Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist

Paul Robeson was one of the greatest singers of his time. He got famous from belting out "Ol' Man River" from "Show Boat". When he sang for the pro-democracy side of the Spanish Civil War, he changed the lyrics to reflect the fight for justice. Sure enough, when McCarthyism kicked in, Robeson was one of the prime targets. He spent a decade disappeared, so to speak.

Saul J. Turell's Academy Award-winning "Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist" looks at Robeson's career and activism. Narrated by Sidney Poitier, it starts with his 1920s stage work and goes up to the late '50s. Although Robeson got the last laugh, we as a society still haven't done enough to atone for ruining his life (and the lives of countless others). Excellent documentary.

In the Peekskill scene, I noticed that a shop appeared to say Stanley Tucci. I wonder if it had a connection to the actor's family.

It's very sad that people that knew or admired Paul Robeson, do not provide from the very start of their narration the ultimate clue about Paul Robeson. Those friends and colleagues do not mention a simple fact that would be the best descriptive quality of this man. He was above all a great communist and everything he represents today originated from this fact. This avoidance of any clear reference on that, simply proves the self-censorship in USA today, as a result of that lack of freedom in social and political thinking and action. USA has never reinstated those thousands American Communists. There has never been an official condemnation of the political pursuits in the USA. And that was also not said in those documentaries.

"Most importantly, however, were the questions raised by the State Department as to my political opinions. Here is a question of whether one who wants to sing and act can have, as a citizen, political opinions. And, in attacking me, they suggested that when I was abroad, I spoke out against injustices to the Negro people in the United States. I certainly did. And the Supreme Court Justice just ruled, Judge Warren in the segregation cases, that world opinion had a lot to do with that ruling, that our children, negro children, can go to school like anybody else in the South. I'm very proud to have been a part of directing world opinion to precisely that condition."

I had goosebumps while watching much of this documentary short about Paul Robeson. It honors his life and his activism, and for that I give it a lot of credit. To hear him speak about his approach to playing Othello, to hear him sing 'Old Man River,' and to see his courage in the face of conservative backlash was inspiring. He was exceptionally intelligent and talented, and it's a shame that somewhat like Josephine Baker, he often had to leave America to be truly embraced.

As both a black man and a progressive to the point of strong communist sympathies, Robeson got a double dose of hatred upon returning to his country ("Go back to Russia, you n-word!"). The film broaches this but it was certainly a light treatment of the subject, steering clear of Robeson's actual beliefs, other than those involving Civil Rights. I think in that regard, it falls short, and perhaps it's because it was made when the Cold War was still active.

Regardless, to not comment at all on his anti-imperialist, pro-Union views, to not mention his outright praise of Stalin (argh) or his trips to the Soviet Union ("Here I am not a Negro but a human being for the first time in my life. I walk in full human dignity"), or include his stirring testimony in front of the HUAC was a mistake. Replying to Gordon Scherer, Republican Congressman from Ohio who asked him why he didn't stay in Russia, he said this: "Because my father was a slave, and my people died to build this country and I am going to stay here and have a part of it just like you. And no fascist-minded people will drive me from it. Is that clear?" I mean, god damn, I love this man. I would love to someday see a full-length documentary or dramatization of his life, but am happy for the little sample this film provided.

An Academy Award winning documentary film short from 1979, written and directed by Saul J. Turell, which is about one of the most significant U. S. figures of the 20th century. Narrated by Sidney Poitier this is a brief biographical introduction to the singer, actor and political figure, who sang 'Old Man River' (and it's changing lyrics) throughout his life, was lauded for his performances as 'Othello', sang on loudspeakers on the Teruel battlefield during the Spanish Civil War in 1938, acted in films like 'The Emperor Jones' and 'The Proud Valley', read the actors tribute to Roosevelt in 1945, sang the Chinese national anthem (in Chinese), was caught up in a riot in Peekskill, New York in1949 ("Go back to Russia you n......"), was persecuted in the U. S. for his political views, and won a case against the U. S. State Department in 1958. Not bad as an intro, but we need a more comprehensive account of Robeson, either as documentary feature, or fiction feature.

This is a short biographical tribute to Paul Robeson and is narrated by Sidney Poitier. It's included as a special feature on a collection of Robeson films by Criterion and can be found on disk 1.

While I enjoyed "Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist", I couldn't help that any film about this remarkable man cannot adequately sum him up in under 30 minutes! As a result MANY important aspects of his life were omitted--such as his life apart from his singing and acting career. In particular his earlier years (which are amazing) are not mentioned--such as graduating at the top of his class at Rutgers (and in 1919, this was even more AMAZING considering the status of Blacks at the time), being an All-American football player and graduating from Columbia Law School!!! For ANYONE (not just black), these are incredible accomplishments and it seems sad not to even mention them.

As far as what is in the film goes, it's a nice overview of his stage and acting careers. It was also good to see that the film focused on when Robeson lost favor in America as a result of his political beliefs (and considering how badly Black-Americans were being treated, it's certainly understandable how he became more radicalized). This is all explored through Poitier's narration as well as archival footage and recordings of Robeson. Unfortunately, no others are on hand to contribute their insights or recollections of the man.

Overall, it's a good film but way too short. For someone not acquainted with him or who only want to learn about a narrow aspect of his life, then this is great. But it just needed to be at least 1-2 hours to adequately discuss his amazingly full life.