Minstrel Man (film)


Minstrel Man is a 1944 American film directed by Joseph H. Lewis and produced by Producers Releasing Corporation. It was nominated for two Academy Awards.
Production began in late 1943. Director Lewis was drafted during production; he was replaced briefly by Edgar G. Ulmer. The studio shut the film down until the scheduling conflicts of cast and crew could be resolved. Lewis was released from the army in March 1944 and completed the film.

Plot summary

Singing star Dixie Boy Johnson and his wife Caroline are jubilant over Dixie's headlining a Broadway show and Caroline's impending motherhood. On opening night, Caroline is rushed to the hospital and Dixie begs to leave the theater and join her, but producer Lew Dunn refuses. Caroline dies in childbirth and Dixie is shattered. He leaves the baby in the care of his friends, Lasses and Mae, and drops out of sight. Presumed dead, Dixie stays under cover and takes an assumed name, as a shipboard entertainer. Years later, Lew Dunn grooms Dixie's daughter Caroline for stardom in a revival of Dixie's Broadway show. Dixie's former agent sees an opportunity to sue Dunn for damages, and arranges for Dixie to confront his daughter and his old friends.

Cast