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Paris Blues (1961)

6.6
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Ratings: 6.6/10 from 1,149 users  
Reviews: 30 user | 11 critic

Ram Bowen and Eddie Cook are two expatriate jazz musicians living in Paris where, unlike America at the time, Jazz musicians are celebrated and racism is a non-issue. When they meet and ... See full summary »

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(screenplay), (screenplay), 3 more credits »
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Title: Paris Blues (1961)

Paris Blues (1961) on IMDb 6.6/10

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Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview:
...
Ram Bowen
...
Lillian Corning
...
Eddie Cook
...
Wild Man Moore
...
Connie Lampson
Barbara Laage ...
Marie Séoul
André Luguet ...
René Bernard
...
Nicole
Moustache ...
Mustachio
Aaron Bridgers ...
Pianist
Guy Pedersen ...
Bass Player
...
Michel 'Gypsy' Devigne
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Storyline

Ram Bowen and Eddie Cook are two expatriate jazz musicians living in Paris where, unlike America at the time, Jazz musicians are celebrated and racism is a non-issue. When they meet and fall in love with two young American girls, Lillian and Connie, who are vacationing in France, Ram and Eddie must decide whether they should move back to America with them, or stay in Paris for the freedom it allows them. Ram, who wants to be a serious composer, finds Paris more exciting than America and is reluctant to give up his music for a relationship, and Eddie wants to stay for the city's more tolerant racial atmosphere. Written by alfiehitchie

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

musician | jazz | expatriate | composer | love | See more »

Taglines:

A Love So Spectacular, So Personally Exciting, You Feel It Happening To You!

Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
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Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

27 September 1961 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Agapithikame sto Parisi  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Westrex Recording System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Newman was coached in playing the trombone by Billy Byers while the playing for Newman on the soundtrack was done by Murray McEachern. Sidney Poitier's tenor sax playing was done by Paul Gonsalves. The soundtrack was recorded May 1-3, 1961 at Reeves Sound Studios in New York City. See more »

Goofs

When Louis Armstrong and his band come into the club, the patrons are clapping to the wrong beat. The clapping on the pre-recorded soundtrack is on the second and fourth beats, while the patrons are seen clapping on the first and third beats. See more »

Quotes

Ram Bowen: You just do anything I say, don't you?
Lillian Corning: Well, I want to stay.
Ram Bowen: You're a nut. Well, I ain't gettin' involved with no nut!
See more »

Connections

Referenced in American Masters: Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light (2000) See more »

Soundtracks

"Take The 'A' Train"
(uncredited)
Music by Billy Strayhorn
See more »

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User Reviews

 
The film's great asset was the fascinating background music…
18 January 2009 | by (Mexico) – See all my reviews

The story is about two young jazzmen Newman and Poitier who live in Paris…Newman is after a serious musical career… Poitier enjoys the tolerant atmosphere and the freedom from U.S. racial tensions… They work at a Left Bank cub owned by Barbara Laage who is having a casual affair with Newman… Serge Raggiani a gypsy guitarist who is a narcotics addict, and Louis Armstrong a trumpeter, are among their friends… Newman and Poitier meet a couple of American tourists, Joanne Woodward and Diahann Carroll who are visiting Paris on a two-weeks vacations…

A romance develops between Poitier and Carroll… Woodward and Newman also find that a feeling is growing between them… Woodward wants him to return with her to the U. S., but Newman believes that marriage would interfere with his career, and decides to remain…

As in "The Hustler," Newman plays a man whose devotion to making his talent better than second-rate prevents love… But he was natural as the pool player, and convinced us—through his movements, dialog and expressions—of his feelings for the music…

Woodward is more aggressive than Newman… Moved by his music, she displays genuine emotion, but Newman is so defensive, egocentric and selfish that he becomes hostile, stubborn, unpleasant and offensive… Woodward is determined to make something more of it, but he remains uninfluenced—willing to show slight affection but incapable of being sincerely tender… In their final bedroom scene, the two superb1y perform a progression from spontaneous domestic affection, to growing alienation, to his indifferent rejection of her love…

Legend Louis Armstrong shines in one flamboyant jazz interlude…


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