Lady Sings The Blues is a 1972 film about jazz singer Billie Holiday loosely based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from one of Holiday's most popular songs. It was produced by Motown Productions for Paramount Pictures. Diana Ross portrayed Holiday, alongside a cast including Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan and Scatman Crothers.

The movie was adapted by Chris Clark, Suzanne de Passe and Terence McCloy from the book by William Dufty and Billie Holiday. It was directed by Sidney J. Furie.

It was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning none. The nominations were for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Diana Ross), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Carl Anderson, Reg Allen), Best Costume Design, Best Music, Original Song Score and Adaptation (Gil Askey) and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced. The film was also screened at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, but was not entered into the main competition.

The same year, Motown released a successful soundtrack double-album of Ross' recordings of Billie Holiday songs from the film, also titled Lady Sings the Blues. The album became one of the Number-one albums of 1973 (U.S.) in the Billboard Hot 200 Album Charts, in the weeks of April 7 and 14, 1973.

Plot

The film opens in 1936, New York City, where Billie Holiday (Diana Ross) is being placed under arrest. After being finger-printed and placed into a straight jacket, Billie is locked in a jail cell.

The film then flashes back to 1928. Billie has an encounter with a rapist (Harry Caesar). She is rescued by a madame (Isabel Sanford). After returning to her Aunt Ida's (Lynn Hamilton) house, Billie accidentally leaves the door open, puts on a record, giving the rapist the chance to slip inside. Billie is raped.

Followed by the incident, Billie runs away to her mother (Virginia Capers), eventually being escorted to the house by a police officer. Mama Holiday feeds Billie and sets up a job to clean at a brothel in the Harlem section of New York City. The brothel itself is run by an arrogant, selfish owner named Ms. Edson (Paulene Myers), who pays Billie very little money.

One night, Billie sneaks into a nightclub/bar with black showgirls, owned by Jerry (Sid Melton). Jerry tries to get rid of Billie, who claims that she knows every single song out to date. She sees Louis McKay (Billy Dee Williams), he smiles at her, then a guard comes, picks Billie up and kicks her out of the nightclub. Eventually, Billie tires of scrubbing floors at the brothel and becomes a prostitute.

After impulsively quitting prostitution, Billie heads to the club she was once kicked out of, and auditions with the showgirls. Jerry tells her to leave when she does not quite catch up with the girls' dancing moves. Billie then speaks to a man, who becomes her best friend; Piano Man (Richard Pryor), who plays the song "All of Me". Jerry then witnesses her talent for singing, and books her for a show, beginning Billie's career as a singer.

Billie debuts at the nightclub. Her set is not successful with the audience which ends up booing her. Louis, who surprisingly arrives at Billie's debut, giving her fifty dollars. Billie, then takes the money, and sings "Them There Eyes". Louis mysteriously disappears during Billie's set.

Billie takes a liking to Louis and begins dating him. Billie also becomes a heroin addict. Eventually, she is discovered by two men: Harry (Paul Hampton) and Reg Hanley (James T. Callahan), who sign her as a soloist for their southern tour in hopes of landing a radio network gig.

During the tour, Billie experiences an overwhelming, and fateful moment; she witnesses the aftermath of the lynching of an African-American man, which presses her to record one of the most controversial songs in history ("Strange Fruit"). The harsh experiences on the tour result in a growing dependency on drugs, which are supplied by Harry. Unfortunately, her work on the tour is for naught as she loses her position with the band due to the fact that the radio sponsors object to her race. In addition, her relationship with Louis comes to an end as a result of her drug addiction.

She returns to the Harlem nightclub where her drug use is intensified until she is prompted to check herself into a drug clinic. Despite her later reunion with Louis, her luck takes a turn for the worse as she is arrested for crimes stemming from her past drug use. After her release from prison, Billie marries Louis and pledges not to continue her career. However, the lure of performing is too strong and she returns to singing with Louis serving as her manager.

Over the following months, Billie's career takes off on the nightclub circuit. Unfortunately, she has a relapse while Louis is away arranging for a performance at Carnegie Hall. During that episode, Piano Man is brutally beaten by drug dealers for non-payment of drugs that he had procured for himself and Billie. Louis returns to see a very fragile Billie; it is obvious that she is hooked on drugs once more.

One night when Billie is performing, Louis comes to see Billie and waits for her in her dressing room. He knows that she is doing drugs and tells her she is going home with him, he loves her and that it is for her own good. She denies being 'hooked'. He tells her he can tell by her singing voice that she is on drugs. She promises to stay off the drugs if he stays with her. He says again that she should go home with him, but she firmly refuses, but again promises no drugs.

Billie tours the South again to equally disastrous results. Reg and Louis manage to arrange her radio debut but the station does not call her to sing. The group heads to Cafe Manhattan to drown their sorrows. Billie has too much to drink and she asks Harry for drugs, saying that she doesn't want her family to know that the radio show upset her. He refuses and she throws her drink in his face. She is ready to leave, but Louis has arranged for her to sing at the Cafe Manhattan, a club where she hoped to aspire to singing.

Billie leaves the club in urgent need of a fix, eventually scoring. She fights Louis for it when they get home, going so far as to pull a razor on him. Saddened, Louis leaves her to shoot up, telling her he doesn't want her there when he comes back. At Billie's next performance, she is obviously on drugs. As she tries to get her next fix, she learns that her mother, who was in the hospital, has just died. Billie checks herself into a hospital, though unbeknownst to her, she cannot pay for her own treatment. The hospital calls Louis who comes to see her and pays her bills. Louis proposes to her at the hospital. Just as she says yes, she is arrested for possession of narcotics.

We are now back in the jail cell where Billie is going through withdrawal. Louis brings the doctor from the hospital to treat her, but she is incoherent. He puts a ring on her finger, but must leave the jail cell. Billie has done her time and comes home. She tells her friends that she doesn't want to sing anymore because she is getting married, but she changes her mind with Louis by her side.

Newly, cleaned up, Billie goes back on the road and regains her former glory, but Louis has to go home. Billie pleads with him to let her go with him and that she is tired of the road, but he heads back to New York as Billie heads to California. In a moment of weakness, she asks her piano player to get some drugs for her. Instead of his 'connection' bringing drugs, they beat him to death as Billie looks on. Louis and new manager Bernie call to tell her they got her Carnegie Hall, but find that Billie had fallen back into drugs after her piano player's murder. Louis packs her up and takes her back to New York.

Billie plays to a packed house at Carnegie Hall.

Cast

* Diana Ross - Billie Holiday

* Billy Dee Williams - Louis McKay

* Richard Pryor - Piano Man

* James T. Callahan - Reg Hanley (as James Callahan)

* Paul Hampton - Harry

* Sid Melton - Jerry

* Virginia Capers - Mama Holiday

* Yvonne Fair - Yvonne

* Isabel Sanford - The Madame

* Tracee Lyles - The Prostitute

* Ned Glass - The Agent

* Milton Selzer - The Doctor

* Norman Bartold - The Detective #1

* Clay Tanner - The Detective #2

* Jester Hairston - Fefe

References