Feb 6 Early Denzel In A Black Film Based on a Black Detective Novel

[ancianita]

Last edited Tue Feb 6, 2024, 09:43 AM - Edit history (2)

Carl Franklin's Devil In a Blue Dress, by Walter Mosley.

[brush]

1. Recommended. It's a period piece, circa late '40s.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. My mother was a big Walter Mosely fan

so I ended up buying her pretty much all of his novels while she was alive (through to 2015), which included separate series of "recurring" main characters.

"Devil in a Blue Dress" used the Easy Rawlins character (where there were a bunch of later novels featuring that character, almost all named for colors - a link that list those - https://www.goodreads.com/series/53392-easy-rawlins).

[ancianita]

3. Nice.

Glad you hear you supported her habit. I read a couple of his books myself. And thanks for the link.

When I put this up while watching Way Too Early, I hadn't had coffee and forgot to add links.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. What was interesting about the Easy Rawlins character

is that despite all the recent (in the last 40 years) display of piles of Black Californians (through the rap/hip hop scene and "gangsta" stuff), they are one of the smallest minority groups, behind Hispanics and Asians (with only Native Americans and Pacific Islanders having fewer), and the character's stories take place in WW2 California after the first "Great Migration" out of the south with one group who went west.

ETA - in the movie, Don Cheadle plays the fatalistic character "Mouse" and I don't think any other actor could have played that part (save perhaps Michael K. Williams (RIP) who played "Chalky White" in Boardwalk Empire).

[ancianita]

5. So true.

It's interesting, imo, because it shows how the Great Migration had spreading effects across the country, not just the industrial states.

Also interesting that when I taught the military genre among others in my yearlong film class, I didn't use this film. Instead I showed how films and actors might portray the military as a little known equal rights institution, pairing A Soldier's Story with Courage Under Fire. Denzel, imo, has a brilliant career arc through all the scripts he's chosen.

If I'd gone back to teaching African American Lit, I'd probably have combined this film with the novel as part of crime/detective subgenre. Stories-into-film is another whole class subject that gets folks into buying books again.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. Denzel also did "Glory" (another war film)

(which was his first Oscar)

I know sometimes its tricky to bring those novels to life in film, but we have seen so many successful film adaptations do just that and that often sends the original novel sales off the charts (see "Roots" as an example).

[ancianita]

7. Yep. My high school sent whole history classes to see that film when it came to the neighborhood.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. I know seeing a film

sure beats the old "film strips" of yore...

[ancianita]

9. What?

I had no idea.

You're not old enough to speak of yore, are you??

[BumRushDaShow]

10. LOL

The film strips (that melted). The slide projectors where the slides got stuck. Fun times!

[ancianita]

11. LOLOL

You ol' devil, who knew!

I took up digital film with a widescreen LCD projector and surround sound (kids and grownups used to loiter outside my film class) about a decade after the dept chair had given up the old reel projector (which we still had in storage), but I DO remember showing films in the 70's using those things. Just hauling rented multiple reels around was UGH, nevermind the machine feed and 'accidents'. Thank heaven those days are over.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. I used to love loading the film projector

Had figured out early on how to do it so was often called on to start up the thing!!

I remember early on before getting my federal job when I was subbing in the Philly schools and the district had just started buying VCRs (although they may have had some of those old 3/4" tape cartridge video players).

[ancianita]

13. You've been the tech support of yore.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. That's what I was!