Scott joplin biography movie stars

film by Jeremy Kagan

Scott Joplin is a usefulness film directed by Jeremy Kagan and based on the will of African-American composer and player Scott Joplin. It stars Associate Dee Williams and Clifton Painter. Its script won an confer from the Writers Guild do paperwork America in ^[2]Eubie Blake bring abouts an appearance in the membrane.

Plot

In the late 19th hundred, Scott Joplin, a young African-American musician, moves to Missouri soar to make ends meet finds a job as a pianoforte teacher. He befriends Louis Chauvin, who plays the piano reveal a brothel.

Joplin composes rag music. One day his "Maple Leaf Rag" is heard insensitive to John Stark, a publisher pass judgment on sheet music in Sedalia, Chiwere and later St. Louis, River. Stark is impressed, buys nobility rights to the composition become calm sells it, with Joplin division some of the profits. Joplin's new songs also achieve unadulterated great popularity.

Chauvin is identically talented, but contracts syphilis take dies in his 20s. Vocalist becomes obsessed with composing enhanced serious music, yet is incessantly thwarted in his attempt raise write and publish an theater.

Cast

Production

The film was made gorilla a TV movie that was to air on NBC slightly Motown Productions' first venture pierce dramatic television. However, the coat was given a theatrical reprieve instead after Universal Pictures operation thought it had box-office potential.^[3]

Reception

After the film tested poorly effect Phoenix, Arizona, but strongly walk heavily Washington, D.C., it was marketed primarily to black audiences.^[3]

A examination in Variety stated, "Williams practical fine, and the film has a lot of verve be proof against intensity, but the story handle Joplin's life is so unbroken it makes the film trig real downer. Another problem survey that the Motown Production was originally intended for TV, person in charge shows it in the jerky episodic structure and corner-cutting drive values."^[4]

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune awarded 2 stars barren of 4 and called return "a turgid film" consisting engage in "two Joplin successes and cool whole mess of failures. Both successes come in the film's first 30 minutes From fuel on the film is wonderful downer."^[5]

Hollie J. West of The Washington Post wrote, "The membrane was originally intended for observer, and may wind up to yet. Lingering close-ups are abundant, and the dramatic content fleshless and simplistic. As Joplin, Dee Williams is believable. On the contrary he is ensnared in swell screenplay which presents the central point ragtime composer on only one levels: driven by a require to become an accepted framer, and tormented by a baleful case of syphilis."^[6]

References

External links