Ragtime (1981)

A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family set among the racial tensions, infidelity, violence, and other nostalgic events in early 1900s New York City.

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

E.L. Doctorow (based on the novel by), Michael Weller (screenplay)

Stars:

James Cagney, Elizabeth McGovern, Howard E. Rollins Jr.

Nominated for 8 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Cagney	...	New York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo
Brad Dourif	...	Younger Brother
Moses Gunn	...	Booker T. Washington
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Evelyn Nesbit
Kenneth McMillan	...	Willie Conklin
Pat O'Brien	...	Delphin
Donald O'Connor	...	Evelyn's Dance Instructor
James Olson	...	Father
Mandy Patinkin	...	Tateh
Howard E. Rollins Jr.	...	Coalhouse Walker Jr.
Mary Steenburgen	...	Mother
Debbie Allen	...	Sarah
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Houdini (as Jeff Demunn)
Robert Joy	...	Henry Thaw
Norman Mailer	...	Stanford White

Storyline

The story runs in the 1910's New York. Coalhouse Walker Jr. is a black piano player. He has won fame and fortune playing with a jazz band. Some white men do not like this situation, and one day they assault him and spoil his brand new car. Walker tries by all means to get justice, without an answer...

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Plot Keywords:

racial injustice | racial slur | new york city | piano | car | 

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Taglines:

The passion, the violence, the birth of America's Gilded Age.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bir Zamanlar

Filming Locations:

81 West Main Street, Mt. Kisco, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Sunley Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mary Steenburgen was pregnant during filming, but her turn-of-the-century clothes concealed it.

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Goofs

During the 11th Street scene when Mandy Patinkin learns of his wife's infidelity, the same mustachioed actor with a bowler hat, vest, and cigar walks past him twice in a period of a couple of seconds.

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Quotes

Black Lawyer: [Coalhouse tries to sue for his car being damaged] Well, what's your financial situation like?
Coalhouse Walker Jr.: [sighs] I have a little laid by. I planned to use it on my wedding, but I guess it'll have to wait.
Black Lawyer: Hmm. Mr. Walker, let me give you some advice. You spend the money on your wedding. Build yourself a home and a family where you can find some comfort. And just forget that some damn white man caused you offense.
Coalhouse Walker Jr.: And that's your advice?
Black Lawyer: That's my advice, and I pray you take it to heart.
Coalhouse Walker Jr.: Just forget it? Is ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Der Herzensbrecher (1983)

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Soundtracks

ONE MORE HOUR
(1981)
Words & Music by Randy Newman
Sung by Jennifer Warnes

User Reviews

A Flawed Beauty Is Nonetheless A Beauty

I finished reading Doctorow's novel just before it was announced that production had started on the movie. I remember thinking, "How the hell do you make a movie of a book where the central characters are named 'Mother,' 'Father,' and 'Mother's Younger Brother?'"

Milos Forman showed how: In a word, beautifully.

And "Ragtime" is beautiful, stunning in its recreation of early 1900s New York, utilizing a script which somehow ties together the central events and their effects on its main characters as well as one of the finest, most haunting soundtracks (Randy Newman, who went so far as to compose several original 'ragtime' numbers) in the past twenty years, topped off with a first-rate cast.

James Cagney was the big news, of course, and deservedly so: Emerging from twenty years of retirement, he showed that he'd not only not lost anything but had added to his expertise. Add Mary Steenburgen, Mandy Patinkin, James Olsen, Howard Rollins, Keith McMillan and even Elizabeth McGovern (each of them perfectly cast), to name but a few, and you see where Forman wasn't missing a bet.

"Ragtime" suffers, ultimately, due to lapses in editing -- the most grievous lapse the cutting of a short scene which explains Commissioner Waldo's motivation behind the action he ultimately takes with Coalhouse Walker. Some cuts are always necessarily (especially in a movie as sprawling as this), yet that cut -- and several others -- flaw this beauty of a film.

But not fatally. Not at all. More than twenty years later, "Ragtime" is still gorgeous.