Minstrel Man (1944 film)

A vaudevillian (Benny Fields) mourns his wife, then is reunited years later with his long-lost daughter.

Contents

• Plot summary
• Cast
• Soundtrack
• References

Minstrel Man is a 1944 American film directed by Joseph H. Lewis and produced by Producers Releasing Corporation. It was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Original Song and Best Original Score).

Production began in late 1943. Director Lewis was drafted during production; he was replaced briefly by Edgar G. Ulmer. The studio shut the film down until the scheduling conflicts of cast and crew could be resolved. Lewis was released from the army in March 1944, and completed the film.

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.