Claudine

Diahann Carroll Director: John Berry John Berry

Overview

Claudine (Diahann Carroll) is an impoverished African-American Harlem resident. Unmarried, Claudine supports herself and her six children by working as a maid--albeit secretly, so she can still qualify for welfare. Garbageman James Earl Jones falls in love with Claudine, and after strenuous effort manages to win the affections of her suspicious kids. Just when it seems as though there's a marriage in the offing, Jones runs off. Claudine's kids hunt him down and shame him into returning to their mother.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/13/2020
UPC:	0715515251815
Original Release:	1974
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Color]
Time:	1:32:00
Sales rank:	13,024

Special Features

New 4k digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Audio Commentary from 2003 Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs; filmmaker George Tillman Jr,; and Dan Pine, the son of screenwriters Lester Pine and Tina Pine New conversation between filmmaker Robert Townsend and programmer Ashley Clark Illustrated audio excerpts from a 1974 AFI Harold Lloyd Master Seminar featuring Carroll New interview with film critic Imogen Sara Smith on Director John Berry Plus: An essay by critic Danielle A. Jackson

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Diahann Carroll	Claudine Price
James Earl Jones	Roop
Tamu	Charlene
David Kruger	Paul
Yvette Curtis	Patrice
Carolyn Adams	Dance Teacher
Terry Alexander	Teddy
Bernard Barrow	Mr. Winograd
David Blackwell	Delivery Boy
Bill Bressant	Cop #2
Lee Dupree	Young Brother
Art Evans	Young Brother
Bob Scarantino	Cop
Tim Pelt	Cool Cat
Sandi Franklin	Prostitute
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs	Charles
Mordecai Lawner	Process Server
Elisa Loti	Miss Kabak
Roxie Roker	Mrs. Winston
Joan Kaye	Mrs. Winograd
Stefan Gierasch	Sanitation Foreman
Ralph Wilcox	Young Brother
C. Harrison Avery	Minister
Eric Jones	Francis
Socorro Stephens	Lurlene
Adam Wade	Owen
Charles Cleveland	Dice Man
Reverend Carlton Coleman	Gospel Leader
Lil Henderson	Bus Woman #3
Judy Mills	Bus Woman #1
Yvonne Sutherland	Bus Woman #4
Jay Van Leer	Bar Woman
Alyce Webb	Bus Woman #2

Technical Credits

Tina Pine

Les Pine

John Berry	Director
Luis San Andres	Editor
Burt Bluestein	Asst. Director
Al Gramaglia	Sound/Sound Designer
Edward S. Haworth	Set Decoration/Design
Ted Haworth	Production Designer
Bernard Johnson	Costumes/Costume Designer
Ben Kasazkow	Art Director
Curtis Mayfield	Score Composer
Tina Pine	Screenwriter
Les Pine	Screenwriter
Gayne Rescher	Cinematographer
Paul Vogt	Set Decoration/Design
Hannah Weinstein	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The early '70s are remembered for the flowering of the so-called blaxploitation films, the action pictures that gave urban audiences a new set of screen heroes to cheer for. But there were also more serious films produced at the time about African-Americans, too -- Lady Sings the Blues, Sounder, and this heartfelt drama about a single mother finding romance with a burly garbage man. Roop (James Earl Jones) is no knight in shining armor, however. He is supporting wives and children from two previous marriages, and his motives for romancing Claudine Price (Diahann Carroll) don't run to commitment and further responsibilities. Claudine hides her employment as a domestic, plus Roop's presence and presents, from her welfare worker, knowing that discovery of any of them will reduce her payments. The film also tries to deal with oldest son Charles' (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs) growing political militancy and oldest daughter Charlene's (Tamu) budding adolescence. Although it's unclear what Charles and his cohorts are fighting for, Charlene's personal (and predictable) crisis precipitates one of the film's strongest scenes, a violent confrontation with her mother. The subtext here is the return to American filmmaking of blacklisted director John Berry. The subject of minorities struggling for a sense of dignity is clearly one that would engage his sympathies, but he is saddled with a script that is by turns repetitious and sketchy, and the film's hasty wrap-up looks like the filmmakers either ran out of money or time. However, both leads are strong and believable, and as Charles, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs has some memorably brooding moments.

All Movie Guide - Tom Wiener