Dorthy Dandridge a very interesting actress. Her life was too short as for Marilyn Monroe. I recall that at an early age she had a sister that she performed with at a young age I'm not sure of the named used for their act but later the act name change to the Dandridge Sisters. They were under the close eye of their mother. She married one of the Nicholas Brothers and had a daughter that had some sort of illness. Her husband left her and her accountants mismanged her finances leaving her broke and force to put her child in an institution. She was having a difficult time but a gentleman named Mills helped her restore her career. I'm not sure if it was one of the Mills Brothers. Nevertheless she was to leave one morning to start a show somewhere I think New York. She had a gentleman visit her that night who was the last to see her alive and was found dead the next morning. It was said she too died from an overdose. This would probably would be a topic that Shelia, Carla and other African Americans discussed at that time. Though both situations with Ms. Monroe and Ms. Dandridge sparked a lot of womens attention,the way they died and their controversal relationships with powerful men. In relationship to Mad Men you were either a Marilyn or a Dorothy.

nice post, there, pink....here's a little sample of Dorothy...flat out gorgeous and singing away....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38suMU0rF8E

hope the link works, you know how YouTube can be....

Vis-a-vis GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT and EXODUS:

I've rented both films, and given both a fair shake.

With all due respect, I must confess that the pace of these films' plot development is very much of their era.... ie., glacially slow by today's standards. GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT waits until the movie's midpoint just to assert the crux of the film's conflict.

I fear I have an MTV attention-span.

I've had to turn off both films midway through, because I kept falling asleep.

Please forgive me! I need the Cliff's Notes per each film.

ras

A little off topic, but I find it interesting that Otto Preminger and I share the same birth date, but not the year! I also think it interesting that Preminger directed both EXODUS and CARMEN JONES (which starred Dorothy Dandridge.) Two entirely different stories. Dandridge was perfect in the role of Carmen. If you haven't seen it, give it a look. It's an update of the opera Carmen with an all black cast.

Rasputin, I'm sorry, but I don't think there are Cliff Notes for these films. The way GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT unfolds reflects the real world and how things develop at their own pace. They were a landmark book and movie when they came out and they still have an impact today. I've watched GA several times and each time I see it I find little nuances that I hadn't noticed before.

I liked the Celeste Holm character - she had spunk and was not pretentious! She's much like Joan in Mad Men. Both characters, IMHO, say what they think and have a deeper understanding of the people around them then they are given credit for.

The Dorothy McGuire character reminded me of Betty in MM - the "perfect" WASP wife who thinks she's created her own perfect little world and will live happily ever after ... until reality shows up and knocks her for a loop.

The more obvious plot of both EXODUS and GA, is the struggle against anti-semitisim. The real story is how the characters deal with it. Neither movie is full of action scenes. But they do make you think about a serious subject and maybe how you, yourself react to controversial subjects.

I think it would be too much of a stretch to compare Phil Green (GA) pretending to be Jewish to Dick Whitman pretending to be Don Draper. In Phil's case it was just temporary. But Dick BECAME Don Draper and means it to last forever. (Or until season three or four...)

Thanks Greytone for continuing this thread!

Thanx to everyone who tried watching this month's movies and have made comments on the topics....
rasputin...You probably would have had no attention span issues if you had chosen to watch Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones instead of this month's other two movies. Although it was based on an opera (Bizet's), the stars or the action might have held your attention ...or maybe just watching Dorothy and Pearl Bailey or Harry Belafonte would have kept you awake. :)
rozsie...
Kudos to your comments tying Mad Men to both movies. Really, really good comments...and right on the mark! Thanks for your input. Matt Weiner seems to be thinking all the time about every little detail. Not even the slightest detail is left to chance. I can't wait 'til July!
Sorry you've been forced to share your birthday with Otto Preminger! ;) I think he was one of Hollywood's not-so-nice cads. He had an affair with Dorothy that began during the filming of Carmen Jones and it progressed to the point where he was planning to leave his wife and they were making wedding plans. (He was not a handsome man and she was soo beautiful that their romance had to be one based on something other than his looks! money? power?) It was soon after the film wrapped that she found out she was pregnant. He promptly left her...dropped her like a hot potato. The affair ended in a broken heart and her pregnancy ended in an abortion, and thus began a spiral of bad men choices like those made by many rich, independent starlets of that time...black, white or otherwise. To this day, her death--naked and face down alone in her home--is still talked about as a sinister event. Her friends say it could not have been suicide when (like Marilyn) she had just made several lucrative business deals that would have set her on the road to financial stability. She had to file bankruptcy following a recent divorce from her second husband who drained her dry. When he left her, he insisted on taking half of everything....even resorting to tearing sheets and pillowcases in half to take his share. (Sadly...my ex did the same thing...) How do we make such blind choices?????

Did anyone see the recent movie (2003) of her life starring Halle Berry as Dorothy? She did a remarkable job and is well worth seeing!

It is remarkable how Mr. Weiner is very specific with details. That's why I call it "The Mad Man Machine" You have to be on point because there are so many watching who lived during this time period. I saw the movie starring Halle Berry as Ms. Dorothy. It is incredible how much they look alike, as if they were sisters. It was like watching Dorothy all over again. When that relationship with Otto Perminger began it was just a matter of time
before it would all go wrong. Wrong time, wrong man, wrong woman.Poor thing with her big highs and big lows. Just the kind of things women seem to fall for. The "Married Man Bubble" it always burst just as it begins to sail through the air. Joan fell for it, but I think Bert helped her realize she needed to move on from Roger. Beyonce Knowles also starred in a version of Carmen portraying Dandridge. Excellent Thread Greytone!

I watched both movies. I remember when Exodus premiered as a movie. We were anticipating it highly because we had read the book - just about everyone read in those days and book discussions were conducted everywhere, on busses, at lunch, while walking to church, school or work. I was in school at the time and most of us had read the book Exodus and we all wanted to see Sal Mineo! The Diary of Anne Frank was required reading in school at that time, so as young people, most of us were saddened and outraged at the antisemitism of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. We spent quite some time pondering/discussing what Anne what would have done with her life if she had lived.

Anyway, we were primed for the movie. Everyone loved it, that I knew of, anyway. The theme music was beautiful. I went out and bought the sheet music the next day - I played piano in those days. In viewing the movie recently, I see how uneven the acting was and that historically it was inaccurate on some points. But, I still felt it was stirring drama that encourages the viewer to consider different viewpoints. I also learned a short while ago that Paul Newman's character mirrored his own situation. Newman was half Jewish and it was a part of himself that he had not dealt with much until he read Leon Uris' book and worked on the movie. I think watching the movie this time and having that information about Newman's personal history made it more intriguing to me.

Gentleman's Agreement is a work of art. It's deceptively simple on the surface, but the acting is excellent throughout the entire cast, including the characters we don't particularly like, and the script offered a well-developed story. I loved the scene between the woman who played Gregory Peck's mother and him, with her encouraging him. Also, the scene with Peck, McGuire and Peck's son when the little boy is upset after his encounter with antisemitism, was very gripping.

I suppose by today's standards, with all the naked gyrating bodies, fires and explosions that are mandatory, these 2 gems are considered duds. Too bad.

Two thumbs up!

I love Dorothy Dandridge, but I didn't have time to review anything with her. Thanks for all of you for sharing - this thread is excellent.