Soul Man (1986)

Director:

Steve Miner

Writer:

Carol Black (written by)

Release Date:

24 October 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A comedy with heart and soul.

Plot:

To achieve his dream of attending Harvard, a pampered teen poses as a young black man to receive a full scholarship.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Vacation | Hawaii | Scholarship | Psychiatrist

Cast

C. Thomas Howell	...	Mark Watson
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Sarah Walker
Arye Gross	...	Gordon Bloomfeld
James Earl Jones	...	Professor Banks
Melora Hardin	...	Whitney Dunbar
Leslie Nielsen	...	Mr. Dunbar
Ann Walker	...	Mrs. Dunbar
James Sikking	...	Bill Watson (as James B. Sikking)
Max Wright	...	Dr. Aronson
Jeff Altman	...	Ray McGrady
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Lisa Stimson
Maree Cheatham	...	Mrs. Dorothy Watson (as Marie Cheatham)
Wallace Langham	...	Barky Brewer (as Wally Ward)
Eric Schiff	...	Booey Fraser
Ron Reagan	...	Frank
Mark Neely	...	Brad Small
David Reynolds	...	Ernie (as Dave Reynolds)
Wolfe Perry	...	Leon
Jerry Pavlon	...	Bruce Wizansky
Laurel Green	...	Zendel
John David Bland	...	Seth
Jonathan 'Fudge' Leonard	...	George Walker
Felix Nelson	...	Mr. Walker
Betty Cole	...	Mrs. Walker
Bo Mancuso	...	Bundy Dunbar
Donald Hotton	...	Mr. Wicher
Linda Hoy	...	Mrs. Sherwood
Robert Burleigh	...	Bouchard Man
Jonathan Wise	...	Andrew
Amy Stock-Poynton	...	Girl in Bed (as Amy Stock)
Paul O'Brien	...	Officer Schkolnick
M.C. Gainey	...	Man in Cell
Freddie Dawson	...	D.J.
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Scott L. Treger	...	Harvard Basketball Player (uncredited)
John William Young	...	Banker (uncredited)

Directed by
Steve Miner

Writing credits
Carol Black		(written by)

Produced by
Carol Black	....	co-producer
Bernie Goldmann	....	associate producer (as Bernhard Goldmann)
Neal Marlens	....	co-producer
Donna Smith	....	line producer
Steve Tisch	....	producer
Stephen Vaughan	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Tom Scott

Cinematography by
Jeff Jur		(director of photography) (as Jeffrey Jur)

Film Editing by
David Finfer

Casting by
Melissa Skoff

Production Design by
Gregg Fonseca

Art Direction by
Don Diers
John Krenz Reinhart Jr.		(as John Reinhart)

Set Decoration by
Dorree Cooper

Costume Design by
Sharon Simonaire

Makeup Department
Enid Arias	....	hair stylist
Devora Fischa	....	makeup artist (as Devorah Fischa)
Melissa Tucker	....	makeup artist: Rae Dawn Chong

Production Management
Donna Smith	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stuart B. Hagen	....	second second assistant director (as Stuart Hagen)
Josh King	....	second assistant director
Betsy Magruder	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Kirk Corwin	....	property master
Carol Lee Davis	....	scenic artist (as Carole Davis)
Lisa Dean	....	set dresser
Elizabeth Flaherty	....	art department coordinator
Larry Fulton	....	set designer
Doug Lefler	....	storyboard artist
John Krenz Reinhart Jr.	....	construction coordinator (as John Reinhart)
Michael Reinhart	....	construction foreman
Gene Serdena	....	set dresser
Jonathan Smart	....	art patrol
Anne Tamrazi	....	assistant property master

Sound Department
Gary Blufer	....	sound effects recordist
David E. Campbell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gordon Ecker	....	supervising sound editor
John Leveque	....	sound editor
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gregg Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Gregg C. Rudloff)
Steve Sollars	....	boom operator
Becky Sullivan	....	adr editor
Don Summer	....	sound mixer (as Donald Summer)
Shawn Sykora	....	assistant sound editor
Marvin Walowitz	....	sound editor
Sherman Waze	....	sound editor
Claus Wedemann	....	consultant: Dolby (as Claus Wiedemann)
David A. Whittaker	....	sound editor (as David Whittaker)
Karen G. Wilson	....	sound editor (as Karen Wilson)
Richard E. Yawn	....	foley editor

Special Effects by
Roger George	....	special effects

Stunts
David Burton	....	stunt double
William H. Burton	....	stunt double
Steve M. Davison	....	stunt double (as Steve Davison)
Kimberly Epper	....	stunt double
Chris Howell	....	stunt coordinator
Pat Romano	....	stunt double (as Patrick Romano)

Camera and Electrical Department
Karen Bean	....	gaffer
Michael Becker	....	still photographer
Robert L. Blatman	....	first camera assistant (as Rob Blatman)
Clarence Brown	....	grip
Donne Daniels	....	key grip
Scott Davis	....	best boy grip: Boston
Barbara Delpuech	....	electrician (as Barbara Way)
Nick Gioiosa	....	general operator: Boston
Stephen Girouard	....	grip: Boston
Khan Griffith	....	dolly grip
Greg Hoffman	....	best boy grip
Kelly Elder McGowen	....	second camera assistant (as Kelly McGowen)
Paul McIlvaine	....	best boy electric
Rick Perez	....	electrician (as Richard Perez)
Brian A. Pitts	....	electrician: Boston (as Brian Pitts)
John Rappaport	....	grip
Maureen A. Ryan	....	grip: Boston (as Maureen Ryan)
Michael Winik	....	second camera assistant: Boston
William M. Weberg	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jill Alman	....	extra casting: Boston
Edie Cornell	....	casting assistant
Reatha Grey	....	extra casting: Grey Images
Melissa Skoff	....	casting
Glenn White	....	extra casting: Boston

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lesley B. Fenton	....	wardrobe assistant: Boston
Cecil Kramer	....	wardrobe assistant
Sara Markowitz	....	assistant costumer

Editorial Department
Jack Garsha	....	color consultant (as Jack Garshia)
Spencer Gross	....	assistant film editor
Neil Silver	....	apprentice film editor
Lois Trent-Bring	....	negative cutter

Music Department
David Anderle	....	music supervisor
Christopher Brooks	....	supervising music editor
Gary Lubow	....	scoring mixer

Transportation Department
Ronnie Baker	....	driver
William C. Bratton	....	driver: Boston (as William Bratton)
Jackie Crane	....	driver: Boston
Joseph Cuggino	....	driver: Boston
Jeffrey J. Dashnaw	....	driver (as Jeffrey Dashnaw)
Chester Ferreria	....	driver: Boston
Patrick Gordon	....	driver
Gregory Landis	....	driver
Hal Lary	....	transportation captain
John McBride	....	driver: Boston
Richard Murry	....	driver: Boston
Mike Padovich	....	transportation coordinator
Richard Robinson	....	driver: Boston
Martin Rossendahl	....	driver
James Russell	....	driver
Anthony Smith	....	driver
Michael Winn	....	driver: Boston
Timothy Winn	....	driver: Boston
William Winn	....	transportation captain: Boston (as Billy Winn)

Other crew
Rocky Alan	....	production assistant
Lori A. Balton	....	craft service: Boston (as Lori Balton)
Stan Cohen	....	caterer
Joseph Foley	....	location manager: Boston
Phyllis Gardner	....	publicity coordinator (as Phyllis Gardner-Hirsen)
Karen Golden	....	script supervisor
Charles Harrington	....	production assistant: Boston (as Charlie Harrington)
Debbie Hayn-Cass	....	assistant: Steve Miner (as Deborah Hayn)
Jim Kent	....	production assistant: Boston
Karen Anne Kershaw	....	production coordinator: Boston
Joseph A. Liuzzi	....	location manager (as Joe Liuzzi)
Dianne Mapp-Cheek	....	production accountant (as Dianne L. Cheek)
Kool Marder	....	production coordinator (as Kool Lusby)
Michael McGinn	....	production assistant
Leo Murphy	....	production assistant: Boston
Lisa Niedenthal	....	production secretary: Boston
Vanessa Norris	....	assistant: Steve Tisch
Timothy O'Connor	....	production assistant: Boston
Warren Oliver	....	craft service
Regi Plummer	....	extras coordinator
Deborah Ross	....	main title sequence designer
Nina Saxon	....	main title sequence designer
Michelle Solotar	....	production coordinator
Brian Spire	....	production assistant
Philip E. Thomas	....	production secretary
David Urik	....	catering: Boston
Chino 'Fats' Williams	....	set security

Production Companies

• Balcor Film Investors
• Steve Tisch Company, The

Distributors

• Succéfilm AB (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Aquarius TV (1993) (Greece) (TV)
• CNR Film & Video (198?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Look Filmes (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• New World Pictures
• Roadshow Home Video (1980s) (Australia) (VHS)
• Starmaker Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Transvídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• A&M Records  original soundtrack album available on
• Albert G. Ruben and Company  insurance provided by (as Albert G. Ruben & Co.)
• Arrangment, The  catering (as The Arrangement Caterers)
• Compact Sound Services  sound by
• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI)  opticals
• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI)  processing by
• Film Finances  completion services
• First Run Catering  catering: Boston
• Grey Images  extra casting
• IDC Payroll Services Inc.  payroll services provided by (as IDC Services)
• Panavision  lenses and Panaflex camera (as Panavision®)
• Segue Music  music editing
• Stellar Artists  extra casting: Boston

Also Known As:

"The Imposter" - USA (alternative title)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 (video rating) (uncut) (1987) | UK:PG (original rating) (cut) | West Germany:6 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M (cable rating) | Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 ([#28314]) | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Balcor Film Investors

Trivia:

In the scene where Mark first approaches Gordon as a black man, Gordon was originally supposed to believe Mark was going to mug him. An entire scene was filmed in which Mark played along with it and made Gordon sing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". It was taken out because it was thought, that although funny when filmed, it was inappropriate and racist.

Goofs:

Continuity: About fifteen minutes into the picture, Mark and Gordon are seen traveling up Mass. Ave. in Cambridge, adjacent to the Harvard campus, and suddenly, they're not on Mass. Ave. anymore, they're on Quincy St., a couple blocks away. Then, just as suddenly, they're right back on Mass Ave., again proceeding through Harvard Square, just as they were before.

Quotes:

Mark Watson:With all due respect, sir, I just spent 18 hours locked in a jail cell, on no formal charges, getting pulverized by drunken bigots!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.128" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Hoochie Coochie Man

Soul Man Goes To College Of Hard Knocks

When Soul Man first came out it got razzed terribly for joking about a sensitive topic. I think the critics didn't quite get the film, they thought it was a racist attack on minorities.

Set aside scholarships are private and what C. Thomas Howell does is attempt to defraud the givers of said scholarship by passing himself off as black. Picture if you will somebody like Fred Phelps endowing a scholarship to Bob Jones University, the only place I'm aware that would take his money, on someone that Phelps feels reflects his proper and God inspired outlook on the American scene.

But it would be legal because it's Phelps's money to do with as he wishes. Now the endowers of that scholarship to Harvard meant it for someone like Rae Dawn Chong. So when Howell grabs it because his parents decide to make him pay his own way and he's too lazy to do it or heaven forfend, go to another law school he is defrauding her.

That's the sum and substance of Soul Man. Of course in passing himself off as black, Howell makes a few unpleasant discoveries about himself and a lot of people around him. And of course there's that old Cupid thing with him and Chong.

James Earl Jones makes the most intimidating law professor this side of John Houseman. Arye Gross gets the role of best friend and confidante in Howell's scheme and Melora Hardin who now occasionally plays the ghost of Trudy Monk on Monk is the spoiled rich girl who gets back at her parents by sleeping with minorities.

Soul Man gets silly and a bit forced at times. But it's not deserving of all the knocks it's been given over the years.