My Baby is Black

My Baby Is Black! (Original French title: Les Lâches vivent d'espoir) is a 1961 French romantic drama film retitled for exploitation release in the U.S. in 1965.[1] The film was written and directed by Claude Bernard-Aubert, and starred Françoise Giret, Gordon Heath and Aram Stephan, with music by Michel Magne.[2] It was intended to examine society's view on race during the early days of the civil rights era.

Overview

The film is set in Paris and begins with a white college student (Françoise) giving birth to a black child. Then the story showcases the series of events leading to the baby's birth, including the mother's courtship by a black medical student (Daniel), as well as her facing the horrors of bigotry as her family and peers turned their backs on her. In addition to the strong focus on the social taboo of interracial romance and sex, the film also contained scenes of the girl's lover and his struggles with the plague of racism in their neighborhood.

The film was mostly played in the United States in drive-in theaters; it was advertised for its shock value and soon forgotten. In 2007 selections of dubbed quotes from the film were played and joked about on the Opie and Anthony show.

Cast
  • Gordon Heath as Daniel
  • Françoise Giret as Françoise
  • Aram Stephan as The Professor
  • Mag-Avril as The Concierge
  • Hervé Watine as The Guitarist
  • Fred Carault as Françoise's Father
  • Viviane Méry as Françoise's Mother

Critical reception

Allmovie called it "More thoughtful and less exploitive than its American release title would lead one to expect."[3]

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References
  1. "My Baby is Black/Checkerboard". www.dvddrive-in.com.
  2. "Les LACHES VIVENT D'ESPOIR (1961)".
  3. "My Baby Is Black (1965) - Claude Bernard-Aubert - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.


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