BY TIM MCGLYNN
Kino
Lorber has released a Blu-ray edition of the 1966 drama A Man Called Adam,
starring Sammy Davis Jr. Directed by Leo
Penn, this look into the world of jazz music and race relations in America
during the turbulent ‘60s features an all-star cast including Louis Armstrong,
Cicely Tyson, Ossie Davis, Mel Torme, Peter Lawford and Frank Sinatra, Jr.
Adam
Johnson is a legendary jazz trumpeter in the mold of Miles Davis. He’s confident, moody and somewhat distant
from his fans and fellow musicians. He
doesn’t play by the rules and doesn’t take the advice offered to him by his
best friend Nelson Davis. When we first
meet Adam, he’s walked off the stage at a Cincinnati club after getting razzed
by a drunken patron for not playing more upbeat music.
Adam
Johnson is an alcoholic who doesn’t try to keep his addiction a secret. He often performs while intoxicated and
displays an attitude of arrogance towards those who support him. His drinking is linked to an auto accident
ten years earlier that killed his wife and daughter as well as blinded his
pianist. He often becomes morose when
his colleagues try to convince him the car crash was not his fault.
Adam
Johnson is a lonely man who won’t allow anyone to get close. When he returns to his apartment after the
incident in Cincy, he finds that Nelson has loaned out his apartment to
established jazz icon William “Sweet Daddy†Ferguson. Adam angrily throws Ferguson out into the
hallway, not realizing who the old gentleman is. After things cool down, Adam is introduced to
Ferguson’s beautiful granddaughter Claudia, who is an ardent follower of Martin
Luther King, Jr. and adheres strongly to his teachings of non-violent
protests. Adam will test her beliefs as
he and Claudia enter into a passionate and stormy relationship.
Due
to his bad temper on stage, Adam is forced to take a job fronting a tour
through the American South set up by his agent Manny. This happens after Adam capitulates to Manny
in a humiliating scene at a restaurant. Realizing he has few alternatives, Adam cooperates in an attempt to
impress Claudia. For most of the concert
dates Adam plays by the rules and is supportive of his young trumpet protégé
Vincent. In one poignant scene, the two
musicians realize that all of the Black audience members at a performance have
been relegated to the balcony. They
point their trumpets up to these appreciative fans, which raises the ire of
several whites on the main floor. After
the concert Vincent, who is also white, is savagely beaten by a group of racist
thugs.
The
remainder of the film documents Adam’s decline, as he’s unable reconcile his
feelings toward his music and his love for Claudia. The civil rights movement was coming to a
boiling point at this time in America and Adam has witnessed first hand some of
the ugliness running rampant in the South. At this point many viewers may be reminded of 2018’s Best Picture winner
Green Book, wherein a New Jersey wiseguy escorts a Black concert pianist
through the South on a concert tour during the late 60s. Adam experiences some of the same emotions in
that he isn’t able to satisfy the expectations placed upon by him by both
whites and Blacks.
Director
Leo Penn, father of actor Sean, cast many well-known jazz greats for the sake
of authenticity. While Louis Armstrong
plays a fictional character, the rest of the players are the real deal. The music score was arranged by saxophonist/bandleader
Benny Carter. His great song, All That
Jazz, is heard over the titles as well as a party scene where Mel Torme
provides a smooth as silk rendition. For
younger viewers, Mel Torme may be the singer Harry Anderson’s character
worshipped on the television classic Night Court. Here he was at his absolute peak as he works
the room with his vocal prowess. Other
greats include Vincent Favata, Kai Winding, Roy Glenn, George Rhodes and Lester
Williams. Nate Adderly covered the solos
for Sammy Davis, Jr. While not
musicians, keen-eyed viewers may be able to spot George Kirby and a very young
Morgan Freeman as party guests during the All That Jazz sequence.
The
script by Les Pine and Tina Rome is tight and doesn’t waste a scene or
character in this story. As the film
was made in 1966, profanity is not heard and to be honest, this film doesn’t need
it. The actors convey their emotions
with body language and facial expressions that communicate what we need to
know. It may be because most of director
Penn’s experience was in television that we see a lot of close-ups that fill
the screen with the faces of his actors. This film had to be striking on the big screen.
The
mono sound mix is clear and features a bit of bass that is readily apparent
during the music numbers. This Blu-ray
was sourced from a print free of any scratches and presents the black and white
images in stark contrast. The nightclub
scenes are starkly lit and the ever-present cigarette smoke is easily seen.
A
very enthusiastic commentary track is provided by film critic/historian Sergio
Mims who displays his knowledge of both film and jazz. While A Man Called Adam is set during the 1960s
era of cool jazz, one does not have to be a fan to enjoy this film. Just know that the character of Adam Johnson
is one of the best in the business.
As
a kid growing up in the ‘60s in the Chicago area, I was actually pretty well-versed
in this style of music. My father was a
musician and a real jazz aficionado who played in area clubs and juke
joints. He listened to his records all
the time at home and I learned the players and the styles by osmosis, if
nothing else. While not my favorite kind
of music, I certainly developed an appreciation for the technique and
improvisational skills these musicians possessed. Names like Oscar Peterson, Coleman Hawkins
and Wes Montgomery were as well known as the Beatles in our house. It would be a very rare event that we as a
family would make the journey to Chicago’s Loop to catch a movie at the
first-run theaters on State or Randolph Streets. I remember two: Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins at the State-Lake
and A Man Called Adam at the Roosevelt.
A
theme covered in this film is the fact that most of these great musicians were Black,
yet the money behind them came from white agents and club owners. This story was an early attempt to place the Black
performers front and center. It’s
interesting that the advertisements for the movie still list the white actors
first.
Kino
Lorber’s edition of this great film is presented in the original aspect ratio
of 1.66:1 and includes English subtitles. The original trailer is also included.
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