Themes: Interracial/Cross-Cultural Romance, Opposites Attract, Class Differences
Main Cast: Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands, Pearl Bailey, Marki Bey, Louis Gossett, Jr.
Release Year: 1970
Country: US
Run Time: 113 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Wealthy, insensitive young Beau Bridges buys an inner-city tenement, planning to evict the present occupants and construct a luxury home for himself. But once he ventures into the tenement, he grows quite fond of the low-income ethnic types who dwell within. He even kicks over the traces of his WASP upbringing by romancing black tenants Diana Sands and Marki Bey. Though essentially a comedy, The Landlord offers several painful truths about ghetto existence. Essentially, Beau Bridges acts as the audience's "eyes:" we learn as he learns, we grow as he grows. The Landlord represents the first directorial effort of Oscar-winning film editor Hal Ashby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Oscar-winning editor Hal Ashby cut his teeth as a director with this counter-culture tale of a spoiled slumlord and the tenants who transform him. Beau Bridges turns in one of his most buoyant, affable performances as the conceited Elgar, whose resolve to remodel his building into luxury living is broken first by a romance, then by a deeper understanding of the people he houses. The project was originally given to Ashby by director Norman Jewison, with whom he had worked on In the Heat of the Night; the two disagreed on The Landlord's tone and eventually parted ways. Instead of merely capitalizing on the material's late 1960s, anti-authoritarian tone, Ashby humanizes all those involved and isn't afraid to explore the messier implications of his characters' behavior. Many hallmarks of later, more popular Ashby films are in evidence here: the penchant for dark satire; the left-wing socio-political consciousness; and the intuitive, "European" style of cutting. The bright, hazy cinematography was one of the earlier efforts by Gordon Willis, and Lee Grant received an Oscar nomination for her work as Elgar's uptight benefactor mom. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Douglas Grant - Walter Gee; Mel Stewart - Prof. Duboise; Walter Brooke - Mr. Enders; Susan Anspach - Susan Enders; Gretchen Walther - Doris; Marlene Clark - Marlene; Oliver Clark - Mr. Farcus; Hector Elizondo - Hector; Stanley Greene - Heywood; Gloria Hendry - Gloria; Robert Klein - Peter; Joe Madden - Grandfather; John McCurry - Big John; Louise Stubbs - Louise; Trish VanDevere - Sally; Lionel Wilson; Grover Dale - Oscar; Michael Ferguson - Gene; Carl Lee - Carl; Will MacKenzie - William Jr.; Florynce Kennedy - Enid; Larry Cook; Van Kirksey - Van; Tony Major
Credit
Domingo Rodriguez - Costume Designer, Terence Nelson - First Assistant Director, Hal Ashby - Director, Edward Warschilka - Editor, William A. Sawyer - Editor, Mike Maggi - Makeup, Michael Chapman - Camera Operator, Robert F. Boyle - Production Designer, Gordon Willis - Cinematographer, Norman Jewison - Producer, Patrick Palmer - Producer, John Godfrey - Set Designer, Clem Portman - Sound/Sound Designer, Bill Gunn - Screenwriter, Kristin Hunter - Book Author
Elgar Enders (Beau Bridges), a man who lives off his parent's wealth, buys himself an inner-city tenement, planning to evict all the occupants and construct a luxury home for himself. However, once he ventures into the tenement, he gradually grows fond of the low-income black residents who dwell there. Enders decides to remain as the landlord, and help fix the apartment building. He rebels against his WASP upbringing, and to his parents' dismay, he romances two black women, Lanie and Fanny, (Marki Bey and Diana Sands, respectively).
Elgar falls for Lanie, a dancer at a local black club. Lanie is a beautiful black woman who has a mother of Irish decent, and a father of African descent, thus she has light skin and features, and has experienced colorism because of it. Their relationship is strained, as Elgar has an affair with one of his tenants, Fanny, and gets her pregnant. Consequently, her boyfriend Copee, a black activist with an identity crisis, is enraged when he finds out about the pregnancy, and tries to kill Elgar with an axe. The Enders family is shaken and stirred by their son's decisions and behavior, but reluctantly accepts him. Ultimately, Fanny disowns the illegitimate, Caucasian looking child and gives him to Elgar. The story ends with Elgar taking custody of his love child, mending his relationship with his girlfriend Lanie, and moving in with her.
The film garnered mostly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has received a 100% overall approval from critics.[1] Upon its release, New York Times film critic Howard Thompson, called the film, "a wondrously wise, sad and hilarious comedy."[2] On September 19, 2007 journalist Mike Hale discussed the film in a New York Time's article called Before Gentrification Was Cool, It Was a Movie. Hale praised the film for tackling the racial tension that arose in the aftermath of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death and wrote in surprise how the film, "...would disappear after its 1970 release — rarely shown and just as rarely discussed."[3]
