Bright Road

Director: Gerald Mayer Gerald Mayer

Overview

Bright Road was a real rarity in 1953: a major-studio production with an all-black cast. Based on an award-winning short story by Mary Elizabeth Vroman, the film is largely set at a rural black school in an unspecified Southern community. Idealistic new fourth-grade teacher Jane Richards (Dorothy Dandridge) makes it her mission in life to "reach" troublesome failing student C. T. Young (Philip Hepburn). Just when Jane and the boy are making progress, tragedy strikes, plunging C. T. into the depths of depression and defeatism. But with the help of the school's compassionate principal (Harry Belafonte), Jane is able to get C. T. back on the right track--and as a bonus, the boy becomes an unexpected hero in a moment of crisis. Handled in a leisurely, understated fashion, Bright Road represents perhaps the best directorial effort of Gerald Mayer, MGM's resident "keeper of the 'B's" in the 1950s. Best scene: C. T.'s euphoric reaction upon earning a passing grade for the first time in his life.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/10/2012
UPC:	0883316483084
Original Release:	1953
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:08:00
Sales rank:	37,167

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dorothy Dandridge	Jane Richards
Harry Belafonte	School Principal
Philip Hepburn	C.T. Young
Barbara Ann Sanders	Tanya
Robert Horton	Dr. Mitchell
Maidie Norman	Tanya's Mother
Renee Beard	Booker T. Jones
Howard McNeely	Boyd,Lloyd
Patti Marie Ellis	Rachel Smith
Joy Jackson	Sarahlene Babcock,Mary Louise
Freddie Moultrie	Roger,George
David Rose	Composer

Technical Credits

Emmet Lavery

Gerald Mayer	Director
Sol Baer Fielding	Producer
Emmet Lavery	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

A very sweet and enormously well intentioned film, Bright Road is an enjoyable little film, but one that is perhaps better appreciated for its social significance than for any claim to great drama. Road was one of the few films in the early 1950s to feature an (essentially) all-black cast, and it is even more noteworthy for the non-exploitative approach it took. However, viewed as a film, rather than as an attempt to demonstrate social progress, Road is not an especially profound or interesting drama. It works, mind you, but there's little of dramatic originality in the screenplay. Still, that screenplay does hit all the right notes, and under Gerald Mayer's direction, it effectively wrings out the appropriate emotions from the viewer. Mayer is aided by his top drawer cast, led by Dorothy Dandridge. The scintillating beauty has to downplay her physical allurem here, but the result is worth it. She's charming, but in a down-to-earth way, and the compassion and commitment she brings to the role are essential to Road's success. She's well matched by a young Harry Belafonte, and plays very nicely off of Philip Hepburn's troubled youth. The story and dialogue are often overly familiar, but Road's good heart will entice most viewers into staying with it.