Black Girl (1972)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Ossie Davis

Writers:

J.E. Franklin (play)
J.E. Franklin (screenplay)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

She's got to cut it... or cut out.

Plot Keywords:

Salesman | Girl | Sister Sister Relationship | Illegitimacy | Janitor

Cast

Brock Peters	...	Earl
Claudia McNeil	...	Mu' Dear
Leslie Uggams	...	Netta
Louise Stubbs	...	Mama Rose
Peggy Pettit	...	Billie Jean
Gloria Edwards	...	Norma
Rhetta Greene	...	Ruth Ann (as Loretta Greene)
Ruby Dee	...	Netta's mother
Kent Martin	...	Herbert
Gertrude Jeannette
Carl Byrd
Damu King
Erik Kilpatrick
Morris Buchanan
Bob Harris	...	Ernie

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Movie Connections:

Edited into Afro Promo (1997)

Soundtrack:

Sister

Well acted adaptation of stage play

Black Girl, originally a play by Texas born writer J. E. Franklin, was adapted for the screen by Franklin and directed by the great Ossie Davis. The result is a stagey but effective extended family drama, with three sisters (Gloria Edwards, Loretta Greene, and Peggy Pettit) plotting against the successful adopted fourth daughter (Leslie Uggams). Brock Peters is top-billed as the father of the girls, but his performance is little more than a glorified cameo, and it's up to the women to carry the show. Most effective are Greene, as the pregnant middle daughter, Louise Stubbs as the mother, and Claudia McNeill as the grandmother and matriarch of the family. Less effective is Uggams, whose droopy eyed look simply doesn't evince much sympathy, and Edwards, who is over the top at times as the eldest and meanest sibling. There's a brief non-speaking appearance by Mrs. Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and a sterling performance by an uncredited gentlemen who plays Mr. Herbert, a boarder who has shacked up with McNeill's character. This film is all about the characters, and there are some meaty scenes, especially when Uggams returns home from college unannounced. The film was clearly a labour of love, and all things considered, is a simple but solid effort, quite moving at times and generally effective.