields having a number of recording hits. He seems like a nice enough guy, but the movie is awful, a hackneyed backstage melodrama with cliche after cliche. The stereotypical minstrel stuff is bad enough, and there's a lot of it here, but the handful of songs are sung over and over again. The movie still managed to nab two Oscar nominations, for Best Score (Leo Erdody & Ferde Grofe), and Best Song (Remember Me to Carolina").

As a super fan of Al Jolson, I was really interested in seeing this movie, but was sadly disappointed. It strained credulity to believe that the lead, a character named Dixie Boy Johnson, had any kind of following, let alone star power. Voice, body language, dance routines, character - all this was sorely lacking. The scenes of minstrelsy, notwithstanding the elaborate costumes, were dead in the water. I don't understand how the music was nominated for an Oscar. Really it was very ordinary. Moreover, the songs functioned as padding for a storyline was lame from start to finish. Too bad. If you want to see minstrelsy at its entertaining best, check out Swannee River, the biopic of Stephen Foster with Al Jolson as E.P.Christy and give Minstrel Man a pass.