Madison, WI 53704
USA
With a score by Duke Ellington, Paris Blues is a 1961 American drama film made on location in Paris, starring Sidney Poitier as expatriate jazz saxophonist Eddie Cook, and Paul Newman as trombone-playing Ram Bowen.[1][2] The two men romance two vacationing American tourists, Connie Lampson (Diahann Carroll) and Lillian Corning (Joanne Woodward) respectively. The film also deals with American racism of the time contrasted with Paris’s open acceptance of black people. The film was based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Harold Flender.[3]
The film also features trumpeter Louis Armstrong (as Wild Man Moore) and jazz pianist Aaron Bridgers; both play music within the film. It was produced by Sam Shaw, directed by Martin Ritt from a screenplay by Walter Bernstein, and with cinematography by Christian Matras. Paris Blues was released in the U.S. on September 27, 1961.
Duke Ellington was nominated for an Academy Award, for Best Original Score, for his work on this film.
