Proud (2004)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Mary Pat Kelly

Writer (WGA):

Mary Pat Kelly (written by)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The true story of the only African-American crew to take a Navy warship into combat in World War II. |

Cast

Reggie Austin	...	Dubois
Vernel Bagneris	...	Larry's Father
Marcus Chait	...	Lieutenant Westin
Michael Ciesla	...	Yeoman Of The Flagship
Ossie Davis	...	Lorenzo DuFau
Eric LaRay Harvey	...	Kevin / James Graham
Rashad Haughton	...	Hank Fields
Janet Hubert	...	Larry's Mother (as Janet Hubert-Whitten)
Albert Jones	...	Larry / Young Lorenzo DuFau
Kidada Jones	...	Gordon's sister
Jeffrey Nash	...	Marcus / Gordon Buchanan
Denise Nicholas	...	Gordon's Mother
Edward O'Blenis	...	Watkins
Aidan Quinn	...	Commodore Alfred Lind
Stephen Rea	...	Barney Garvey
J.R. Robinson	...	Chief Potts
Michael Scott	...	Captain Blackford
Keisha Whitaker	...	Collette
Darnell Williams	...	Thomas Young

Also Known As:

Proudly We Served (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, language and mild violence.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Buffalo, New York, USA

Company:

THEntertainment

Trivia:

Alfred Lind was the actual Commander of the convoy (NY 119) in which the USS Mason experienced that massive storm in mid October 1944. Commander Lind, as with most of the veterans of WWII, didn't speak of his experiences from the war. His family learned of these recommendations after Mary Pat Kelly had written her book. His real name was used in the movie, after some good timing when a grandson discovered the existence of the book, then attempted to contact Mary Pat Kelly.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the scene showing the ships departure from New York harbor, the camera pans down the side of the ship as the men "man the rail", and shows that the ship is still tied up to the pier.

Movie Connections:

References The Birth of a Nation (1915)

The worst movie I have seen

Full marks for the content of this film, as a Brit I was not aware that there was segregation in the US Navy during WWII. A very brave attempt to bring this fact to the world. However, the movie is pathetic, direction is non existent, the acting is wooden and the script is just one cliché after another. I can honestly say that this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I sat and cringed from the start until the end at the very poor way that this had been put together. This could have been a great movie, the story for many of us outside of the US was new, unique and also interesting. The sad fact of the matter is the way that it was put together. It is unfortunate that a true story like this, which could have changed people's attitudes, has been squandered on a low budget, badly directed movie. I only hope that some time in the future, one of the major studios will take this theme and do it justice.