Claudine (1974)

"Claudine" is a unique insight into the life of the average poor urban black family of the early 1970s. And, it has some exceptional acting. So, despite some flaws (which I'll talk about in a bit), the film is well worth your time.Claudine (Diahann Carroll) is a mother on welfare who works on the sly in order to support her six kids. She works very hard at low-paying jobs and has little time for anything other than her kids and work. However, when she meets a vivacious garbage collector, Roop (James Earl Jones), she is swept off her feet and they immediately start sleeping together (if guns have a three day waiting period, shouldn't there be a similar system for sex?). Soon, however, it goes from casual sex and good times to something serious--and that's when troubles begin. It seems that the welfare system is designed to prevent women from having families--and destroying marriage. What's to become of this couple and the six kids? See the film and find out for yourself.The acting is the best thing about this film. In addition to Carroll and Jones' great acting, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs has a very auspicious film debut as Claudine's angry and mixed-up oldest son. The film also has a lot of great insights into the stupidity of the welfare system and what it was like to grown up at that time. However, and I know some folks will think I am a jerk for saying it, but I also couldn't help but feel that some of the problems were CLEARLY caused by the characters. Claudine has six kids she cannot take care of and then jumps into bed with Roop on their first date!! Morality aside, this is insane behavior and shows a nutty unwillingness to accept reality. Despite this dumb mixed message, the film, on balance, is well worth seeing.

I thought, from the date, and the black cast, that this would be one of the "blaxploitation" films. Maybe some still consider it so, but to me those were horror and/or action flicks. This was a serious film, with themes, character development, drama, etc. Loved the music, by Curtis Mayfield and Gladys Knight and the Pips. I suspect that the filmmakers never really thought this would be seen by many white people, as many of its characters were very similar to the (seen today as racist) stereotypes that were widely held in those days. Even the characters themselves remarked upon this. And there was a lot of surprising candor in the portrayal of the destruction wreaked on the black family structure by the (fairly new, at that time) welfare system. Not bad at all.

Claudine was one of the very first movies that gave positive role models for both Black men and women. I appreciated this movie even more as I got older. This movie shows that men didn't always turn away from responsibility. An excellent movie I'd always recommend for anyone who appreciates a good inner city love story.

Claudine is one of those movies that you don't want to end and when it does you make up additional scenes in your mind! This movie is about a woman with 6 kids "living" on welfare in the bronx. she has a gig on the side as a domestic worker. she hooks up with a garbage man, named rupe and they hit it off, the kids however ain't trying to hear it. the story evolves around rupe trying to bond with the kids, claudine trying to battle with the welfare system and curtis mayfield's sound track punctuates the mood of the movie. gladys knight and the pips' vocals are tops! this movie has a "good times","coolie high","monky hustle" type of vibe to it. please see it. do it for me.