Fans of Francis Ford Coppola's 1984 film, The Cotton Club, are usually divided into two camps; those who love period gangster flicks with campy acting and those who love the musical sequences and wish there were more of them INTACT! Fans of the movie often wish for a lot of things - primarily that it could have been a more solid film and that the "lost" footage will one day be restored!
But one thing on which everyone can usually agree is that it's a wonderful kaleidoscope of cinematography, fleshed out with beautiful people of color all the way to the very last reel.
The Cotton Club is set in the late 1920's & early 30's and is largely known as a film that can't make up its mind about what it wants to be. Yet, it's STILL an entertaining movie and no one can deny that the cast doesn't look fabulous trying to figure it all out! Through 129 minutes of plots, subplots, and quick edits, the characters are decked out and dressed to the nines in fantastic period costumes as they sing, dance, move and murder to the beat of the Jazz Age.
The Art Deco sets and the backdrop of the whole era is so brilliantly and stunningly captured that you feel like you want to step into the film and become a part of it. And if the history isn't always as accurate as it should be, the actual recreation of the Cotton Club, originally situated at 142nd & Lenox Ave., and the atmosphere of discrimination and racial politics is on point. So are the sometimes blatant and sometimes loosely-based depictions of the great iconic stars that shined on the Cotton Club stage including Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Bill Robinson and the club's beautiful tall, tan and terrific chorus girls.
Richard Gere's screen gigolo persona is forever captured to great effect, as is the dynamic tap dancing and complex onscreen-offscreen relationship between Gregory and Maurice Hines (left). Lonette McKee never looked so wistful & soulful as she does singing Ill Wind while juxtaposed against a video montage of the Depression era. One of the reasons things stay as interesting as long as they do is because of the supporting cast & extras who were too beautiful not to be seen, and who were eventually too much for tv, magazines, fashion, records and the movies.
Yes, the Cotton Club (the film) employed some of the most gorgeous black men and women in the industry including stage actors, background singers, well-known models, those who were on the brink of stardom and those who probably had scenes end up on the cutting room floor.
1) Believe it or not, the sultry diva above in the lingerie is Jackee Harry. 2) At the time, Mario Van Peebles was no more than a successful male model. 3) Of course, you recognize Patti Austin's familiar smile.
Before Tyson Beckford, we had Tyrone Spears and Mario Van Peebles.
A few random shots on the set include Maurice Hines (center) with model Tracy Ross (left).
The photos included here are from the private collection of Mr. Kenneth Hanson. Mr. Hanson worked as the stage manager for the many wonderful musical sequences that was filmed for The Cotton Club but were chopped, hacked and otherwise deleted from the film. I would like to thank him for his graciousness in the use of the photos, and offer a resounding BRAVO for the beauty and truth that he helped to bring to the film.
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