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Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
3/24
3/24:
Lady Sings the Blues is a depressing biopic about Billie Holiday all the way through.
Diana Ross of The Supremes had no acting experience prior to the film, and it's a stunning debut for her. She has many
sad moments. Now, you know Billy Dee Williams, but this is the one, along with
Brian's Song, that made him a household
name. Richard Pryor is impressive as Piano Man; it's too bad about his character at the end.
Unfortuntely, the direction isn't great, but John A. Alonzo's cinematography saves the overlong film which was falling apart
in the final hour. There isn't much of substance while Diana Ross is going in circles with her character's drug
problem. Eventually, it's a common story as seen in hundreds of films like Bird. The editing is
on the lazy side by using newspaper articles to speed up the narrative.
Lady Sings the Blues was financed by Berry Gordy, the man who brought the Motown sound (Detroit had nothing to do
with it; it's just a city where the recording studio was situated) to America. Films like Shaft
and Super Fly created
the Blaxploitation genre that featured tough-looking, crude black characters. But Billy Dee Williams is all class in the mold
of Clark Gable, a rarity in Hollywood during the 70's. Hence, I can see how he's a role model for black males and
why black women wanted to be with him.
As for the story of Billie Holiday on screen, little of it is true. A heroin addict, she was more plump-looking in real life
than Diana Ross and didn't rename herself professionally after seeing it on some newspaper. Her musical career was more
complicated than what the film showed. She was married twice before making it a third with Louis McKay, a mob enforcer,
in 1957 but died a couple of years afterwards.
What's not known is that Billie Holiday had an affair with Orson Welles while he was making
Citizen Kane. She called him
the best she had been with. On the other hand, the film makes it seem like she was banned from performing in New York completely,
but it's only the places where alcohol was sold. However, it did take away a majority of her earning potential that left her
destitute on top of having been swindled by Louis McKay during her final years. Additionally, Billie Holiday had a drinking
problem and was in relationships with abusive men including all of her husbands.
All in all, Lady Sings the Blues should be seen for Diana Ross' impressive performance.