An enchanting young Cicely Tyson and Zohra Lampert, both great talents, both held back because they were "too ethnic" for the times
Wayne Rogers of M*A*S*H fame.
James Earle Jones' dad, bearing an uncanny resemblance to his son. If you don't spot it right away, the trademark mellifluity of his voice will tip you off.
Who was Ed the club manager? I've studied his footage and it seems solid. I don't remember seeing the part mentioned in the cast rundown. No mention of him in the cast.
The Coco character coming on to Johnny- was that bold for 1959? Richard Bright had a role Christopher Walken would have enjoyed pulling off.
Coco deserves his own film! The character was indeed quite bold for 1959. Would love to see a 21st century writer approach his 1950s existence. Coco's appearance raises all kinds of questions about Bacco. What I enjoyed about the film is that the characters did not feel like characters, stereotypes or archetypes -- they felt like real people (living on the fringe). The nightclub where Johnny sang was populated by people who would have been contemporaries of my father when I was a very young child.
shareI don't have the link but I saw a YouTube presentation in three parts where the film was discussed. The interviewer brought up the Coco gay thing and Belafonte said it was sort of a last minute insertion out of serendipity.
I was playing bebop piano in 1959 as a teenager and those joints were places where joy could be experienced by players and listeners. It was a wonderful exchange. Everyone felt they were aiming for the same transcendence. Then jazz (verb- not a noun) turned dark ala Coltrane. Bitterness, frustration and despair reigned.