Minstrel Man (1944)
Unusually elaborate for a PRC film, Minstrel Man is a lively musical drama built around the talents of veteran vaudevillian Benny Fields. The star is cast as Dixie Boy Johnson, who rises from the ranks of minstrel shows to become a top Broadway attraction. On the opening night of his greatest stage triumph, Dixie Boy's wife dies in childbirth. Profoundly shaken, he walks out of the show, leaving the baby to be raised by his showbiz pals Mae and Lasses White (Gladys George, Roscoe Karns). The kid grows up to be an attractive young woman named Caroline (Judy Clark), who follows in her dad's footsteps by billing herself as-that's right-Dixie Girl Johnson. This leads to a tearful reunion between Caroline and the father she'd long assumed to be dead. If Minstrel Man seems at times to be a dress rehearsal for Columbia's The Jolson Story (1946), it shouldn't surprising: the PRC film was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, who went on to helm Jolson Story's musical highlights.
Directors: Joseph H. Lewis, Edgar G. Ulmer.
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Benny Fields as Dixie Boy Johnson |
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Gladys George as Mae White |
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Alan Dinehart as Lew Dunn |
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Roscoe Karns as Lasses White |
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Jerome Cowan as Bill Evans |
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Judy Clark as Caroline Jr.-16 years old |
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Molly Lamont as Caroline Johnson |
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John Raitt as Singer |
| Directing | Joseph H. Lewis | Director |
| Writing | Raymond L. Schrock | Story |
| Writing | Pierre Gendron | Writer |
| Writing | Martin Mooney | Story |
| Writing | Irwin Franklyn | Writer |
| Sound | Harry Revel | Songs |
| Sound | Ferde Grofé Sr. | Original Music Composer |
| Sound | Ferde Grofé Sr. | Music Arranger |
| Sound | Leo Erdody | Music Director |
| Sound | Leo Erdody | Original Music Composer |
| Sound | Paul Francis Webster | Songs |
| Directing | Edgar G. Ulmer | Director |
| Art | Edgar G. Ulmer | Production Design |
| Directing | Edgar G. Ulmer | Second Unit Director |
