3/14/16 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Dreamgirls (2006) : It’s All Over + And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going

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And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going  the Grammy Award winning torch song from the Broadway musical (1981) and film (2206) Dreamgirls, with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the film version Jennifer Hudson as Effie White (a singer with the girl group The Dreams) sings the song to her manager and love interest Curtis Taylor Jr.  Continue reading

3/7/16 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Hollywood Monday: Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?- Bette Davis and Joan Crawford

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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a 1962 American psychological thriller film produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The story revolves around a former child star, Baby Jane Hudson (Davis) who torments her crippled sister, Blanche (Crawford) in a decaying Hollywood mansion. Continue reading

2/29/16 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Boyz N The Hood (Excerpts)

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Boyz n the Hood (1991) The groundbreaking urban drama and directorial debut film written and directed by John Singleton. The film depicts life in South Central Los Angeles, California and marked the acting debut of Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut  Boyz n the Hood also starred Cuba Gooding, Jr., Larry Fishburne, Nia Long and Angela Bassett.  Continue reading

2/22/16 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Lady Sings The Blues (1972)- Excerpts

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Lady Sings The Blues– excerpts from the 1972 film starring Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor. 1) The Man I Love 2) Them There Eyes 3) Good Morning Heartache 4) My Man 5) God Bless the Child. Continue reading

2/15/16 0&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Killer Diller (1948)

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Killer Diller starring The Clark Brothers (tap dancers), Nat King Cole, Moms Mabley, Dusty Fletcher, Butterfly McQueen, the Andy Kirk Orchestra, dancers from the Katherine Dunham School and the Four Congaroos (dancing Lindy Hop) was filmed in 1948 during the height of post war race films explosion. This all-black cast film, geared toward minority audiences, featured a cavalcade of African-American talent.  Continue reading

2/8/16 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Cabin in the Sky (1943)

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Cabin in the Sky is a 1943 American musical film based on the 1940 musical of the same name. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, the film stars Ethel Waters and Rex Ingram, who reprised their roles from the Broadway production, as well Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson and Lena Horne. It was Horne’s first and only leading role in an MGM musical. Louis Armstrong was also featured in the film as one of Lucifer Junior’s minions, and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra have a showcase musical number in the film.

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Taking A Chance On Love
Ethel Waters with Eddie “Rochester” Anderson (guitar)
and Bill Bailey (tap)

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Jim Henry’s Club
Ethel Waters, John Bubbles, Eddie’Rochester’ Anderson
and Lena Horne

 

2/1/16 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Lena Horne – Stormy Weather featuring “Katherine Dunham with her dance troupe.” (1943)

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Stormy Weather, the title song and dance sequence for the 1943 film of the same name, starred Lena Horne and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and Katherine Dunham with her “dance troupe”. Other notable performers in the movie were Cab Calloway and Fats Waller (both appearing as themselves), the Nicholas Brothers dancing duo, comedian F. E. Miller, and singer Ada Brown. Despite a running time of only 77 minutes, the film features some 20 musical numbers. This was Robinson’s final film (he died in 1949); Waller died only a few months after its release. Continue reading

1/16/17(REPOST) HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Martin: A Ballet By Gordon Parks

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Martin: a ballet by Gordon Parks, an original five-movement ballet chronicling the struggles of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Filmed in 1990 the work stars John Jones as Dr. King and Sheila Rohan as Rosa Parks, featuring choreography by Real Lamb. “Martin” (PBS, 1990),  about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. Parks served as executive producer, director, composer, keyboardist and documentary photographer for this boldly ambitious project. Continue reading

1/4/15 O&A NYC Hollywood Monday: A Time To Dance- a short film

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A Time To Dance, a short film, tells the story of two dancers who fall in love.  Written and directed by Paul Myzia, starring Israel Arellanes and  Mariah Nottke featuring choreography by Anna Duval. Continue reading

12/28/15 O&A Hollywood Monday: Late Bloomer

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Official selection at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, Late Bloomer is a compelling and humorous short film about 7th grade sex ed class gone horribly wrong. Directed by Craig Macneill and written by Clay McLeod Chapman, Late Bloomer is loosely based on the dark tales of H.P. Lovecraft. Late Bloomer received the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the Lake Placid Film Festival,

 and Best Short Film at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival
. Continue reading