La pelle brucia

Just watched this on Netflix disc with my mom. We both enjoyed this obscure film from 1966 about a jazz musician who suffers ups and downs because of a past he can't escape. Sammy Davis Jr. is Adam Johnson, a trumpeter with a short temper and a messed up social life. Ossie Davis is his club owner friend Nelson, Frank Sinatra Jr. is his Caucasion protégé Vincent, Cicely Tyson is his activist lover Claudia, Louis Armstrong is her grandfather who's also a jazz musician named Willie, and Peter Lawford is his agent Manny. All are very compelling in their roles which takes on many issues with racism and why Adam feels the way he does. Also interesting seeing such up-and-coming stars like Ja'net Du Bois, Johnny Brown (both eventually of "Good Times"), and Lola Falana in some roles. Oh, and the director is Leo Penn, father of Sean Penn. So on that note, I highly recommend A Man Called Adam. Oh, and I also loved Mel Torme doing his thing in one number.

For some reason this film has gone sadly neglected over the years when assessing Sammy Davis, Jr. The man sung and danced and acted with the best. His trumpet playing may have been dubbed, but Davis was as real a deal talent wise as we've ever had.

A Man Called Adam casts Davis as a trumpet player who's been on a downward spiral for 10 years ever since he lost a wife and child in a car accident. Even dissipated and drunk as he is the talent is there and he still gets bookings. But the jazz clubs are disappearing as well as his concentration.

When he gets himself involved with Cicely Tyson the only question has she come too late to be a salvation for him?

Ossie Davis plays Tyson's uncle and guardian and the great Louis Armstrong is Davis's mentor. No doubt Sammy was learning from the best. Might have been nice to see some of Satchmo's own playing.

I'd love to know how Davis managed to get Peter Lawford and Frank Sinatra, Jr. in the same film. Lawford and Sinatra Sr. had broken off all relations four years earlier. Still Davis of all the clan members kept up a friendship with Peter Lawford who plays a big booking agent. Sinatra, Jr. plays an up and coming jazz trumpeter who idolizes Davis and takes quite a bit of guff from him during the film.

A Man Called Adam is a nicely acted film all around by its cast and it should be better known. Especially when assessing the whole career of Sammy Davis, Jr.

The good:

• The great performance from Sammy Davis, who has such screen presence and exudes cool. Cicely Tyson (RIP!) is good in this too.

• The jazz soundtrack, with performances from Louis Armstrong and Mel Torme, who were both a treat to see.

• The spotlight on racism in society and in the police force, and in a minor key, allusions to the tension between passive nonviolence and fighting back in reaction to it.

The bad:

• Davis's character is unlikeable. He's been traumatized but is a complete jerk to everyone around him, and I think we're meant to have the same reaction as the other characters, which is to forgive him because he's so talented.

• The plot is melodramatic and lacks creative focus. It's too bad it kept going back to Davis imploding instead of other more interesting things.

The ugly:

• The treatment of Tyson's character. I hated how she succumbed to Davis after he forces himself on her, failing the first time and succeeding the second (just keep assaulting 'em fellas, and they'll give in). She forgives his bad behavior like a saint, and in one nausea-inducing moment, blames herself for having softened him too much by telling him to behave better. Ugh.

Adam Johnson (Sammy Davis Jr.) is a troubled self-destructive famous jazz musician. He drinks too much. He is too bitter after some personal tragedy. His best friend Nelson Davis (Ossie Davis) has brought over civil rights activist Claudia Ferguson (Cicely Tyson) and her grandfather Willie Ferguson (Louis Armstrong). At first, Adam is brutal with his guests which he regrets. Sometimes, he teaches and mentors Vincent (Frank Sinatra Jr.). His manager Manny (Peter Lawford) wants him to shut up and play.

This is an interesting indie. At least, it looks indie. There is a mix of musicians and professional actors, both do well. It is a bit of a mess cinematically. They are definitely trying a lot especially Sammy. The music is great. More than anything, this movie needs to rein in the rambling story.

Sammy Davis Jr. does well with a self-destructive, unlikable role, that of a jazz trumpet player (with the ridiculously Anglo-ized name of Adam Johnson) who finds true love for the first time with a virginal bleeding heart: a sensible civil rights activist who wants to reform the hot-headed musician of his hard liquor and hard-living. Adam, carrying around a multitude of shoulder-chips, lashes out at everybody and never seems to land on his feet; after burning all his bridges, he finds himself at the end of his professional rope--yet the faithful are still hopeful he can make a comeback. Davis mimes the trumpet well enough, but this character is tough to take (if he's not humiliating himself, he's hurting all his loved ones). Much better are Ossie Davis as a friend with a strong center and endless patience, as well as love-interest Cicely Tyson (her sparkling smile is particularly ingratiating, though she has a speech late in the movie about robbing Davis of his manhood that plays all wrong). Mel Tormé stops the show with a terrific rendition of "All That Jazz", while the superb soundtrack and Jack Priestley's gleaming cinematography are first-rate throughout. Director Leo Penn is best at the smaller bits of business; the action happening just left of center is far more interesting than the film's big dramatic moments, which tend to run away from Penn. Worse, the montage-heavy final act is movie-shorthand for the Last Hurrah, a worn-out cliché even in 1966. ** from ****