Ragtime Movie Download

10 / 10

Inspiring movie, Great Broadway Musical
I saw the movie version of “Ragtime” when it came out in 1981 and at the time, as a teenager, didn’t quite understand the power of its story. Later, I saw the Broadway musical, and after listening to the music on CD over and over again, was inspired to see the movie when it was re-broadcast on TCM in widescreen.

There are major differences between the movie, and the musical. Both the movie and musical play focus on the Coalhouse Walker story, but touch on other prominent characters of the early 20th Century. While some characters from the musical are barely mentioned in the movie (Henry Ford, Houdini), others are not mentioned at all. Emma Goldman, who was a major character in the same year’s “Reds”, was prominently featured in the musical, but was not mentioned at all in the movie. Also briefly in the musical but not mentioned in the movie was Admiral Perry. Certain characters (the mother and father; the brother; Sarah) are fleshed out much better in the musical than in the film. This is ironic considering that musicals usually drop character developement in favor of the music, but for some reason, with the musical of “Ragtime”, it worked the opposite way.

While watching the movie, I had visions of the “Ragtime” comic production number “The Crime of the Century” taking over where Donald O’Connor’s rather repetitive “I Could Love a Million Girls” leaves off as Stanford White (Norman Mailer) is shot and killed by Evelyn Nesbitt’s husband. In the musical, Evelyn has a duet with Houdini who says that in a hundred years, they will be entirely forgotten. No such luck thanks to how the real-life scandal of White’s murder ties in with similar scandals of recent years and how Houdini influenced many of today’s most brilliant magicians. Elizabeth McGovern’s Evelyn is a somewhat dizzy character with moments of brilliance, making her quite intriguing to watch. It is a shame that there wasn’t more of her on screen. Houdini is only seen briefly in the newly filmed news reels and briefly in color towards the end.

Another story in the musical only touched upon briefly in the movie is the story of Jewish Immigrant Taleh (Mandy Pantikan) who becomes a filmmaker. He is only seen in a few scenes, but Pantikan does make the most out of his appearance. Look briefly for Fran Drescher as his wife. If you can’t make her out visually, you certainly won’t miss her voice, even in Hebrew!

As Coalhouse Walker Jr., Howard E. Rollins is mesmerizing, and should have been considered for Best Actor Oscar, not Supporting. Even though this is more of an ensemble piece, it is his character which holds the film together. Debbie Allen, then on Broadway as Anita in “West Side Story” and on TV in “Fame”, is touching in her brief appearance as Sarah; It makes me wonder how she would have been had “Ragtime” come to the stage earlier. (Still, no one can sing “Your Daddy’s Eyes” like the beautiful Audra McDonald, and no one can touch Brian Stokes Mitchell’s awesome baritone voice as Coalhouse in the musical).

While Elizabeth McGovern was nominated for Supporting Actress, I found Mary Steenbergen’s performance as the mother a stronger role and more worthy of a nomination. (She was honored, however, with a Golden Globe Nomination). With even the blink of an eye, she looks at her husband (James Olson) as if to say, “I don’t agree with how you’re handling this, and we need to discuss”. Women didn’t do that at the beginning of the 20th Century, yet Steenbergen’s quiet strength makes it really believable that she would actually do that. As the father, Olson is very good, too, but Brad Dourif as the brother is not as convincing. There are no signs of his devotion to human rights to make his support of Coalhouse realistic. In the musical, the brother shows up at Emma Goldman’s Union Square meeting where he is pationately drawn into the plight of others less fortunate than himself.

To be honest, I wasn’t impressed with James Cagney as the Police Chief. It wasn’t the fact that he was a bit long in the tooth at the time to be head of the New York Polcie Department, but seemed to be trying to conjor up memories of his performance in “G-Men”. While spry and feisty, Cagney just wasn’t believable. Moses Gunn, in a brief scene as Booker T. Washington, is right on the money. If there were Oscars for cameo, he would have won hands down. As for Pat O’Brien, he is wasted as Harry Shaw’s lawyer (although seeing his real-life wife as Shaw’s matronly mother in the same scene is historically interesting). Donald O’Connor does a good job with his few scenes, and can still dance like a much younger man. Silent screen veteran Bessie Love is very funny in her bit part as the woman whose home is invaded by the police when Walker takes over J.P. Morgan’s museum. See if you can recognize Samuel L. Jackson as one of Coalhouse’s cohorts.

This is not just the story about a black man fighting for his dignity after arrogant white men destroy his brand new car. It is the story of one man, fed up with the injustice of the world around him, uses the violation of his civil rights to get the word out there that there are many others out there like him who are afraid to stand up and fight. What the character of Coalhouse Walker Jr. is basically saying is that in a country where freedom was won through rebellion, it is hypocritical of the government to try and prevent this, and to allow human rights to be sacrificed no matter what group they happen to.

In spite of its flaws, “Ragtime” is still an outstanding movie with flawless production values. The sets, costumes, and production design are magnificent, and the music is one of the best film scores of the 1980’s. I’d like to see the musical brought to the screen with the characters not seen in this film. Just a message to anyone in Hollywood who chooses to do it—be faithful to the musical’s book!Read More