Newspaper Page Text
Page 6
February 26, 1985/The Maroon Tiger/Section A
ARTS ARTS ARTS
An Authentic Harlem Picture Makes The Silver Screen?
by Anthony Pinder
Arts & Literary Editor
The 1920’s is an era known for
many events and fads and is
often considered the most
glamorous era of our history.
However, in its prime the roaring
1920’s embodied one of the
world's most dazzling show
places, the ever prominent Cot
ton Club. This glamorous institu
tion bloomed during the
carefree era of illegal liquor,
jazz, the new talking movies, and
the beautiful flappers.
The Cotton Club was located
in the middle of Harlem, and
showcased the best black talent
in the world at that time. Unfor
tunately, the front doors were
only opened to the most
prestigious and legendary New
York mobsters, entertainers,
politicians and an assortment of
mobile criminals. Of couse this
distinguish list of dignitaries
were all white, and after they
were seated the doors were shut
with no possibility of black
people witnessing their own
sisters and brothers ‘do their
thing.’
Nevertheless, the romance,
music, and mystique of the
internationally acclaimed night
spot has finally come to the silver
screen thanks to Director Francis
Coppola, of ‘Godfather’ fame.
Or should we thank him at all?
Now that the epic has finally
reached the screen, it’s anything
but a bomb. I can't predict
whether it will pay back the
reported $58 million in produc
tion costs; but, it looks to me like
its the hit Coppola has searched
for all along, even though its
ironic he had to truddle back
into ‘Godfather’ land, with a new
batch of gangsters wearing old-
fashioned suits, to reestablish
himself as a major director.
Nevertheless, the critics and the
rest of the world see Cotton
Club as the final untold story of
the way it must have been. I
objectl
I think that for a big boy like
Coppla, with all his directing
experience, would not try to
incorporate a mixture of crime,
culture, racism, and romance.
He attempted to include these
characteristics of Harlem in one
picture. Like Godfather II, there
must be a sequel somewhere.
The movie tells two stories.
Both begin in 1928 at the Cotton
Club, a ghetto nightspot with top
black entertainers, and an all
white clientele-that included the
mob as well as the gentry. The
plot centers around Dixie
Dwyer, a white musician. One
night he yanks a well-dressed
man out of an assassin’s way,
then learns he just saved the life
of Dutch Schultz, a premier thug.
Schultz makes him an offer he
can’t refuse, a chance to earn
good money chaperoning the
crook’s girlfriend when he’s tied
up with his wife. This begins a
strange odyssey for Dixie, which
detours to Hollywood before
returning bank to Harlem for the
climatic fued with Schultz over
that girlfriend, who can't decide
between Dixie's charm and
Dutch’s money. Typical right?
The other story centers on
Sandman Williams, a black tap-
dancer who’s just gotten his first
Cotton Club gig. There he meets
Lila Rose Oliver, who steals his
heart quicker than he can hoof.
Both of them have reasons to
forget their ghetto-bound lives,
and the pestering racism that
plagues them. However, instead
of binding them together, their
discontent drives them apart and
they search for seperate
solutions. She passes for white
and makes a new career, and he
reaches for the top on his own
terms and turf.
The way Coppola interweaves
the sagas of Dixie and Sandman,
you would think he was going to
merge them at some point. But
he never gets around to it. He
also fails to give both plots equal
screentime. The screen-play
gives most of the strong scenes to
the Dixie and Dutch tale, letting
the black characters skip in and
out of romantic meetings. The
movie's twin flaws are a split
between the white and black
sides of its personality, and a
preference for standard gangster
melodrama over poignant
realism of life among the
lowerclass. It was obvious to me
that both shortcomings point to
a lack of moral seriousness in the
filmmaker.
Somehow I just can’t find the
words to thank Coppola for
using my brothers and sisters as
mere entertainment for his
gangster friends on and off the
screen, while the Richard Geres’
attempt to develop their acting
skills and take the credit of giving
the film class and finesse.
But looking at parts of the film
and not its sum, there’s much to
praise. He offers vivid portraits of
oppressed blacks rising to the
challenges of their environment.
In superb musical numbers,
although only seen in bits and
pieces, he celebrates the fine
flowering of black artistry earlier
in this century. Coppola also
surpises me but putting such an
explosion of black talent on the
screen. Gregory Hines is the
obvious new prince of hoofing.
His sweat in such productions as
"Eubie” had finally paid off.
Lonette McKee is as always
beautiful, and has perfected the
talent we all fell in love with from
her ‘Sparkle’ days even more.
Nonetheless, not only are we
singers and dancers, but we also
portray those same singer’s and
dancer's feelings. Give up those
scripts Hollywood. We want to
act I
I hope that before the world
begins to thank Coppola for his
attempt to use this film as a
nostalgic museum, it first returns
to see it once more. Hopefully, a
second viewing will awaken us
and we shall find ourselves
waiting patiently for the true
story-The Black Cotton Club.
Thanks Coppola, but no thanks.
HOW TO SPELL Rare Shakespeare
SHAKESPEARE Books Acquired
A correspondent at Harvard
Shackespeare,
. A rare and valuable collection
furnishes the Literary World with
Shaxesper,
of old Shakespeare books has
a curious bit of Shakespeariana: -
Shaxsper,
been acquired by the Southern
"While turning over Halliwell’s
Saxpere,
Utah State College Library. The
New Life of Shakespeare, I noted
Shakuspeare,
178 books include a complete set
the various ways in which the
Shakspeyr,
of Rowe’s 1714 Second Edition
poet’s name was spelt in the
Shacksper,
and a complete, lavishly il
documents therein quoted, and
Shakyspere,
lustrated 1743 Hamner Edition
given, as the editor professes,
Shakysper,
bound in red morocco with gold
literatim. I exercised no par
Shakspeyre,
leaf as well as a nearly complete
ticular vigilance, but collected
Shakspeer,
set of the first Samuel Johnson
the forty-six varieties given
Shaksper,
American Edition published in
below. Perhaps the list may be
Shaxspere,
1795.
interesting to the readers of the
Shakspear,
The collection was acquired
Literary World.” The enumera
Shakspeare,
from M. and H. Smith In
tion is as follows:
Shockspeare,
vestments, rare book dealers in
Shakespeare
Shakispere,
Las Vegas, who as private collec
Shakespere,
Shakxsper,
tors have spent much of their
Shakspere,
Shaxepeare,
lives building an antique
Shakespeyre,
Shaxkespere,
Shakespeare book collection.
Chacsper,
Shaxpeare,
The Smiths began their interest
Shakyspere,
Shakspeere,
in rare Shakespeareana during
Schakespere,
Sackesper,
the 1930’s in Europe, and spent
Schakespeire,
Shakespear,
much time searching for books
Schakspere,
Shagspere,
in England during the 1940's,
Shakespeere,
Shenpere,
often driving several hundred
Schackspear,
Shakespheer,
miles to an estate sale where
Shaxper,
Shacksphare,
rumor suggested old
Shaxpeer,
Shakspher,
Shakespeare books might be
Shaxpere,
Shackspeare,
offered.
Shackspire,
Shackespere.
According to Diana Graff,
SUSC Librarian, the collection
represents a once in a lifetime
opportunity for the college and
the Utah Shakespearean Festival.
"The Festival and College were
approached several years ago
about purchasing the collec
tion", she stated, "and at that
time funding was simply not
available. Then recently we
contacted them again and were
told that the collection had been
held with the hope that it could
eventually move to Cedar City as
the nucleus of a Renaissance
Study Center on the SUSC cam
pus, to be established in con
junction with the Festival. Presi
dent Gerald R. Sherratt
recognized the value of the
opportunity, and through
private gifts negotiated funding
and purchase of the collection."
The new collection will be
stored in the Special Collections
section of the Campus Library. It
will be catalogued and available
for use by scholars and
researchers by next summer, and
interested researchers are in
vited to contact Mary Jane
CederFace, Special Collections
Librarian for access at that time.
It is anticipated that the collec
tion will be accessible for the
Festival production season.
General viewing will be available
in the Library, as parts of the
collection will be displayed
during the Festival season.
Partial listing of books in the
acquisition include:
. "Shakespeare's Works,” Vols.
2,3,4 & 8, Calf. 41°2 x 7, Murray &
Cockran Prs., Edinburgh, 1753.
"Shakespeare’s Works," Vol
11,4x6 1°2, Calf, cover gone on
11, Crowder, W. & T. Payne Prs.,
London, 1772.
"The Works of Shakespeare,”
Theobolds ed., 10 of 10 vol, & 1
vol. VII, 4 x 61*2. Calf embossed,
London, 1773.
The plays of William
Shakespeare,” All’s Well, 12th
Night, Winter’s Tale & MacBeth,
Vol. 4, 5 1 # 4, Calf, decorated
spine, London, 1785.
"The Plays of Wm.
Shakespeare," 7 vols, of 9, Calf &
Gilt, 3 34 x 6, Marble end papers,
London, 1798.