Minstrel Man (1944 film)

Minstrel Man
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
Edgar G. Ulmer (uncredited)
Produced by Leon Fromkess (producer)
Harry Revel (associate producer)
Written by Irwin Franklyn
Pierre Gendron
Martin Mooney (story)
Raymond L. Schrock (story)
Starring See below
Music by Ferde Grofé, Karl Hajos
Cinematography Marcel Le Picard
Edited by Carl Pierson
Release date
 1944
Running time
 70 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Minstrel Man is a 1944 American film directed by Joseph H. Lewis and produced by Producers Releasing Corporation. It was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Original Song and Best Original Score).

Production began in late 1943. Director Lewis was drafted during production; he was replaced briefly by Edgar G. Ulmer. The studio shut the film down until the scheduling conflicts of cast and crew could be resolved. Lewis was released from the army in March 1944 and completed the film.

Plot summary

Singing star Dixie Boy Johnson (Benny Fields) and his wife Caroline (Molly Lamont) are jubilant over Dixie's headlining a Broadway show and Caroline's impending motherhood. On opening night, Caroline is rushed to the hospital and Dixie begs to leave the theater and join her, but producer Lew Dunn (Alan Dinehart) refuses. Caroline dies in childbirth and Dixie is shattered. He leaves the baby in the care of his friends, Lasses and Mae (Roscoe Karns and Gladys George), and drops out of sight. Presumed dead, Dixie stays under cover and takes an assumed name, as a shipboard entertainer. Years later, Lew Dunn grooms Dixie's daughter Caroline (Judy Clark) for stardom in a revival of Dixie's Broadway show. Dixie's former agent (Jerome Cowan) sees an opportunity to sue Dunn for damages, and arranges for Dixie to confront his daughter and his old friends.

Cast

Soundtrack

  • Benny Fields - "Cindy" (music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
  • Judy Clark - "Cindy" (music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
  • Benny Fields - "Remember Me to Carolina" (music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster; Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song)
  • Benny Fields - "I Don't Care If the World Knows About It" (Music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
  • Judy Clark - "I Don't Care If the World Knows About It" (Music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
  • John Raitt - "Shakin' Hands With the Sun" (music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster as Paul Webster)
  • Benny Fields - "My Bamboo Cane" (music by Harry Revel, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster as Paul Webster)
  • The minstrel show chorus, danced by Johnny Boyle - "Minstrel Man"
  • Benny Fields - "My Melancholy Baby" (music by Ernie Burnett, lyrics by George A. Norton)
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