'A Man Called Adam' was tailor-made as a vehicle for Sammy Davis's talents as a dramatic actor. He should have chosen a better script, with a more sympathetic role. The main character in this movie wallows in self-pity, and then turns out to do so for the wrong reasons.
As a movie, 'Adam' is slow and boring. As a showcase for some jazz performances, 'Adam' is considerably better. In addition to some splendid trumpet solos by Nat Adderley (dubbing for Davis's character), there are superb performances by Louis Armstrong and Benny Carter, which almost (but not quite) redeem this movie's considerable flaws. Also on hand is Mel Odious, I mean Mel Torme, exhibiting his usual smarm.
This movie's painfully low budget actually works in its favour. Leo Penn's low-key direction skilfully captures the down-and-dirty world of a jazz musician: the brassy nightclubs, seedy hotel rooms, fly-blown booking agencies and jam sessions.
Adam Johnson (Davis) is a talented jazz trumpeter whose career is going nowhere fast. We're given to understand that he's a victim of racism, and in 1966 this is certainly plausible. But a lot of Adam's problems are his own fault. He walks out on a club date at the last minute -- a cardinal sin -- and quarrels with his honest and hard-working agent. Adam also has a drinking problem, which I found slightly disingenuous. In real life, quite a few jazz musicians have substance-abuse problems, but the substance is usually drugs ... not alcohol. Judging by this movie, you'd think that booze is the most lethal substance in the nightworld of jazz.
SPOILERS COMING. Eventually, in a well-acted scene with Cicely Tyson, Adam reveals his big secret. He used to have a wife and child, but they both died in a car accident while Adam was driving ... he feels guilty that he survived and they didn't. Ever since, he's been taking it out on himself and everyone else.
I found this movie dishonest. I accept that there were *many* reasons for a black man in 1966 to be angry and resentful, but Adam seems to be angry for all the wrong reasons. In the novelisation of this film, there's a chapter in which Adam spitefully plays slow jazz when a white customer wants something up-tempo. This whole film is like that, with Davis giving us something that he knows we don't want.
On the positive side, Sammy Davis and Tyson give excellent performances with the bad material given them here. Ossie Davis (no relation) is less impressive. A lot of actors owed their success to some physical quirk: for Ossie Davis, it was an extremely deep and resonant voice. He has little else to offer here. I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of Peter Lawford as Adam's agent. I've always considered Lawford a no-talent, who got by with a handsome face, a charming manner, a pleasant speaking voice and some Camelot glamour by way of his marriage to JFK's sister. Here, for perhaps the only time in his career, Lawford gives a layered and nuanced performance in a credible role. He and Sammy Davis were good friends and Rat Packers offscreen: perhaps their genuine affection enabled Lawford to do the scene here where he and Davis are at each other's throats.
I was also pleasantly surprised by a scene in which Adam plays a jazz duet with white trumpeter Vincent, played by Frank Sinatra Jnr. It's no revelation that Frank Sinatra Jnr's chief claim to fame is his father's name. Here, he actually shows some talent in his own right ... synch-playing to someone else's dubbed trumpet music, but showing easy rapport with Davis. I wish that this entire film could have matched the panache of their sequence together.
I recommend 'A Man Called Adam' for some fine jazz music, but not otherwise. My rating for this movie is 3 out of 10.
As a movie, 'Adam' is slow and boring. As a showcase for some jazz performances, 'Adam' is considerably better. In addition to some splendid trumpet solos by Nat Adderley (dubbing for Davis's character), there are superb performances by Louis Armstrong and Benny Carter, which almost (but not quite) redeem this movie's considerable flaws. Also on hand is Mel Odious, I mean Mel Torme, exhibiting his usual smarm.
This movie's painfully low budget actually works in its favour. Leo Penn's low-key direction skilfully captures the down-and-dirty world of a jazz musician: the brassy nightclubs, seedy hotel rooms, fly-blown booking agencies and jam sessions.
Adam Johnson (Davis) is a talented jazz trumpeter whose career is going nowhere fast. We're given to understand that he's a victim of racism, and in 1966 this is certainly plausible. But a lot of Adam's problems are his own fault. He walks out on a club date at the last minute -- a cardinal sin -- and quarrels with his honest and hard-working agent. Adam also has a drinking problem, which I found slightly disingenuous. In real life, quite a few jazz musicians have substance-abuse problems, but the substance is usually drugs ... not alcohol. Judging by this movie, you'd think that booze is the most lethal substance in the nightworld of jazz.
SPOILERS COMING. Eventually, in a well-acted scene with Cicely Tyson, Adam reveals his big secret. He used to have a wife and child, but they both died in a car accident while Adam was driving ... he feels guilty that he survived and they didn't. Ever since, he's been taking it out on himself and everyone else.
I found this movie dishonest. I accept that there were *many* reasons for a black man in 1966 to be angry and resentful, but Adam seems to be angry for all the wrong reasons. In the novelisation of this film, there's a chapter in which Adam spitefully plays slow jazz when a white customer wants something up-tempo. This whole film is like that, with Davis giving us something that he knows we don't want.
On the positive side, Sammy Davis and Tyson give excellent performances with the bad material given them here. Ossie Davis (no relation) is less impressive. A lot of actors owed their success to some physical quirk: for Ossie Davis, it was an extremely deep and resonant voice. He has little else to offer here. I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of Peter Lawford as Adam's agent. I've always considered Lawford a no-talent, who got by with a handsome face, a charming manner, a pleasant speaking voice and some Camelot glamour by way of his marriage to JFK's sister. Here, for perhaps the only time in his career, Lawford gives a layered and nuanced performance in a credible role. He and Sammy Davis were good friends and Rat Packers offscreen: perhaps their genuine affection enabled Lawford to do the scene here where he and Davis are at each other's throats.
I was also pleasantly surprised by a scene in which Adam plays a jazz duet with white trumpeter Vincent, played by Frank Sinatra Jnr. It's no revelation that Frank Sinatra Jnr's chief claim to fame is his father's name. Here, he actually shows some talent in his own right ... synch-playing to someone else's dubbed trumpet music, but showing easy rapport with Davis. I wish that this entire film could have matched the panache of their sequence together.
I recommend 'A Man Called Adam' for some fine jazz music, but not otherwise. My rating for this movie is 3 out of 10.