Watermelon Man (1970)

Director:

Melvin Van Peebles

Writer:

Herman Raucher (writer)

Release Date:

27 May 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

The Uppity Movie.

Plot:

An extremely bigotted white man find out the hard (and somewhat humorous) way what it's like being a black man, firsthand!

Plot Keywords:

Racial | Female Nudity | Interracial Sex | Blaxploitation | Music Score Composed By Director

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Godfrey Cambridge	...	Jeff Gerber
Estelle Parsons	...	Althea Gerber
Howard Caine	...	Mr. Townsend
D'Urville Martin	...	Bus Driver
Mantan Moreland	...	Counterman
Kay Kimberley	...	Erica
Kay E. Kuter	...	Dr. Wainwright
Scott Garrett	...	Burton Gerber
Erin Moran	...	Janice Gerber
Irving Selbst	...	Mr. Johnson
Emil Sitka	...	Delivery Man
Lawrence Parke	...	1st Passenger
Karl Lukas	...	Policeman #2
Ray Ballard	...	3rd Passenger
Robert Dagny	...	2nd Passenger

Also Known As:

The Night the Sun Came Out (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

D'Urville Martin not only plays the credited role of the Bus Driver, but also participant in the Yacht Club "riot" scene.

Quotes:

Jeff Gerber: I am not colored.
Bus Driver: I know. I'm Spanish myself.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass (2003)

Strange, funny, and controversial

Melvin van Peebles' classic, WATERMELON MAN is one of those films that's very ridiculous, but does have some important messages. It's sort of like an old Roger Corman film.

Godfrey Cambridge, plays a man named Jeff Gerber, a bigoted white insurance salesman who lives in an ideal 50s community. Every day he gets angrier by the race riots in the city and turns into a real racist. Then one day he wakes up as a black man and has to face bigotry at work, in the neighborhood, and in the town.

Director Melvin van Peebles is a very important film director, not only for being the first mainstream African-American filmmaker, but also for being one of the first directors to tackle on race issues. In WATERMELON MAN, he makes a great anti-bigotry message.

The premise of this film is rather ludicrous. It's a campy version of BLACK LIKE ME, but strangely enough, it works. There are some very hilarious segments in this movie. Godfrey Cambridge is excellent as the main character and Estelle Parsons shines as his liberal wife. A race-related film worth at least one view.