The Horn Section Salutes: Madge Sinclair (1938-1995)

Seventy five years ago today, Madge Dorita Sinclair was born in Kingston, Jamaica. 

She was a mother of two in her thirties when the acting bug bit and she elected to leave a "calm, marvelous, middle-class existence" (description hers) in her homeland.  A gamble no doubt, but Jamaica's loss became New York's gain.  Hollywood's too, once Sinclair got her big break in her second film, playing a local principal butting heads with Jon Voight's titular CONRACK (1974).  

Sinclair was already 36 at the time, and only 57 when she passed away far too young in 1995.  That left but two decades for the distinguished actress to grace our screens, but she still left quite an impression.  Everyone knows that she was terrific as Belle in ROOTS, and that she was perfectly cast and downright iconic as the Queen of Zamunda in COMING TO AMERICA. 

The Horn Section salutes the late, great Madge Sinclair on her 75th by highlighting some of her work that you may not have seen in a very long time, if at all.  Suffice to say that if Madge Sinclair is in it, it is usually worth watching for her alone. 

LEADBELLY (1976) 

For all of her beauty and talent, Madge Sinclair was rarely offered leading roles.  Partly due to her late start in films, and partly due to the sadly still limited opportunities for African-American actresses in the mid-Seventies.  Her role in LEADBELLY is a minor one, as Roger E. Mosley's Shreveport benefactor, but it is her sexiest role on the big screen.  She's given barely ten minutes onscreen but makes the most of it.  Full Review Here

CONVOY (1978)

Sam Peckinpah's penultimate film (and biggest box office hit!) was a guilty pleasure and train wreck rolled into one.  Saddled with a PG rating, Sam still snuck in a barroom brawl with ketchup splattering instead of blood.   It may be a slapdash mess, SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT without the comedic highlights.  But it is a must-see for Madge Sinclair fans, who will get to see the usually regal actress let it all hang out here as the corn-rowed, jean-jacketed, foulmouthed trucker.  Madge's Widow Woman even throws her share of punches in the aforementioned barroom brawl and wrecks her truck at an intersection--the accident was unplanned, but written into the script after the fact per producer Michael Deeley.  No matter to Madge, who clearly seems to relish the rare opportunity to get down and dirty for a part; she kicks the (white) truck and bemoans not selecting a black one(!).  CONVOY is more than just an atypical Sinclair role, it's truly a one of a kind for an actress much better known for royalty than earthiness. 

As Zamunda's stoic, regal Queen in COMING TO AMERICA

THE WHITE SHADOW: "Sudden Death" (1979)

CBS' sadly underappreciated THE WHITE SHADOW was ahead of its time, with episodes on segregated country clubs, autism, venereal disease, and the exploitation of high school players by coaches and agents.  Sinclair's lone appearance (during Season 2) on the series was this intense drama dealing with the on-court seizure and death of one of Coach Reeves' players.  Playing the mother who didn't want him playing basketball in the first place, the actress was again Emmy-worthy.  As was often the case with this groundbreaking series, there was no softening of her character and no resolution.  Few things on late Seventies prime time were more devastating that Madge Sinclair's cold, almost monotone grieving: "You killed my son!"

GUYANA TRAGEDY (1980)

Still not out on legitimate DVD, and possibly a PD title (I keep seeing supercheap, blurry DVD's out), GUYANA TRAGEDY nevertheless was a ratings grabber and Emmy winner in '80.   Four hours simply wasn't long enough for all the bizarre twists and turns in the Jim Jones story, with most characters being composites due to the time constraints.  Sinclair's composite included the passionate speech given by Christine Miller, Jonestown's "Voice of Independence".  This after silently watching Jones (Emmy award winning Powers Boothe) esmasculate her son and take his bride (Irene Cara).  It's a tribute to her abilities that she pulls this scene off beautifully.  GUYANA TRAGEDY also features fine work from several actors who frequently co-starred with Sinclair, including James Earl Jones, Levar Burton and Rosalind Cash.  In fact, GUYANA TRAGEDY was the third time that Sinclair and Burton played mother and son (the others being ONE IN A MILLION: THE RON LeFLORE STORY and ALMOS' A MAN).

TRAPPER JOHN, M.D. (1980-1986)

as Nurse Ernestine Shoop.  Yeah, I know, this CBS Sunday Night Nielsen mainstay isn't exactly obscure--it spent the first half of the Eighties in the Nielsen top 20.  Still, despite its popularity, it hasn't been released on DVD as of 2013.  No disrespect to the late Mary McCarty, but Sinclair's addition to the cast in Season 2 was a real coup for the show.  Need proof?  TRAPPER JOHN, M.D. received five Emmy nominations; three went to Madge Sinclair.  "I Do, I Don't" and "Love and Marriage" were two particularly good episodes centering around Nurse Shoop.  Come to think of it, this series needs its own "Why the Hell isn't this on DVD?" post.  Thanks, Madge, for reminding me.

Madge Sinclair was actually diagnosed with leukemia shortly after joining the cast of TRAPPER JOHN, M.D.  She not only outlived her prognosis by several years, she worked for the next thirteen years without interruption, adding a slew of Emmy nominations (winning for GABRIEL'S FIRE in 1991) and well-remembered feature film roles in the aforementioned COMING TO AMERICA and THE LION KING (working with James Earl Jones in both).  Sinclair passed away on December 20, 1995.

Film Review: LEADBELLY (1976)

 



"Why the Hell isn't This on DVD yet?" -- Number 70

LEADBELLY (1976 Paramount) Starring Roger E. Mosley, Paul Benjamin, Madge Sinclair, Albert Hall, Art Evans, Lynn Hamilton, James Brodhead, John Henry Faulk.  Directed by Gordon Parks, Sr.

Mosley is the titular blues legend, whose life is covered from the time he departs the family farm (one step ahead of the law) to his 'discovery' by musicologist Brodhead (as John A. Lomax) in prison a quarter century later.  After bidding adieu to his parents (Benjamin and Hamilton) he finds a Shreveport benefactor in Madam Sinclair, who connects him with his first gigs.  But Mosley isn't one to be a kept man.  He leaves her and the red light district behind, drifting between Louisiana and Texas, incarceration and freedom during the segregated Roaring Twenties with defiance, turbulence and music as the constants in his life.

Gordon Parks Sr. comes full circle with his final feature, LEADBELLY.  In bringing Hudie Ledbetter's life to the screen, the director returned to the same time period he explored in his landmark debut, THE LEARNING TREE.  While TREE was set in Kansas, LEADBELLY takes place in the South, and the guitar virtuoso confronts bigoted hostility in a two fisted style reminiscent of TREE's Marcus for much of the film.  Racist whites aren't the only ones to run afoul of Mosley's hot temper.  The high strung talent is willing to fight anyone over women, pride and music.  Especially music---his introduction to Evans (as Blind Lemon Jefferson) is a near knife-fight after Evans trash talks Mosley's playing on a passenger train.

Yes, he was that close to a violent confrontation with a blind man.  But seconds after he's poised to strike over an insult, he's laughing and forming a musical partnership with his would-be opponent.  He may have a fiercely competitive nature, but Mosley repeatedly shows a healthy respect for his fellow musicians and impetuousness towards virtually everyone else.

WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY mercilessly skewered every time-honored cliche in the music biopic formula.  Thirty years earlier, Parks painstakingly avoided almost all of them.  There's no substance addiction for Mosley to overcome: those in the audience drink more than he does.  Mosley doesn't leave home over parental rejection of his music: Benjamin sends him away to keep him out of jail, and later tries to ensure that the junior Ledbetter will always have his favored guitar.  A tearful reconciliation with his family near the end?  Nope.  The aged Benjamin locates Mosley's prison, but leaves without seeing him once he learns it isn't possible to buy his son's freedom.

Parks eschews commercialized revisionism as decisively as the genre's conventions, so forget about finding the progressive white character who assists the protagonist.   Mosley's Leadbelly encounters bigotry of some form from every Caucasian he meets.  The only "friendly" white face is that of governor Faulk, and only outwardly so---his obnoxiousness and ignorance recalls Warren Oates' character in the same year's DRUM.  Faulk allows Mosley to sing his way to freedom, thoroughly humiliating him in the process.  This is the subtlest racism Mosley encounters.  The rest is blunter and more often than not reinforced by shotgun.  The Lomaxes?  They're merely stone-faced song collectors on a mission.

The titular character's nomadic ways are interrupted only by legal trouble so covering his life requires LEADBELLY's episodic nature.  As a result, this is Mosley's show all the way.  He solidly essays Ledbetter's egotism, antagonism, and (after aging a bit) pragmatism in often demeaning situations.  This is easily Mosley's best opportunity to carry a feature film, but he doesn't carry the tunes: his singing was dubbed by Hi Tide Harris.  Sinclair, Benjamin and Evans have the most prominent supporting roles, yet all have less than ten minutes of screen time.

Parks' opportunity to direct came after a groundbreaking thirty year career in photojournalism.  He was 57 when he brought his novel THE LEARNING TREE to the screen, 59 when SHAFT became his biggest commercial success.  LEADBELLY was clearly a labor of love by its talented maker.  Reportedly, his disappointment over Paramount's failure to promote it was a factor in Parks' disinclination to make another big screen project.  It's a real shame it isn't better known. In its own way, LEADBELLY is as rewarding as his better known works.  Executive produced by David Frost.  Yep, that David Frost.


So....why isn't this on DVD yet?

Yeah, why the Hell not????

No earthly idea from me.  Poor studio support was the major factor in the film's under-performance in 1976.  Continuing interest in both Leadbelly and Parks would seem to ensure sales for a legitimate DVD as bootlegs have been plentiful in recent years.

Why it should be on DVD:

Gordon Parks Sr. made precious few films, and THE LEARNING TREE (preserved by the National Film Registry in 1989) and SHAFT are undisputed classics.  LEADBELLY is his lone effort that is still missing from DVD, an oversight that needs to be corrected.

The extras alone would make a release more than worthwhile.  A commentary with Mosley would be particularly interesting.

And now, one purely gratuitous reason.  This is the most revealing outfit that Horn Section favorite Madge Sinclair ever wore onscreen.  You'll never see more of her than you do in this film:



Ms. Sinclair almost pops out of her top, but not quite.  Dammit!

LEADBELLY is currently available for viewing at Netflix Instant.

You're a perv, Hal!