Main Cast: Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, Gloria Foster, Martin Priest
Release Year: 1964
Country: US
Run Time: 92 minutes
Plot
A landmark independent film, Nothing but a Man is the first dramatic story featuring a largely black cast created for an integrated audience (the work of black filmmakers such as Oscar Micheaux was intended for audiences who patronized black-only theaters). White filmmakers Michael Roemer and Robert M. Young traveled through the South in 1962 in search of ideas for a fiction feature set during the growing turbulence of the civil rights era. Their story, based in Alabama but shot in southern New Jersey, is only tangentially related to the movement toward equality. Duff, an itinerant black railroad laborer (Ivan Dixon), romances and marries Josie, a small-town preacher's daughter (Abbey Lincoln). Duff insists on being treated with respect, but his stance is personal rather than political. After he settles down in the town with Josie, he comes up against white bosses who want to make sure he knows his place and black men such as Josie's father who don't want to rock the boat for fear of losing what little advantage they have. Duff's relationship with his own father (Julius Harris), a broken-down drunk living in Birmingham, teaches him valuable lessons about dignity and self-worth. The film was lauded at both the New York and Venice festivals but received limited release in theaters specializing in foreign and independent film. However, word of mouth in the black community (where Nothing but a Man was for years a staple on the 16 mm rental market, in the days before VCRs) and continued attention by film historians have ensured the status of Nothing but a Man as a pioneering and enduring work. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
Review
The strength of Nothing but a Man lies in its ability to tell a story that is both specific and universal. Although director Michael Roemer and cinematographer Robert M. Young, who shared credit for the screenplay, set out to make a film about black life in the Deep South during the early 1960s civil rights movement, they wisely decided to concentrate on a personal story. Duff Anderson is a black man whose need for dignity and respect transcends any time or setting. The reactions of white characters (and even some of the blacks) to Duff's simple demands are shaded by a realization that tides of change are slowly sweeping through even the most deeply racist regions of the South. On the other hand, the film's story of relationships between fathers and their sons and daughters is a familiar one. Duff feeds off the disappointments of his father, while Josie has to deal with the compromises that her father has made to maintain his status within the white power structure. This aspect of the story reflects the fact that Roemer, a Jew born in Germany, used an autobiographical script he had already written about his relationship with his own father as the basis for the screenplay of Nothing but a Man. The film's landmark status is well-deserved; not only did it break new ground in subject matter, but it did so in dramatically persuasive fashion. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
Leonard Parker - Frankie; Yaphet Kotto - Jocko; Helen Lounck - Effie Simms; Milton Williams - Pop; Mel Stewart - Riddick; Helene Anindell - Doris; Jay Brooks - Undertaker; Peter Carew - Store Keeper; Stanley Green - Rev. Dawson; Moses Gunn - Mill Hands; Julius Harris - Will Anderson; Gertrude Jeanette - Mrs. Dawson; William Jordan - Teenager; Tom Ligon - Teenager; Charles MacRae - Joe; Alfred Puryear - Barney; Gil Rogers - Mill Foreman; Esther Rolle - Church Woman; Walter Wilson - Car Owner; Richard Ward - Mill Hands; William Phillips - Car Passenger; Jim Wright - Bartender; Richard Weber - Bud Ellis; Ed Rowan - Willie; Robert Berger - Desk Clerk; Dorothy Hall - Soloist
Credit
Nancy Ruffing - Costume Designer, Michael Roemer - Director, Luke Bennett - Editor, Lamont Dozier - Songwriter, Brian Holland - Songwriter, Eddie Holland - Songwriter, William Rhodes - Production Designer, Robert M. Young - Cinematographer, Michael Roemer - Producer, Robert Young - Producer, Robert M. Young - Producer, Robert Rubin - Producer, Robert Rubin - Sound/Sound Designer, Michael Roemer - Screenwriter, Robert M. Young - Screenwriter, Martha & the Vandellas - Featured Music, The Marvelettes - Featured Music, The Miracles - Featured Music, Mary Wells - Featured Music, Stevie Wonder - Featured Music
The movie was written by Michael Roemer and Robert M. Young and directed by Roemer. The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Nothing But a Man was reputedly the favorite film of Malcolm X.
The Original soundtrack was released by Motown Records (catalog no. M630) in 1964, and reissued on CD and cassette in 1996 (catalog no. 530647).
