Claudine (film)

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Claudine
Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones (a close up in the promotional photo of the film)
Directed by	John Berry
Produced by	Hannah Weinstein
Written by	Lester Pine Tina Pine
Starring	Diahann Carroll James Earl Jones Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs Tamu Blackwell David Kruger Yvette Curtis Socorro Stephens Eric Jones Adam Wade Roxie Roker
Music by	Curtis Mayfield
Cinematography	Gayne Rescher
Editing by	Louis San Andres
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	April 22, 1974 (U.S.) October 15, 1974 (UK) November 28, 1977 West Germany
Running time	92 mins
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$14 million
Gross revenue	$79 million
IMDb profile

Diahann Carroll portrays a welfare mother with six children in the 1974 film Claudine.

Claudine is a notable 1974 feature film produced by Third World Films and released to theatres by 20th Century Fox. Starring Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, and King Coleman, Claudine was written by Lester Pine and Tina Pine, and directed by John Berry. It is noted for being one of the few mainstream films featuring a predominantly African-American cast that was not a blaxploitation film. The film was released on April 22, 1974, breaking the box office with a total of $79 million in its opening week.

The film tells the story of Claudine Price (Diahann Carroll), a single Black Harlem mother, living on welfare with six children, who finds love with a garbage collector, Rupert Marshall (James Earl Jones), who she calls "Roop". The pair's relationship becomes complicated because of a number of factors. Among these are that the couple do not want to marry because they would not be able to support the children without welfare, and that the kids themselves, particularly eldest son Charles (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs), are apprehensive of Rupert, and believe that he will leave their mother just like her previous husbands and boyfriends.

Curtis Mayfield wrote and produced the film's score and soundtrack, the vocals for which are performed by Gladys Knight & the Pips. The Claudine soundtrack was released on the group's record label, Buddah Records, and the film's theme song, "On & On", was a #5 hit for Knight and the Pips on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart in 1974.

For her role in the film, Diahann Carroll was nominated for the Golden Globe award for Best Actress, and also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 1975 Academy Awards. The movie was nominated for the Writers Guild of America award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen.

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
Diahann Carroll	Claudine Price
James Earl Jones	Rupert "Roop" B. Marshall
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs	Charles Price (as Lawrence Hilton-Jacques)
Tamu Blackwell	Charlene Price
David Kruger	Paul Price
Yvette Curtis	Patrice Price
Eric Jones	Francis Price
Socorro Stephens	Lurlene Price
Adam Wade	Owen
Elisa Loti	Miss Kabak
Roxie Roker	Mrs. Winston