Historical Goof?
Why were there black faces among the American troops on the aircraft carrier during the Harmonists performance during their visit to America? Weren't American troops still segregated at that point?
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MovieChat Forums > Comedian Harmonists (1997) Discussion > Historical Goof?
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Not in the Navy. Although they generally were relegated to menial tasks in the kitchen, etc.
shareAlthough blacks and whites served together on the same ship, I doubt they'd be mixed together on the deck as shown in the film. You're correct in that blacks were assigned to menial duties such as Steward's Mate - that's something else the movie gets wrong. There's a scene showing white sailors below decks preparing food; back then, that task would have been assigned to black sailors.
shareThis is an interesting information, I never considered that.
I think the director meant to convey that the USA are a land of freedom, where everyone is equal - this is certainly how the Harmonists would have felt it at the time, compared to their home country.
It is interesting this historical goof should be brought up. I saw this film when I was living in Germany & therefore I’m familiar only with the German version but I understand the film was a flop in the US, surprising considering the story is told from a predominately Jewish perspective & the US is the ultimate Jewish experience. I never saw the US version but I understand the lack of success in the US is notable in light of efforts by the American distributor to censor a small but very significant moment of the film that occurs when the Harmonists arrive in New York and perform in front of the U.S. Navy.
In the European version, the Harmonists sing to a stoic audience of mostly white sailors. However, the camera singles out one black-American navy man who is visibly enjoying the music until he gets a reproachful look of rebuke from a superior officer. This segment was cut from the American release.
I'd say the success of the film in Germany is mainly based on the group itself, which is popular to this day, many of their songs are still known to a wide audience and have ben re-recorded and re-interpreted a lot of times.
So even if the film was censored in the US (shame!), this doesn't have to be the reason why it flopped.
Sie haben rechts mein Herr aber die hauptsache der Film war nicht ein Erfolg in Amerika ist der Verteilung des film in den USA klein war & das war überhaupt keine hilfe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35PCFQtrgJM
http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~sese/Barbershop_Boys/ComedHrm/Comedian_H armonists_Story.htm
http://www.comedian-harmonists.de/
It probably flopped in the US because it's a pain reading the English subtitles. I nearly gave up on watching the DVD because I realized much of the German dialogue was not included in the subtitles. My favorite scene: The Harmonists' version of Duke Ellington's "Creole Love Song." Spectacular!
shareIn fact I believe the Navy was the most segregated of the US Armed Forces and I was stunned to see African Americans scattered among the white sailors in the movie. Yes it is true the African American sailors were usually regulated to the kitchen. I believe the first African American WW2 Navy Cross winner Dorie Miller was indeed a kitchen worker a cook who actually manned a a gun he never had training on and become a hero during Pearl Harbor. Even after he won the Navy Cross and he got a promotion it was still a cook and when he was killed by the Japanese in 1944 after 2 promotions he was still attached to the kitchen.
shareSome of their music is on iTunes
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