Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999) (TV)

Director:

Martha Coolidge

Writers (WGA):

Earl Mills (book)
Shonda Rhimes (teleplay) ...

Release Date:

21 August 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

Right woman. Right place. Wrong time.

Plot:

This biography of Dorothy Dandridge follows her career through early days on the club circuit with her sister to her turn in movies...

Plot Keywords:

Career | Actress | Manager | Director | Love

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 17 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Halle Berry	...	Dorothy Dandridge
Brent Spiner	...	Earl Mills
Klaus Maria Brandauer	...	Otto Preminger
Obba Babatundé	...	Harold Nicholas (as Obba Babatunde)
Loretta Devine	...	Ruby Dandridge
Cynda Williams	...	Vivian Dandridge
LaTanya Richardson	...	Auntie
Tamara Taylor	...	Geri Nicholas
William Atherton	...	Darryl Zanuck
D.B. Sweeney	...	Jack Denison
Don Gettinger	...	Hotel Clerk
Nicholas Hormann	...	Oscar Emcee
Sharon Brown	...	Etta Jones
Darrian C. Ford	...	Fayard Nicholas
M.J. Sawyer	...	B&W Movie Actress

Also Known As:

Face of an Angel (UK) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexual content.

Runtime:

120 min | Germany:111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

City Entertainment

Trivia:

Dorothy Dandridge was the first African-American woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award (Carmen Jones (1954)). Halle Berry is the first African-American to win a Best Actress Academy Award (Monster's Ball (2001)).

Quotes:

Vivian Dandridge: You think because you've become a big film star by shaking your tail, people aren't going to treat you like you're colored? Well, I'm something too! I'm something too! I'm more than Dorothy Dandridge's *big sister*! Didn't you ever notice that? Didn't you?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Somebody

Guess I wasn't black enough to lead the tribe.

Long before Barack Obama wasn't considered "Black" enough, Dorothy Dandridge suffered the same criticism. Black or not, she was beautiful and could sing like a meadowlark.

Looking at old pictures of Dandridge, you could see why Halle Berry was chosen. She is Dandridge brought back to life. She may not have the pipes of Dandridge, but she sure can act, and has the Emmy and Golden Globe to prove it! Playing the First African American actress to get an Best Actress nomination (for Carmen Jones) was the First African American actress to win the Oscar for Best Actress (for Monster's Ball).

Klaus Maria Brandauer (Out of Africa) was magnificent as Otto Preminger, one of the men who used Dandridge.

This film is extremely important, not only for the fact that is chronicles the life of one of America's best, but also for the reminder that most of us never had to pee in a cup or watch a pool drained because we put our toe in it.