Black Girl (1972 film)

Black Girl
Directed by Ossie Davis
Produced by
  • Robert H. Greenberg
  • Lee Savin
Written by J. E. Franklin
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Glenwood J. Swanson
Edited by Graham Lee Mahin
Distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation
Release dates
  • November 9, 1972
Running time
97 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Black Girl is a 1972 American film directed by Ossie Davis based on the 1969 play by playwright J. E. Franklin.

Plot

A family drama about a young woman who defies the low expectations thrust upon her and pursues her dream of becoming a dancer.

Cast

Reception

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rated it three out of four stars and wrote, "Black Girl is a movie so filled with things it wants to say that sometimes the messages are lost in a confusion of story lines. A more disciplined movie might have been made by eliminating some of the material and organizing the rest, but I'm not sure it would have been a better movie, or a more moving experience."[1] Roger Greenspun of The New York Times wrote, "I suspect that the real difference between the successful play and the failed movie lies in Ossie Davis's direction, which ranges from pedestrian to downright helpless."[2] Variety quoted their own review, which called it "the best study of Negro family life since Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun".[3]

References

  1. Ebert, Roger (1973-02-06). "Black Girl". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
  2. Greenspun, Roger (1972-11-10). "Black Girl (1972)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
  3. "Lee Savin". Variety. 1995-01-29. Retrieved 2015-02-10.

External links