The Landlord (1970)

Director:

Hal Ashby

Writers:

Kristin Hunter (novel)
Bill Gunn (writer)

Release Date:

20 May 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Watch the landlord get his.

Plot:

At the age of twenty-nine, Elgar Enders "runs away" from home. This running away consists of buying...

Plot Keywords:

Tenant | Mulatto | Brooklyn | Love | Mental Breakdown

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 20

10:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Beau Bridges	...	Elgar Winthrop Julius Enders
Lee Grant	...	Joyce Enders
Diana Sands	...	Francine MarieJohnson
Pearl Bailey	...	Marge, Tenant
Walter Brooke	...	William Enders Sr.
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Copee Johnson (as Lou Gossett)
Marki Bey	...	Lanie
Mel Stewart	...	Professor Duboise (as Melvin Stewart)
Susan Anspach	...	Susan Enders
Robert Klein	...	Peter Coots (as Bob Klein)
Will Mackenzie	...	William Enders Jr.
Gretchen Walther	...	Mrs. Doris Enders
Douglas Grant	...	Walter Gee Copee
Stanley Greene	...	Heywood the Butler
Oliver Clark	...	Mr. Farcus

Runtime:

112 min | 110 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG (1972) | Sweden:11 | USA:R (original rating) | USA:TV-MA (TV rating)

Company:

Cartier Productions

Movie Connections:

References The Littlest Rebel (1935)

Soundtrack:

God Bless The Children

Beau Bridges in a great , rare seen film

Made in 1970, the Landlord with Beau Bridges is one of the

best dramatic and comedic Seventies movies I have seen.

I saw on it on Turner Classic Movies and after a couple of

minutes of watching it, I knew it was good.

Beau Bridges is the son of a wealthy but racist white mom, who falls in love with a black woman named Fanny and who ends up actually having a baby with her!!!

Elgar's mother, Mrs. Enders is the owner of a building in

which several black people live in. Mrs. Enders cares nothing about the people except that they pay her on time with rent.

Elgar, on the other hand, is a sensitive and open minded

guy who gets along with everyone in the building with the

exception of a black racist professor named Professor Duboise (Melvin Stewart). Every encounter these two have, results in either Duboise mocking the white society, or

Duboise, try to show Elgar how superior black people are

to white people.

When it was it released it probably got alot of controversy

because interracial romances was something that just wasn't shown on screen. Making things more complicated is

the fact, that black men and women still didn't have the rights that white people in the time.

It's a great example of great cinema directing, in one scene, Elgar Enders (Beau) has just made love to

Fanny, then the girls leans over and tells him that she

loves her boyfriend Copee (played by Louis Gosset Jr in

one of his first movie appearences). The scene then cutaways to Elgar running to talk to another girl for advice

while Fanny is telling Elgar this.

Copee is a black, jealous and violent boyfriend of Fanny.

When he learns that Fanny is pregnant and he is not the father, he goes berserk, beating Fanny into telling him who the father is.

Once Copee, learns who it is, he grabs an axe and goes

after Elgar!!!!

I loved the film because it breaks several stereotypes:

*It shows that color doesn't matter when we are talking about love, it's all about the feelings a man and woman feel for each other that is important.

*Elgar represents a group of conscious men who don't see Blacks and other minorities as inferior. In fact, throughout the film, Elgar is actually happier with his

black friends than with his own mother.

*There are several messages about the dysfunctional family.

Elgar's mother (Lee Grant) is a rich white woman who has everything, yet she is a cold, miserable woman.

It was interesting to see Louis Gossett Jr. (Copee) as a crazy , jealous boyfriend . He usually plays good guy roles, but in this role, he nails his part by playing a guy who

has completely lost it.

The movie was directed by Hal Ashby, a man who has directed

several important cult films of our time including:

*Being There (1979 film with Peter Sellers ) *Shampoo (Great 1975 film with Warren Beatty and Julie Christie)

* Coming Home (A good 1978 film with Jane Fonda)

This is a very good movie, hard to find on video, but I highly recommend it.