Bessie (2015) Movie Script
( indistinct singing
echoing )
( gasping )
- ( muffled applause )
- Woman: We love you, Bessie!
Man:
We love you, Bessie!
( chatter )
- Hey, Bessie...
- ( cheering continues )
- ( chatter )
- Woman: I love you!
I love you so much!
- Bessie!
- I love you so much!
( woman whispers )
Bessie...
( voices echoing )
Man:
I love you, Bessie!
That was amazing!
( door creaking )
Hello?
Girl:
Mommy!
Where are you?!
( crying )
Where's my mama?
Mommy!
I want her back!
I want my mama back!
Where did she go?
- Woman: Mama ain't
here to save you now.
- ( crying continues )
Woman:
Your mama dead.
- Girl: Where's my mama?!
- Woman: It's your fault
Mama dead.
- Bessie.
- Girl: Where are you, Mom?
Where are you?
Woman #2:
Bessie!
( crying continues )
- ( music playing )
- ( crowd cheering )
( overlapping voices )
You ain't part of the act.
- Whoo!
- Excuse me!
Excuse me!
Excuse me!
I gotta get downstairs!
I gotta be changing!
Man:
Come on back here and put on
a good show for me tonight.
Woman:
I gotta change first.
Get on outta the way, Leroy!
Leroy:
Tape. Let's roll tape...
( Bessie laughing )
Man #2:
Ooh, yeah, girl.
( both laughing )
- ( man #2 moans )
- ( kissing )
( Bessie moans )
Come here, girl.
- Oh, yeah.
- ( both moaning )
Ah, yeah.
- Yeah.
- You like that?
- Ooh.
- Yeah.
Oh, that's nice.
Just let me
put it in.
No, I think
it's just fine
where it is.
Oh, come on, baby.
Just a little bit.
No, pap--
( cries out )
Man #2:
It's gonna feel
real good to you.
- ( Bessie grunts )
- ( gasping, groaning )
Don't mean I don't wanna
mess around a little bit.
- I just didn't
wanna do all of that.
- ( distant applause )
- ( thuds )
- Come on, now.
It's just getting
good to me.
- ( thuds )
- ( man groans )
What the hell
happened to you?
- Clarence?
- I told you
be here 9, 9:30.
- What time is it?
- 11:00, hell!
Come on,
go, go, go!
Wait, wait, wait.
Give me this.
( music playing )
Here, put this
on your head.
Put that on
right now.
There you go.
Come on, let's go.
Come on, now.
That's good.
Just...
( crowd cheering,
whistling )
Woke up this morning
When chickens was crowing
for days...
( overlapping voices )
Get her off the stage!
- Good Lord!
- Just let her sing anyway.
- Looked on the right
side of my pillow...
- Get off the stage!
- ( jeering continues )
- My man had gone away...
( overlapping voices )
I don't wanna hear this, man.
Go back inside.
Oh, come on.
Just let the girl sing!
By his pillow
He left a note
Reading,
"I'm sorry, Jane
You got my goat
No time to marry
- No time
to settle down"...
- ( crowd chattering )
- Get what everybody else gets.
- Well, we ain't everybody else.
No, no, no.
You said $5, sir.
A little something extra
for me and my sister.
A dollar's good enough
and a dollar's what
you'll take.
$2, sir,
for the both of us?
- For a week's work?
- That's the deal.
( birds chirping )
( woman humming )
( humming continues )
Woman:
Can you see her this time?
- ( kissing ) Hmm?
- ( coins clink )
( kisses )
You had a good week,
at least.
I know washwomen
who make more.
Don't be that way.
Well, I'm tellin' ya,
Mama ain't satisfied.
I'm gonna quit the 81.
You not.
Not if it means
quitting you.
( moans )
- ( knocking on door )
- ( giggling )
Woman #2:
Bessie, you come
out of there right now!
I told you about having
all those men in the room.
Ain't no mens here,
Miss Taylor!
- ( both laughing )
- Just us ladies, ma'am.
( giggling )
Bessie:
Go on and take her her board.
She'll cool down.
- ( coins clink )
- Miss Taylor?
Y'all are gonna have to take
that foolishness somewhere--
- Okay.
- Miss Taylor:
This is not
the only boardinghouse
in Atlanta.
( knocking )
Bessie!
Hey, look here, I'm coming
to work with you today.
I gotta get me
a new act.
- I like it.
- I like you.
I like you, too.
- ( giggling )
- ( knocking )
- ( music playing )
- Miss Taylor: Bessie!
Man:
Good, Georgette.
Mary Watson, if I have
to tell you to smile
one more time,
we having words.
Francine, baby, you're
clomping around up there
like a horse.
A H-O-R-S-E.
Bessie, get down now.
Stop teasing.
- It's not your rehearsal.
- Hey, Mr. Scandrick.
I've been working on
a little something.
Are you saying you wanna
be in my chorus line?
Yeah, come on, girls.
Let's show him.
- And a...
- ( piano playing )
Oh, I've got
what it takes
But it breaks my heart
to give it away
It's in demand
They want it every day
I've been saving it up--
You just keep
right on saving it.
- ( dancers laugh )
- You don't like it?
It's all right, but it ain't
hitting on all the sixes.
Now, if you done
messing up my rehearsal--
What about the bag test,
James, hmm?
Yeah, give her
the test.
You must be
lighter than.
( dancers laughing )
- ( cheering )
- Man: Whoo!
The top prize
for tonight's raffle--
a gold tooth.
That's right.
Hold up them tickets.
Hold 'em up.
I know you got 'em.
I know you got 'em.
But first,
the Queen of Melody,
the Empress of Rhythm.
We're talking about
the real Mother of the Blues,
Ma Rainey.
- ( music playing )
- Ma: This the real
blues here.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
( cheering, applause )
Ooh.
Audience:
Ooh.
Lord, you see me
weepin'
And you hear me cry
Woman:
Sing it, girl.
Lord, you see me
weepin'
And you hear me cry
I ain't weepin'
'bout no money
Just that man of mine
Lord, you see me
weepin'
And you hear me cry...
We got rehearsals
in the morning.
- I could be sleeping
or at least partying.
- Well, go on, then.
- I just wanna meet her.
- You can meet her tomorrow.
Man:
Mobile, Alabama,
we're on the road for a week,
then Gainesville, Florida.
- ( piano music playing )
- Oh, slow, slow, slow, baby.
Have mercy.
Contract's only four nights,
then we can go on to--
Why we backtracking
to Mississippi instead
of going to 'Bama?
Seem like we should
just go on from here,
maybe do a longer run
in Mobile, even add
Huntsville.
Well, we'll be
making it just in time
for cotton season
and catch everybody
with their pay, you know?
- ( distant
piano music playing )
- ( train hissing )
Oh, sh--
( train whistle blows )
Hey, get back here.
Man:
Besides, the harvest
don't start in Florida
- for another two weeks.
- Mm-hmm.
You've been using
that goober oil
like I told you?
Yes, ma'am.
Nice and soft.
Well, what about Tennessee?
You got Memphis,
you got Chattanoog-- oh!
- ( piano music stops )
- How'd you get in here?
- Can I join your show?
- You can see yourself out.
Where you from?
- Blue Goose Hollow.
- A who what?
That a street name?
Bessie:
Where I'm from, they don't
have no street names.
( chuckles )
That where your
people from, too?
They died a long time ago.
Well, the loneliest thing
in the world
is a motherless child.
Well, I got two brothers
and my sister Viola--
Well let me shave you dry.
They don't amount
to much, do they?
You on your own.
- ( train rumbles )
- ( crystals clinking )
- Well, Miss Blue Goose...
- Clarence: Bessie!
- I thank you for calling.
- Bessie! Bessie, get down
from there.
- Do I audition or--
- Ma: I heard you in the show.
I know you can sing.
So stay or jump, bitch.
( chuckles )
- Well, the train is--
- I don't give a damn
about the train,
a thunderstorm,
a shotgun or what.
You just got to decide
for yourself.
Hell, you got
the St. Louis blues,
the Chicago blues,
the Gin House blues,
the "my man
done left me" blues.
They all the same song,
ain't they?
With the same three chords.
And you done heard 'em
about a dozen hundred times
from a dozen hundred people.
So what make folks
wanna hear from you?
So you got to put
something else in it.
The blues is not about
people knowing you.
It's about
you knowing people.
( train whistle blowing )
( patting )
Who done that
to you, huh?
Big old girl like you
letting folks beat on you.
This look like
it might stay forever.
( liquid pouring )
What you doing
fanning yourself
around here for?
Shut the door good
on your way out.
Where you going
without my sugar,
though?
- Mm.
- Mm-hmm.
What you grinning about,
Blue Goose?
What you know about it?
Same thing you know.
( chuckles )
What's your name,
pretty lady?
Bessie Smith.
Miss Bessie Smith.
( music playing )
- So, like we said--
- How many seats
in the house?
- 200.
- I counted 250.
Ah, I meant 200 plus,
give or take.
And you sure
eager to take.
- She need to be here?
- Ma: She needs to understand
why TOBA stands
for "Tough On Black Asses."
Actually, it stands for
Theater Owners Booking
Association, T-O-B--
- What's the cover?
- A nickel.
Hmm, newspaper ad
say a dime.
- Well, we don't always--
- $12.50.
- Pardon me?
- That's 10 cents
times 250 seats.
Our contract
is 50-50 per head.
$12.50 in advance
every night.
( laughing )
We have no way of knowing
how many people
are actually gonna show up.
We'll refund
your no-shows.
Bessie will be counting
the empty seats.
$12.50.
( chuckling )
Boy, aren't you getting
a hell of a deal?
Now let's talk about
the bar.
What you standing
way back here for?
Keep on going.
I ain't said stop.
A little bit more.
- Ma.
- That's about right.
Now how that feel?
Like I'm about to fall.
That's how
it should feel
every night.
If you're not
risking nothing,
neither will they.
Now where's that heifer
that stole your man?
- Ain't nobody here.
- Pick somebody.
Right there.
How about her?
Three rows back
on the left.
- Mm-mmm.
- Yeah.
Yeah, that look
like her.
And what you gotta
say to that bitch?
And right there.
Oh, there's
that pinched-back man
that stole all your money.
Yeah, that's him.
Tell them
about theyselves.
Go on, baby.
- Bess?
We're rehitching.
- Okay.
( men shouting )
That mighty caboose
right there.
( chatter )
- Man: That was Bertha--
I mean, Miss Bessie Smith.
- ( piano playing )
- ( scattered applause )
- Man: Aw, come on now,
be nice, be nice.
We got your headliner
coming up.
Gin.
I got that, Clive.
( coins clink )
Gin'll make you crazy.
Why don't you let me
buy you a whiskey
instead?
That "stand and shout" shit
might work back home,
but you got to bring
some hoop-de-doo to get
these silly folk attention.
Don't nobody care
what you think.
You don't know nothin'
from nothin'.
Oh, I ain't trying
to fuss with you,
gorgeous.
Just 'cause you got
a little sport in your strut
don't make you
no authority.
I was just giving you
my opinion, that's all.
I'm gonna see you
later tonight.
- Not hardly.
- Yeah, you will.
- ( cheering, applause )
- Hey.
Say, you seen Ma?
( chuckles )
You were just
talking to her.
( music playing )
I went out last night
With a crowd
of my friends
Must have been women,
'cause I don't like no men
Wear my clothes
just like a fan
Talk to the gals
just like any old man
They say I do it
Ain't nobody caught me
Sure got to
prove it on me...
Oh, wait a minute now,
wait a minute now.
I see some
of your eyes rolling,
trying to find my Johnson.
That ain't ladylike.
Trust me, mama,
I got everything you need.
Ha!
( audience shouting,
laughing )
'Cause they say I do it
Ain't nobody caught me
Sure got to
prove it on me
Sure got
to prove it on me.
( cheering )
I almost got her
to go to bed with me.
- ( laughter )
- Bessie: You ain't
almost nothing.
What?
Oh, ain't no "almost"
right here, baby.
- ( both moaning )
- All: Ooh-hoo!
Ma get more tail
than me.
( all chuckling )
What you looking
'round for?
Who gonna see ya?
And so what if they do?
They got to prove it
on you, baby.
( laughter )
They got to prove it
on you, baby.
( knocking )
- ( laughter )
- Shit, like they
doing something bad.
What they doing, baby?
Go on with that.
Let the cards
do the talking.
Let the cards do
the motherfucking talking.
What the fuck
was she talking about?
Take that bullshit on back
where you got it from.
I told you,
you ain't ready
for the big leagues.
( laughter, chatter )
Oh!
( laughing )
( music playing )
( crowd cheering )
Lord, you see me
weepin'
And you hear me cry
Lord, you see me
weepin'
And you hear me cry
I ain't weepin'
'bout no money
Just that man
of mine
Lord, this mean
old engineer
Cruel as he could be
This mean old engineer
Cruel as he could be
( crowd cheering )
Both:
Took my man away
And blowed the smoke
back at me
Back at me
I'm going down South
Won't be back till fall
Back till fall
I'm going down South...
Crowd: Yeah!
Won't be back
till fall
If I don't find
my easy rider
Ain't comin' back
at all
- Woman: Bessie!
- ( crowd cheering )
Yeah, if I don't find
my easy rider...
- Come on, Bessie!
- Ain't comin' back
at all
Back at all.
( cheering )
Yeah, Bessie!
Clarence:
Yeah!
( stammering )
You can't control that.
- Her goddamn ego--
- Whoo-hoo hoo!
I ain't never
seen 'em like that!
We sung that song.
Yeah, I earned
this tonight.
( laughing )
Oh, yeah.
Come on, Ma,
you ain't gonna
drink no co--
I know you ain't drinking
no corn with me.
Remember what I told you
about the blues?
About you knowing the people
and not the other way around?
Yeah.
I knowed everybody in there
and they knowed me.
You sure love yourself.
I see that gin
done finally made you
blow your top, huh?
I did good.
It's not a matter
of you doing good.
You're just busted
'cause they was
yelling for me
more than they was
yelling for you.
You better turn
your damper down.
- I ain't scared of you.
- I ain't never asked you
to be.
All I asked you for
was respect.
Respect for yourself,
respect for these songs.
I ain't see you respect
all this extra money
I'm bringing in here.
Oh, let me
get you told,
little gal,
'cause I can see you ain't
learnt your lesson yet.
It's my name
on this train,
it's my name
on those flyers,
and it is in my name
that everybody in this company
takes to that stage.
Now, until you can
get yourself together,
you're going back
to deucing, 'cause you
ain't ready to headline.
- Deucing?
- Deucing.
No.
I ain't playing second
to nobody anymore.
Best we shake hands
and go.
Well, Miss Blue Goose...
take off
my goddamn shoes.
What's wrong?
What happened?
- Bessie: We're starting
our own show.
- Our own show?
- We're just getting started.
- I'm finished with starting.
Wait, Bessie,
I'm gonna go
talk to Ma.
Hey, don't leave.
I'm coming!
( chatter )
- Man: The 3:00 with service...
- Clarence: They're coming,
all right?
All right,
don't give me
that face now.
Just relax.
They're coming.
( man shouting )
- Ha ha!
- Hey, man!
- How you feeling?
- You all right?
Bobby, you know
I'd catch you.
- ( laughing )
- Good to see you.
So good to see you.
Man:
It's corn bread time.
The money gonna come in soon.
Thank y'all for heaven.
Clarence:
Sure. This ain't nothing
like it used to be.
You want some more
of these greens?
Clarence: You know,
I ain't nervous yet.
You have to take
the show on the road.
Hip, too.
Get a piano
on the ground floor.
We're gonna take
good care of you.
'Cause what we're doing
here, man, is
we're bringing
a little South
to the North.
A little taste of home
for all these homesick
Yankees.
You know what I'm saying?
They ain't ready for it.
They ain't ready for it,
but I'm telling you,
Bessie's doing
big things, man, and...
you on bass,
you on horn.
Next, we have Doreen Dupree
from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Is that a real name
or a made-up one?
- Hattiesburg is a real--
- Not Hattiesburg.
I know
where in the hell
Hattiesburg is.
I'm talking about
"Doreen Dupree."
That sound
like some made-up,
store-bought shit to me.
Don't that sound like
some old vaudeville
mess to you?
Who mama and daddy
gonna name 'em something
go together like that?
You pick that
out of a magazine
or something?
It's on
my birth certificate.
They have birth certificates
in Hattiesburg, Mississippi?
And take that damn gum
out your mouth.
Don't nobody
wanna see you up there
chewing like a cow.
- Where do I put it?
- Hold it in your damn hand,
Hattiesburg.
( whispers )
Five, six, seven, eight.
Wait, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa.
What is that?
Um, I'm dancing, ma'am.
- I wanna--
- You better sing
something first.
( stammering )
I don't know how to sing.
You don't know
how to sing?
You wanna be in my show,
you have to be able to sing,
dance, and tell
a damn joke or two.
( clears throat )
Well, I woke up
this morning--
That's enough.
Clarence, give her
the bag test.
What you grinning for?
You failed.
You must be darker
than the bag to be
in my show.
Now get going with
your high-heeled ass.
- Next!
- Clarence: Etta Johnson,
Bell Buckle, Tennessee.
Bell Buckle?
Lord!
No yellow bitches.
-( yelps )
- Next!
- Next!
- What if I didn't
pass your bag test?
- I never give you no test.
- Oh, you test me... daily.
No, you--
you tell me.
Come on, Lucy.
No.
I wanna know.
Would you still
love me?
You'd still be you.
And how would you
know that?
You know how I feel.
Then I need you
to say it.
- You know.
- No, I don't know.
You know.
Then say it.
It wouldn't matter.
It wouldn't matter,
what?
It wouldn't matter
about your color.
And?
And?
You know what?
I cares for you.
( chuckles )
You cares for me?
You cares for me.
Is that all?
No, that ain't all.
What-- why you
acting up today?
I need you
to tell me something.
- I'm gonna show you
something instead.
- ( laughing )
Clarence:
You can make this bigger.
You know what I mean?
It's got to say,
"This is Bessie Smith,"
so make this bigger
and this a little bit
smaller like that.
Now, that's what--
that's what I'm talkin'
about, right there.
( chatter )
Clarence:
Come on. All right.
Clarence:
Open your eyes!
- Hey now!
- Clarence: That's right.
Bessie Smith
and Her Down Home Trio.
- Ho-ho, now!
- That's right.
- I was with you, baby...
- ( crowd cheering )
When you didn't
have a dime
I was with you,
baby
When you didn't
have a dime
Now, since you got
plenty of money
You have throwed
your good gal down...
( crowd cheering )
( overlapping voices )
This is A.R. Knight from
the "Chicago Defender,"
and I'm here to tell you
that Bessie Smith
is the locomotive
that shot out of Tennessee.
This is W. Alexander
from the "Boston Guardian."
Talk about
"Chattanooga Choo-Choo,"
Bessie Smith
is the biggest thing
since Ma Rainey.
This is J. Anderson
reporting for the "New York
Amsterdam News."
If you haven't got
your tickets, folks,
you're not gonna get 'em,
'cause it's already
sold out.
( knocking on door )
( knocking continues )
Who is it?
Man:
I'm here to audition
for Miss Bessie Smith.
I didn't ask
you what you want,
I asked you who you are.
Man:
Open the door
and see me, big man.
My name is Jack Gee, ma'am,
and I'm 32 years old
from Titustown, Virginia,
and I schooled till
the 10th grade.
I'm nobody's husband
and I'm nobody's daddy.
I make $13.75 a week
working as a security guard
at the five and dime.
Another $2.80
on the weekend
at the Top Hat.
I got my own
two-bedroom apartment
and I drive a brand-new
1921 Davis Touring.
Now, I don't
believe in church,
but I do believe in God,
and I know it to be
the God's honest truth
that you're
the most beautiful woman
ever sing the blues,
or any woman, period.
And I'm very pleased
to make your acquaintance
this fine afternoon.
- Can you sing?
- Oh, yes.
- Can you dance?
- Oh, yes.
Auditions for the show
are over.
I ain't auditioning
for no show.
I'm auditioning
to be your man.
( scoffs )
You look a little small.
- Baby, I'm built for speed.
- Really, now?
Well, maybe you only
auditions women.
I auditions
whosoever I please.
I can give it
as hard as I can take it,
and I don't mind
going to jail.
- Jack: Mm-mm-mm.
- Woman: Whoa,
gone away, baby
Won't be back
till fall
Lord, Lord, Lord
Gone away, baby,
won't be back...
Bottle of gin for the lady
and a glass for me.
If I find me
a good man
I won't be
back at all...
- ( men chuckling )
- Oh, she fine. Man.
Man:
Watch this.
- The lady don't smoke.
- The hell she don't.
( chuckles )
So that's your man
or what?
No, he's still auditioning.
( men laughing )
Can I have
this dance, baby?
Touch her hand, Charlie,
and draw back a nub.
And what if I touch his?
- ( knife clicks )
- ( Bessie gasps )
- ( women scream )
- Ah!
Man:
Hey! Yeah, come here!
- Jack: Come on, girl.
- ( Bessie laughing )
- Let's go get 'em, okay?
- Get that motherfucker!
- ( tires screeching )
- ( Bessie laughing )
- Chump!
- Bessie: You were
so brave, papa!
See how crazy I am
about you, girl!
- Your audition
ain't over yet.
- ( honking )
( women screaming )
Keep your eyes
on the road.
- ( belt buckle clinking )
- ( chuckles )
A good man
is hard to find
You always get
the other kind
Just when you think
that he's your pal...
Say, we still
$15 short.
- 10 is what everybody gets.
- But we had a contract, sir.
Contract?
You must be one of them
old country niggers.
( chuckling )
Contra--
I'll cut you
every way but loose.
Hug him in the morning,
kiss him every night
Give him plenty of lovin',
you know what I mean
And treat him right,
'cause a good man
nowadays...
Bessie:
And remember when we did
that show at Don's place?
- Clarence: Ah,
you don't remember that.
- Bessie: Oh, lookit.
Lookit, J.G.
That's our corner.
- That's our corner.
- Clarence: A penny a song.
( laughs )
- Woman: I love you, Bessie!
- You see that gin joint
right there?
That's where I made
my first whole dollar.
- Spent it, too.
- Hug him in the morning,
kiss him every night
Give him plenty of lovin',
treat him right
'Cause a good man nowadays
is hard to find
Ah, yes,
hard to find...
- How y'all doing?
- Oh, my God.
A good man
is hard to find
You always get
another kind
So if your man
is nice
- Take my advice...
- Come over here right now.
- You know all them words?
- Yeah.
You know
what you're singing?
Hold out your hand
right now.
Keep singing.
Make sure all
you're doing is singing.
- Boy: Come on, let's go.
- ( children giggling )
( young Bessie crying )
Mommy. Where's my mama?
- ( child giggling )
- ( crying continues )
Man: Welcome home.
Come on inside.
- Man #2: Hey, hey!
- ( men laughing )
Hey y'all.
How you doing?
How you doing?
Well, I guess you think
you're something.
How are you?
You care?
I think I'm gonna go show
Jack and Lucille around.
That's your man?
You got something
to eat?
- Drink?
- Oh, city gal, huh?
Can't stand to be in regular
folks' houses no more.
You still keeps
the food locked up.
That's right.
Y'all was like
little rats.
How else was I supposed to
keep the food in the house
- and feed six people?
- Come here.
Go get a case of Coca-Cola
and a lot of ice.
As many potato chips
and peanuts as you can get.
Oh, golly. Mm.
A whole case
of Coca-Cola.
After 10 years,
ain't you a saint?
Don't drink it all up.
You're one to talk.
Well, you're the one still
keeps the food locked up.
Don't look like you're
missing no meals.
Well, I sure didn't
get 'em here, did I?
I got some tickets
for the show tonight.
You want to bring
the family...
I got someplace
else to be.
You been by
Mama's grave yet?
Lucy:
No street signs,
no lights, no nothing.
Bessie:
Told ya, Mama, this is
Blue Goose Hollow.
I know this town
better than J.G.'s
ding-a-ling.
( all laughing )
Yeah, this is my town!
Woman:
Hey, Bessie! Hey.
( crowd cheering )
Woman:
Oh, you remember.
I know you remember...
Woman:
Easy, papa. Leave room
for the Holy Ghost, now.
Man:
Good times
with you two.
Woman #2:
Girl, you gotta
get your man.
- Hey.
- Leave them gals be.
- Yeah.
- Get off of me.
- What do you think this is?
- I said leave 'em be!
Shut up, fat bitch.
- What'd that fucker
say to me?
- I said--
- ( thuds )
- ( man yells )
- ( whistling )
- ( cheering )
- ( applause )
- Don't nobody try her.
She's in her gin, y'all.
...your little dancer
decided to come along
for the ride.
Y'all know how to ball!
And we're gonna
ball again tomorrow.
- ( woman screaming )
- Man: Hey, get back here!
Woman:
Clarence, help us.
- Where's a doctor?
- Clarence: Get somebody!
- Get somebody! Hurry up.
- Baby, look at me.
Look at me.
Oh, shit.
Help!
Help!
Baby...
( shushing )
- Lucy: Bessie!
- Clarence: Hurry up!
Bessie!
- Bessie! Bessie!
- Mommy!
- Bessie!
- Mommy!
- Bessie!
- No!
( screaming )
Where's my mommy?
Where's Mama?
( screaming, crying )
Jack:
It's okay.
It's okay, baby.
- Baby, it's okay.
- Get off of me!
Get off of me!
- Get off of me!
- She's okay. She's okay.
- Why did you--
- I'm right here, baby.
- You let her get me.
- I ain't going nowhere,
I love you.
Jack
You gotta let that heal.
You gotta let that heal.
- Bess, you gotta
let that heal.
- We got a show to do.
Clarence:
No, no, ain't no show.
Ain't no show.
Lucy: Bess!
Jack: Bess!
Bess!
- Lucy: Nurse!
- Bess, what are
you doing?
( chattering )
( crowd cheering )
How much y'all pay
to get in here?
- Crowd: 25 cents.
- 25 cent?
Hmm, I wouldn't pay 25 cent
to go nowhere.
Well, I guess I better
sing something, huh?
'Cause y'all spent
all that money.
( music playing )
Man:
"Dear Miss Smith,
my name is
Harry Herbert Pace,
president of the newly formed
Black Swan Records
based in Harlem,
New York City.
I'm a great admirer
of your work,
having seen you perform
at the Royal Theater
in Philadelphia.
News of your great talent
continues to precede you
and we would like to invite you
to an audition
at our offices
in Times Square,
New York City,
to be our first recording
artist signed to
the Black Swan label!
- Hoo!
- Well, this is it.
I always wanted to
live in New York City,
you know.
You're gonna be the biggest
thing since Mamie Smith.
You know how many records
she sold last year?
- Bessie: A million.
- A colored outfit?
Ain't nobody heard of
no Black Swan.
What you need is
a national label.
Big-time.
W.E.B. Du Bois' company
wants to record you, sis.
This is the big time!
- So? I read his book.
- I doubt you read his book.
I read the damn book.
- What's that got
to do with music?
- This is the big ticket.
Bessie, this is what they're
calling Pan-Africanism.
Well, what about
Pan-Americanism?
Can she sell more tickets?
That's what I wanna know.
"The only genuine
colored records.
The others are only
passing for colored."
- That's their motto.
- I like that.
I like it, too.
"Yours in negritude,
Harry Herbert Pace."
The fuck is negritude?
That means they're real,
real black.
My kind of people.
Talk about passing.
Y'all is fried, dyed,
and laid to the side.
Well, and we are very
excited to be here.
- Very excited.
- We were surprised you could
schedule the audition
so quickly given your
busy tour schedule.
We canceled the rest of
our tour to be here.
- Well, that's, uh--
- Well, y'all wanna
hear me sing, right?
Yes. Yes, yes,
of course.
Is there anything else
that you need?
I need a little something
for this tea.
Honey, sugar, milk?
Splash of Old Tom
will be just fine.
- "Old Tom"?
- Gin?
I'm sorry, I-- I--
I don't know that we have any
or where we could find any.
You see, it's, ah...
- I mean, it's illegal.
- Never mind. It's okay.
No, it ain't okay.
You want her at her best,
then give her what she needs.
Oh, it's okay, papa.
( vocalizing )
Oh...
( clears throat )
Hold up.
Something ain't right.
Oh--
Ahem--
( snorts )
( retches )
I got a man I love
Why he had
to leave me?
I got a man I love
Smart as he can be...
( clears throat )
Dear Miss Smith,
while we appreciate your
downhome sound,
we do not feel
that it is a fit
for Black Swan Records.
We have chosen
to record instead
a young lady who
we unanimously agree
has a more
compatible sound
and is a bright,
shining example
of the Harlem Renaissance
and an uplift to the race.
We hope you can appreciate
the difficulty
of our decision
and the choices
that must be made
in the name of progress.
We remain admirers
of your work
and hope that you will
keep us in mind
for your
future recordings.
Jack:
You let her go in there
and make a damn fool
- out of herself.
- Pour me another glass
of this corn.
- Ain't nobody crying.
- It was a good meeting, man.
Hey, baby, look here.
Never again.
Damn fools don't know nothing
about no talent.
I'm gonna get you
a real record deal!
I said I don't wanna
hear no more about it.
What the hell you know
about anything?
We've been in
this business
- before you were wiping
your own ass.
- Look it here.
It's about damn time she started
taking advice from a nigger
that don't wear no
stage makeup!
Listen--
Give me some more
of this!
Give me some more
of all this stuff!
It'll pass.
...a couple of them
myself, too.
Are you sure?
( chattering )
( laughs )
Jack: Hey, Bessie.
This here Mr. Walker--
want to meet you.
The hell you bring
him here for?
You remember him.
Brought him by a couple
of your shows.
He wants to talk
to you about a record deal.
- A real recording contract.
- Miss Smith,
I'd like to record
you for Columbia Records
for our new
Race Records division.
What is a Race Record?
The one where they put
a coon on the front?
What? Um, no, ma'am.
We at Columbia are taking
a different approach.
I'm not interested
in your Race Records.
And I'm not interested
in wasting my time singing
no store-bought blues.
But we want your sound.
We want
the Bessie Smith sound.
And it would be
your face on the ad,
- nothing like those
other records.
- I already sell out
every show from
Philly to Chicago.
Ain't nobody doing it
like I'm doing it.
You'd attract
a broader audience.
I've been doing
just fine without 'em.
I can offer you
50 dollars a side.
No royalties, of course.
( scoffs )
Don't play with me now.
J.G.
Now, you want
what's in my jacket
or in my pocket?
( scoffs )
I already know
what's in your pocket.
Maybe you do,
maybe you don't.
Now, what do you want?
This or this?
I want another velvet box.
Marry me.
You ou can't be
putting me upon no shelf.
I ain't no
henpecked man, either.
Take the chance on me.
Come here, girl.
Now, what's in
that other pocket?
Oh. ( chuckles )
Uh, just
a recording contract
from Columbia Records.
125 a side.
That's double
what that man said.
That's 'cause I'm fighting
for you now, baby.
Well, maybe we should
tell Clarence.
Uh-uh. This here is
me and you now.
Man:
All set. Let 'em know.
Man #2:
Let's hope she knows
what she's doing.
Man #3:
They tell me she does.
Take a listen.
This always takes...
Everything all right,
Bessie?
Yeah, as soon as y'all
move this thing
out the way,
I'm ready to go.
Well, no, that's
the recording apparatus.
- I know it's bigger
than what--
- It's crowding me.
( stammering )
Well, we need it to--
- I don't need it.
- Look, Bess, you got to--
Hey, hey.
I'll help her.
What's wrong?
It's gonna be just like
the last time.
- No, it's not.
- It ain't gonna go, J.G.
It ain't gonna go, J.G.
I know it.
I know how they do it.
They act like they're your pal,
and then it all comes loose.
You can't make
no silk purse out
of no sow's ear
- just like Viola
always said--
- Damn Viola.
You hear me? Damn her.
Damn Black Swan.
Damn these crackers
in here.
Let's just go home.
Okay, we're going.
We're going now.
Right now.
But sing one song,
honey.
The way you like it.
Don't sing it for me,
them, nobody.
You sing it
for yourself.
Now what you say?
Mr. Walker:
Okay, here we go, Bessie.
Mr. Gee, if you could just
step away from the cone--
He's staying right here.
Um, okay.
( music playing )
Gee, but it's hard
to love someone
When that someone
don't love you
I'm so disgusted,
heartbroken, too
I've got those
downhearted blues
Once I was crazy
'bout a man
Who mistreated me
all the time
The next man I get
Has got to promise me
to be mine
All mine
Trouble, trouble
I've had it all my days
Trouble, trouble
I've had it all my days
It seems that trouble's
I love you. You're mine.
Going to follow me
to my grave
I ain't never loved but
Three mens in my life
I ain't never loved but
Three mens in my life
My father, my brother
The man that
wrecked my life
I got the world in a jug
The stopper's in my hand
Recording:
I got the world
in a jug
The stopper's
in my hand...
Man: Put that
on top of that box.
Hey.
Seems I done traced
the lightning back
to her source.
Man:
Hey, boss. One more.
What's your name?
Ain't too smart
to give out names
in my business.
Just call me
your bootlegger.
And what do I call you?
You don't know who I am?
Oh, I know
who you are.
But what do you want me
to call you?
Oh, yes. Yeah!
What the fuck
is your name?
- Richard.
- Tell me your name.
Richard, baby!
My name is Richard.
Jack:
Come on, baby.
Mm-hmm.
Right here.
( chuckles )
Look good, huh?
- ( both chuckle )
- Bessie: Yeah!
Well, why is your
name on it?
Why is my name on it?
'Cause somebody somewhere
right now putting
a record on
listening to you.
You're making money
while you sleep.
Ain't had to sing
a word this morning.
It is fine.
- A whole train.
- Clarence: It was my idea.
Told you six months ago
we should get a train.
Look here,
we're saving money now.
Ain't never have
to go through another
third-rate backdoor again.
That's what I told you!
Yeah, well, some are talkers
and some are doers.
And, baby, I'm a doer.
And I done done it.
"Jack Gee presents."
Jack Gee presents
the most demonstrating,
syncopating, electrifying
woman in the world.
( Jack laughs )
My girl.
- ( music playing )
- ( chattering )
- ( cheering )
- Bessie: How y'all
feeling tonight?
Yeah!
Come on, now. Yeah!
( chuckles )
Give a little bit.
Oh, this reminds me
of church.
What? I think we might
have to preach
them blues tonight.
- Yeah!
- ( engines whirring )
Man: Here, nigger,
nigger, nigger, nigger!
- Man #2: Nigger!
- Man #3: Hurry!
Man #4:
Nigger, nigger,
nigger nigger!
Give it here,
give it here.
Come on, go around the side.
Go around the side.
Come on, let's move it.
- Man: Bring it down!
- We gotta get out of here.
- ( hollering )
- Man: The Klan is here.
The Ku Klux Klan is here!
- ( crowd chattering )
- ( men hollering )
- It's gonna be
all right.
- Man: Come on, niggers!
Man #2:
Come on, come on.
Let's get a move on.
Man #3: You ain't singing
so pretty now, are you, nigger?
Man #2:
Are you scared inside?
I bet you are!
Man:
Don't go out there, Bessie!
They're gonna kill you.
Woman:
Bessie, no!
( chatter continues )
Get on out of here!
What the hell
are you doing?
- Get back.
- Hey!
You better pick up
your sheets and run!
- ( gunshot )
- ( crowd screams )
Get out of here.
I'm gonna get you!
Bessie:
Get out of here!
We'll be back!
( cackles )
We'll be back!
Down in Atlanta, GA
Under the viaduct
every day
Drinking liquor
and hollerin' hooray
Pianos playing
till the break of day
But as I turned my head
I loudly said
Preach them blues
Sing them blues
They certainly sound
good to me
I've been in love
for the last six months
Ain't done worrying yet
Moan them blues,
holler them blues
Let me convert your soul
'Cause just
a little spirit
Of the blues tonight
Let me tell you, girls
That your man ain't
treating you right
Going on down the line
a little further now
There's many
a poor woman down
Read on down
to chapter nine
Woman must learn
how to take their time
Read on down
to chapter ten
Taking other women's men,
you are doing a sin
Sing 'em, sing 'em,
sing them blues
Let me convert
your soul...
Here we go! Here we go!
Girl: Hey, Bessie!
We're praying for you!
( cheering and shouting )
( cheers and shouts
continue )
( shouting )
Man: Thank you, Bessie!
Thank you!
Clarence:
Never thought
it'd be like this.
You woke us up.
( mumbling )
( whispering )
Hit it again.
Man: New York is celebrated
for its transitory fads.
During the current season,
the Negro is in ascendency.
Miss Smith, so wonderful
you could join us.
You're one of our
last guests to arrive.
Edgar!
Mr. Van Vechten,
4th floor.
Soon, doubtless, the homely
Negro songs of lovesickness
known as "the blues"
will be better known
and appreciated by
white audiences.
It's a little tight,
don't you think?
Bessie:
Ooh, yeah!
Man:
Bessie Smith is here!
Oh, you look fabulous!
I heard that you were wild.
Get the fuck off me.
Now, where's the good music,
the good food,
and the good liquor?
( chattering )
Langston Hughes
is the greatest
Negro poet of our time.
Oh. Who's the best
regular poet?
( laughing )
Van Vechten:
Langston, how about
a little poem?
Langston:
I'm not feeling
up to it.
Well, I'll sing
a note or two.
Ladies and gentlemen,
quiet, please.
Go, girl.
Miss Smith. Miss Smith,
I should warn you.
This crowd isn't...
Van Vechten:
I have a treat.
I have a special treat.
The incomparable Bessie Smith
is going to
sing us a song.
( faint applause )
Everybody's cryin'
The workhouse blues,
all day
Oh, Lord
Oh, Lord
The work is so hard
Thirty days is so long
Oh, Lord
I can't plough
I can't cook
If I'd run away,
wouldn't that be good?
Well, I'm goin'
to the nation
Goin' to the territor'
The workhouse sits
way out a
Long old lonesome road
I'm a hard-luck gal
Get the devil
everywhere I go...
Mmm.
Where the drinks at
around here?
Let me get
a little something.
You are a treasure.
That was so beautiful
and so soulful,
and, frankly,
exactly the kind
of dusky pathos
that I'm looking to capture
for my new book
"Nigger Heaven"--
- Say what?
- "Nigger Heaven," it--
You know
the only difference
between white folks
in the North
and white folks
in the South?
White folks in the South
don't care how close you get
as long as you don't
get too big.
And white folks in the North
don't care how big you get
as long as you don't
get too close.
( chuckles )
- Man: Are you all right?
- Van Vechten: If Bessie Smith
is crude and primitive,
she reflects the true
folk spirit of her race.
Man:
Whoo-hoo!
Morning, Gee!
I got something for you.
Got somebody I want
you to meet.
This here is Gertrude.
She's a singer.
Writes songs, too.
You know Claudine
dropped out in Cincinnati.
Got pregnant.
So I hired Gertrude
here to replace her.
What the fuck you showing her
to me for?
I don't know.
Thought maybe you might
have something to say.
Sort of like "welcome."
What kind of fucked-up name
is Gertrude?
- You a half-breed?
- Excuse us, please.
Go on and get yourself
something to eat, baby.
What the hell
is wrong with you?
I know you got your
side pieces,
but why you gotta
rub 'em in my face?
I'm just trying
to build a--
You want me to
sniff her for you, too?
I'm just trying to build
a show here, Bessie.
You got her
wearing my things.
I know you think
I'm big and ugly.
You think I'm blind
and dumb, too?
It ain't-- it ain't like you
ain't been tipping out, too.
I know it.
Tell me different.
Look.
Baby, I promise.
Cross my heart.
I don't love
nobody else but you.
And you don't love
nobody else but me,
so the rest really don't
matter now, do they?
You know I don't think
what you said.
You're my fine woman.
Look.
Let's start over, huh?
Let's me and you both
clean house.
Come on.
Let's try.
They said you had
your own train.
I didn't believe 'em.
But goddamn, sis.
You a high post
now, huh?
You ain't tell me
about all this.
- You get that money
I sent you?
- Oh, yeah.
I get them little wires
you've been sending.
They're nice,
feeding four kids and all.
Okay, look.
I know you and I bump heads
most of the time,
but I'm just here
to show my support.
Mmm, real nice.
This is from Europe and...
what have you.
I got you something.
Probably not fancy enough
for you now, but...
I thought you'd like it.
I'm proud of you.
I'm so proud of you.
You gonna stay around
for a while?
Think Clarence could
get me tickets?
He's in the box office.
Thank you.
Bessie: Come on.
Come on and see.
Come on in here.
Come on.
- Come on, y'all.
- Get inside.
The paint already fading.
Bessie:
Take a look around.
( chattering )
Man:
Lord have mercy.
Bessie: Look around,
breathe it in.
Lucy: This is
something, Bessie.
Smell different, don't it?
Listen here, Bessie.
We ain't talk about
getting no house.
I ain't see your name
on my bank book.
I mean,
I did it for us, papa.
- I knew you'd like it.
- Man: How the upstairs look?
But if you did it for us,
why all of them got to
move in here for?
And especially
why is she here?
Baby, she's gonna be
all the way back
in the house.
You ain't hardly
gonna see her.
I don't know
why certain people's
got they lip turned up.
Must be smelling something.
Damn right,
I'm smelling something.
Must be a dead rat
in the wall.
Must be.
Baby, stop.
Why you ain't
ask me first?
- See if I was ready?
- Well, I'm ready.
I want a real family,
not no road family.
I want the whole thing,
you know?
A big house
and everybody in it.
Well, everybody ain't gonna
be in it if you don't start
showing me some respect!
I'm gonna put a big piano
right here,
a big dining room table
is gonna go here.
I'm gonna get me a nice rug
for that parlor.
And I'm gonna get me
a baby, too,
and I'm gonna put him
right in there.
- A what?
- Come see the-- a baby.
Come on, see the kitchen.
Always a pleasure.
Bess?
You're gonna have to
start delivering.
I'm a married woman now.
I can't keep doing
these pick-ups.
No problem, ma'am.
What do you want?
I'll follow you home
just like this.
( chuckles )
You trot yourself out there
swinging and dangling.
See what happens.
Yeah, suits me fine.
I don't want you for
no customer anymore, nohow.
Why not?
Every man in your life
is a business relationship.
Your brother's your partner,
your man's your manager,
and your woman
is your dancer.
And you're my
bootlegger.
Not no more.
Matter of fact,
I'm giving you
a full 100% refund.
- Richard.
- Look...
I don't wanna be
in business with you.
I want to be
in love with you.
I'll take the shine.
Fine, take it.
I'm giving it to you.
Not selling it.
I oughta get home to J.G.
Bess.
You don't have to pay
for something
that I'm already
offering for free.
- ( door opens )
- I'm gonna spend it
on you anyhow.
( door shuts )
Shit.
( chatter, laughter )
Bessie: Everybody!
I want you to meet
Jack, Jr.
Junior, this is my family.
Your new family.
That's your Uncle Clarence.
There's your Aunt Viola.
And this is your
new daddy, Jack.
J.G.,
come meet your son,
Jack, Jr.
How old are you, boy?
Seven years old, sir.
Where are you from?
Shelby County
Children's Home, sir.
- An orphanage?
- Mm, mm, mm!
Jack, Jr.:
I don't know
about that, sir,
but that's what
she told me to say.
Well, what's your
real name?
My name is
Jack Gee, Jr., sir.
- Viola: Oh!
- ( all laughing )
Come on over here
and give your daddy a hug.
Bessie: Whoo!
Smells good in here.
Eat as much
as you want, Jack Jr.
- Viola: Mmm!
- Happy Thanksgiving.
Jack: What you
looking at, Viola?
Come on, sit down here.
With that fork there.
- Know how to use a knife?
- Yes, sir.
Jack:
That piece of chicken
right there.
( chattering )
Clarence:
You want some of this
dressing here?
( chatter continues )
Clarence:
Wait till I'm finished.
( woman vocalizing )
( giggling )
Come here!
Jack:
Bessie, where you at, baby?
Put 'em up.
Yeah, guard yourself. Bam!
I'll knock you out.
Guard that face.
Bam, bam!
Come one, you ain't gonna
whup nobody like that.
Now, you gotta get in there,
baby. Come on. Pop!
- Oh.
- There you go. Pop!
There you go.
Get in there on him.
You can't get him
if you're afraid
to take one.
Block him.
Block now. Block!
What you trying
to do, huh?
What you trying
to do?
Get him, Mama!
Yeah, get him!
You gonna beat
your old man, huh?
Louis and I
are getting married.
You and who?
I can't no more.
I want a family.
Like you.
Showbiz life
can't last forever.
I just want
a normal life.
Thank you.
( applause )
Woman #1:
We love you, Bessie!
Man #1:
Love you, Bessie.
It's a long old road
But I'm gonna find
the end
A long old road
Mm-mm
Find the end
And when I get there...
( humming )
Shake hands
With a friend
Come on, come on.
No, no, no,
you don't-- no.
- No, no, no.
- What the fuck
is this shit?
Don't worry about it.
Bitch!
Jack, you fucker!
"The most beautiful
blues sensation"? Huh?
Jack:
The hell are you
talking about?
I'm talking about you backing
this bitch with my money!
- With what?
- I can't believe
you did this shit!
- I gotta see it
on the street!
- That's my money!
You're spending my money
on this bitch!
That's my goddamn money.
( shouting )
- I made you!
- ...fucking money.
( Jack growls )
- ( Bessie grunts )
- Huh?
- You promised me, Jack.
- You promised me, too!
You promised me, too!
Where you get
them earrings from, huh?
I know where.
That goddamn bootlegger.
- You--
- Don't touch me!
Don't you fucking touch me!
You want this bitch,
you eat her!
- You eat her.
- ( Jack growls )
Crazy.
Where are you going?
You're leaving?
You're leaving?
You don't get to leave me!
I should've left your ass!
You got what you want.
You can have it.
- Get away.
- ( groans )
Jack!
Go!
You go!
Jack!
( car door slams )
- Jack!
- ( engine whirring )
Jack!
- Bessie: No!
- ( glass shattering )
- I can't stand it.
- You want me to get
your medicine?
What did you say to me?
Your medicine, honey.
Don't think I don't know
what you be saying about me.
Get out!
- Get out.
- We're not talking
about--
Get the fuck out
of my room!
Get out of here, Viola!
The fuck is you
looking at? Go!
( glass shatters )
- It ain't my fault!
- ( glass shatters )
I hate you.
Go, go.
You think I don't know?
Yeah, I know.
Leave me alone.
( muted footsteps )
Man: Shh, shh, shh.
Come on, come on.
Hurry up.
J.G.?
- Hey!
- Let's go.
- Who the hell are you?
- Jack, Jr.: Mama!
What you doing in--
- Come on, boy.
- Jack!
- Mama!
- Junior! No!
Mama! Mama, keep me!
- Jack, don't you--
- Mama, keep me!
What you doing?
- That's my stuff.
- Mama!
Hurry up.
Get in there.
- ( shouting )
- Hey!
- I'll kill you.
- Get this shit off.
- ( grunting )
- Get off of me.
Get Junior in the car!
Stealing my baby!
You're trying to kill me.
- Jack: Stop it, stop it!
- Mama!
You ain't fit
to be a mother!
Can't just leave him?
Just leave him, okay?
You're high, you're drunk.
You ain't fit!
You're just trying
to kill me!
You ain't gonna never
see Junior again!
You're a liar!
I'll kill you!
I'll kill myself.
- Go! Let's go!
- No! Stop!
Jack, Jr.: Mama!
- Junior!
- Mama, keep me!
Mama!
You let him in.
( sobbing )
Man on radio:
...to glimpse a small,
flickering hope.
General Motors,
that formidable
industrial titan,
has not only weathered
the Great Depression,
but has bested it
in a demonstration
of typically American
fortitude and ingenuity.
Where others are
shuttering their windows,
General Motors turns in
its second quarter of profits.
( radio continues,
muted )
( children shouting )
Hmm.
( radio play playing )
Narrator: ...draws his
gleaming revolver,
its cold silvery glint
reflected in a dark puddle.
( radio play continues )
Hey, there's food here, now.
You need to eat
something.
( jazz music playing )
Come on.
You have anybody
under that name?
No.
Yeah, yeah,
I'll take it.
Mm-hmm.
- Old, empty bed
- It's gonna be all right.
Springs hard as lead
Feel like old Ned
Wish I was dead
All my life through
I've been so
black and blue
I'm white inside
But that don't help
my case
'Cause I can't hide
- What is in my face
- We're going on a trip.
( scatting )
How will it end?
- Ain't got a friend
- You ready?
- Yeah.
- My only sin
Is in my skin
Clarence:
One last drive, then we
have to sell this, too.
Recording:
...to be so black
and blue?
( laughs )
Okay.
( chattering )
Yeah, she just
needs some time.
Ma:
"Of the artists who have
communicated the blues
to the more sophisticated
Negro and white public"--
What the hell does he know
about being sophisticated?
"I think Ethel Waters
is the best.
In fact, to my mind,
Miss Waters is superior
to any other woman
stage singer of her race."
( chuckles )
"Superior."
See how they love
to instigate? Set us up
against each other?
Them's graveyard words.
Don't worry, honey.
No decent colored folk
even read that
silly magazine.
It ain't for us anyhow.
"Nigger Heaven."
( scoffs )
I'm thinking of writing
my own book.
"Cracker Hell."
If Vechten
is the nigger expert,
then I'm damn sure
the cracker authority.
Come on, Ma.
It hurts too much to laugh.
Yankee blacks
cut you up.
Yankee whites trying
to cut you down.
Hmm.
J.G. took Junior.
And he's trying to...
- And he's...
- Shh.
You just take care
of you right now.
Get your head right.
Things never
turn out straight.
Well, you can't hit
a straight lick
with a crooked stick,
and you're about
as crooked as they come.
( chattering )
Oh!
Now, this right here,
this used to be my favorite.
See how it'd been
drawn up three sizes?
You grew three sizes.
Just like you
outgrowed your life.
It was like you had
a hole in your stomach,
or maybe even a worm,
and you weren't
gonna stop till you ate up
everything around ya.
You got to fill that hole
yourself, sweetheart.
Nothing or nobody else
will fill it.
Yeah.
( chuckles )
Uh-huh, yeah.
Yeah.
They still fit.
Now...
You done heard the rest.
And I'm gonna
show you the best.
Ma gonna show ya
her black bottom.
Don't you see the dance
They call your big
black bottom
It'll put you
in a trance
Ha
All the boys
in the neighborhood
They say my black bottom
is really good
Come on, let me show you,
do the big black bottom
I want to learn that dance
Come on, Bess.
Come on. Get up.
Early in the morning,
'bout the break of day
Grandpa told my grandma,
I heard him say
Come on and let me see
your big black bottom
I want to learn
that dance, oh
All right now, Ma!
Come on now, honey.
You gettin' kind of
rough there, Ma.
Ah, too strong,
too strong!
Oh, baby, too strong.
Oh, I love you, baby.
I love you, too, Ma.
Rent shake this Saturday.
Rent shake this Saturday.
Bring what you can.
- ( crowd chattering )
- ( music playing )
( women scatting )
Man:
Why I'm a ladies man
About the sweetest
in the land
( singing continues )
- Here you go.
- Hey, that's right, Gilbert.
Don't be stingy now.
Hey, y'all, help yourself
to the kitchen, now.
Cooked up some good food.
- ( chattering )
- ( singing continues )
Still got 'em
coming, too. Come on!
Hey, can I use this kitchen
for a second, child,
if you don't mind?
Come on right back
and do as you please.
( coins clinking )
And how are you
gonna have a rent shake
without a bootlegger?
You ain't my bootlegger,
remember?
...pretty papa
Falling on my knees
I ask,
if you ain't got nobody
Kind daddy,
take me please
You wanna know
how to really make
some money nowadays?
Now--
Now, I'm serious, now.
This is only
for grown folks, now.
If you plan on going to church
this morning, stop me now.
Play the damn record.
( music playing )
Woman:
I got a man I love
I got a man I like
Every time I fuck
them mens
I give em'
the doggone claps...
Oh. Oh, my Lord.
She's so nasty!
Mm-hmm.
But that's the kind
of pussy that--
Oh, unh-uh,
that is too much.
Unh-uh, she is
just too rough.
These party records
going much further nowadays.
Mm-mm,
I can't go that far.
Well, you could always
dust something off,
do one of your
old numbers, you know?
Rough cock, suck my cock
You can tuck my cock--
I ain't gonna suck, tuck,
or nothing else to nobody.
We can get close
to it, though.
See, that's what I'm--
that's the spirit.
His frankfurters are,
oh, so sweet
How I like his
sausage meat
I can't do without
my kitchen man
Oh, how that boy
can open clam
No one else
can touch my ham
I can't do without
my kitchen man
( music playing )
Gin with no ice, right?
You know,
when I saw your name on
the sign out front,
I thought it had to be
some sort of mistake
or an imposter.
I-- I can't believe
it's you.
It is such an honor
to meet you, Miss Smith.
Alhambra Ballroom,
7th Avenue, 126th Street,
Harlem, New York, 1927?
I stand by it.
You changed my life.
That was six years ago,
sugar.
Change doesn't last
that long.
Oh, but it does.
I'm sorry.
I'm John Hammond,
by the way.
Bessie, I wanna produce
your comeback tour.
And this is only
the beginning. You see,
I'm putting together
a concert, right,
from spirituals to swing.
Nothing but
the best musicians.
We've got Benny Goodman,
Fletcher Henderson,
a young girl named
Billie Holiday.
- She loves you so much--
- Hey, slow down, now.
Sorry, I get excited.
Gonna build a new venue
specially for it
called the Cafe Society.
The first integrated
nightclub.
No color lines,
no balconies.
Everyone under one roof
just swingin'.
You're dreaming, John.
Will you dream it
with me?
Sing some of
that old stuff?
I'm going in a different
direction now.
You know, trying on
some new shoes.
Okay, well,
whatever you're thinking,
I just wanna be
a part of it.
We'll see.
Give me a call?
Throw me a line?
Just wanna be
a part of it, Bessie.
Laugh, frown, laugh
Bessie:
Okay, this one is good,
with the dancer girl.
Now, see, I like
this one here.
- Look at this little smile.
- ( Richard laughing )
Hammond:
Calvin, how are you?
Nice to see you.
This is Bessie Smith,
who I was telling you about.
We got everything
you might need.
Not those old weights
and pulleys.
( whispers )
Get tea.
- Nothing but the best.
- I see you got all
the parts.
You got Buck Washington,
Chu Berry,
and this is
Benny Goodman.
Such an honor.
Well, well.
I didn't know
where you wanted to start,
so I put together
every song you ever wrote
and then some.
( chuckling )
( music playing )
It's a long, old road
But I'm gonna find
the end
It's a long, old road
But I'm gonna find
the end
And when I get there
I'm gonna shake hands
with a friend
Weeping and crying
Tears falling
on the ground
Weeping and crying
Tears falling
on the ground
When I got to the end
I was so worried down
It's a long, old road
But I'm gonna find
the end...
I do wanna know.
Know what?
What's over
that next hill,
round the next corner.
Well, you can't
go back.
But you can stop.
- ( laughs )
- No, I can't stop.
Well, let's go.
Well, let's go.
( music playing )
25 cents? Ha!
No, no.
I wouldn't pay 25 cents
to go in nowhere!
'Cause listen here...
Up in Harlem
every Saturday night
When the highbrows
get together
It's just too tight
They all congregate
at an all-night strut
And what they do is
tut, tut, tut
Oh, Hannah Brown
from cross town
Gets full of corn
and starts breaking 'em down
Just at the break of day
You can hear
old Hannah say
Give me a pigfoot
and a bottle of beer
Send me 'gain,
I don't care
I feel just like
I wanna clown
Give the piano player
a drink
Because he's
bringing me down
He's got rhythm, yeah
When he stomps his feet
He sends me
right off to sleep
Check all your razors
and your guns
We gonna be arrested
when the wagon comes
I want a pigfoot
and a bottle of beer
Send me 'cause
I don't care
Play me 'cause
I don't care
Gimme a pigfoot
and a bottle of beer
Send me 'gain,
I don't care
I feel just like
I wanna clown
Give the piano player
a drink
Because he's
bringing me down
He's got rhythm, yeah
When he stomps his feet
He sends me
right off to sleep
Check all your razors
and your guns
Do the shim-sham-shimmy
till the rising sun
Give me a reefer
and a gang o' gin
Play me 'cause
I'm in my sin
Play me 'cause
I'm full of gin.
( music playing )
echoing )
( gasping )
- ( muffled applause )
- Woman: We love you, Bessie!
Man:
We love you, Bessie!
( chatter )
- Hey, Bessie...
- ( cheering continues )
- ( chatter )
- Woman: I love you!
I love you so much!
- Bessie!
- I love you so much!
( woman whispers )
Bessie...
( voices echoing )
Man:
I love you, Bessie!
That was amazing!
( door creaking )
Hello?
Girl:
Mommy!
Where are you?!
( crying )
Where's my mama?
Mommy!
I want her back!
I want my mama back!
Where did she go?
- Woman: Mama ain't
here to save you now.
- ( crying continues )
Woman:
Your mama dead.
- Girl: Where's my mama?!
- Woman: It's your fault
Mama dead.
- Bessie.
- Girl: Where are you, Mom?
Where are you?
Woman #2:
Bessie!
( crying continues )
- ( music playing )
- ( crowd cheering )
( overlapping voices )
You ain't part of the act.
- Whoo!
- Excuse me!
Excuse me!
Excuse me!
I gotta get downstairs!
I gotta be changing!
Man:
Come on back here and put on
a good show for me tonight.
Woman:
I gotta change first.
Get on outta the way, Leroy!
Leroy:
Tape. Let's roll tape...
( Bessie laughing )
Man #2:
Ooh, yeah, girl.
( both laughing )
- ( man #2 moans )
- ( kissing )
( Bessie moans )
Come here, girl.
- Oh, yeah.
- ( both moaning )
Ah, yeah.
- Yeah.
- You like that?
- Ooh.
- Yeah.
Oh, that's nice.
Just let me
put it in.
No, I think
it's just fine
where it is.
Oh, come on, baby.
Just a little bit.
No, pap--
( cries out )
Man #2:
It's gonna feel
real good to you.
- ( Bessie grunts )
- ( gasping, groaning )
Don't mean I don't wanna
mess around a little bit.
- I just didn't
wanna do all of that.
- ( distant applause )
- ( thuds )
- Come on, now.
It's just getting
good to me.
- ( thuds )
- ( man groans )
What the hell
happened to you?
- Clarence?
- I told you
be here 9, 9:30.
- What time is it?
- 11:00, hell!
Come on,
go, go, go!
Wait, wait, wait.
Give me this.
( music playing )
Here, put this
on your head.
Put that on
right now.
There you go.
Come on, let's go.
Come on, now.
That's good.
Just...
( crowd cheering,
whistling )
Woke up this morning
When chickens was crowing
for days...
( overlapping voices )
Get her off the stage!
- Good Lord!
- Just let her sing anyway.
- Looked on the right
side of my pillow...
- Get off the stage!
- ( jeering continues )
- My man had gone away...
( overlapping voices )
I don't wanna hear this, man.
Go back inside.
Oh, come on.
Just let the girl sing!
By his pillow
He left a note
Reading,
"I'm sorry, Jane
You got my goat
No time to marry
- No time
to settle down"...
- ( crowd chattering )
- Get what everybody else gets.
- Well, we ain't everybody else.
No, no, no.
You said $5, sir.
A little something extra
for me and my sister.
A dollar's good enough
and a dollar's what
you'll take.
$2, sir,
for the both of us?
- For a week's work?
- That's the deal.
( birds chirping )
( woman humming )
( humming continues )
Woman:
Can you see her this time?
- ( kissing ) Hmm?
- ( coins clink )
( kisses )
You had a good week,
at least.
I know washwomen
who make more.
Don't be that way.
Well, I'm tellin' ya,
Mama ain't satisfied.
I'm gonna quit the 81.
You not.
Not if it means
quitting you.
( moans )
- ( knocking on door )
- ( giggling )
Woman #2:
Bessie, you come
out of there right now!
I told you about having
all those men in the room.
Ain't no mens here,
Miss Taylor!
- ( both laughing )
- Just us ladies, ma'am.
( giggling )
Bessie:
Go on and take her her board.
She'll cool down.
- ( coins clink )
- Miss Taylor?
Y'all are gonna have to take
that foolishness somewhere--
- Okay.
- Miss Taylor:
This is not
the only boardinghouse
in Atlanta.
( knocking )
Bessie!
Hey, look here, I'm coming
to work with you today.
I gotta get me
a new act.
- I like it.
- I like you.
I like you, too.
- ( giggling )
- ( knocking )
- ( music playing )
- Miss Taylor: Bessie!
Man:
Good, Georgette.
Mary Watson, if I have
to tell you to smile
one more time,
we having words.
Francine, baby, you're
clomping around up there
like a horse.
A H-O-R-S-E.
Bessie, get down now.
Stop teasing.
- It's not your rehearsal.
- Hey, Mr. Scandrick.
I've been working on
a little something.
Are you saying you wanna
be in my chorus line?
Yeah, come on, girls.
Let's show him.
- And a...
- ( piano playing )
Oh, I've got
what it takes
But it breaks my heart
to give it away
It's in demand
They want it every day
I've been saving it up--
You just keep
right on saving it.
- ( dancers laugh )
- You don't like it?
It's all right, but it ain't
hitting on all the sixes.
Now, if you done
messing up my rehearsal--
What about the bag test,
James, hmm?
Yeah, give her
the test.
You must be
lighter than.
( dancers laughing )
- ( cheering )
- Man: Whoo!
The top prize
for tonight's raffle--
a gold tooth.
That's right.
Hold up them tickets.
Hold 'em up.
I know you got 'em.
I know you got 'em.
But first,
the Queen of Melody,
the Empress of Rhythm.
We're talking about
the real Mother of the Blues,
Ma Rainey.
- ( music playing )
- Ma: This the real
blues here.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
( cheering, applause )
Ooh.
Audience:
Ooh.
Lord, you see me
weepin'
And you hear me cry
Woman:
Sing it, girl.
Lord, you see me
weepin'
And you hear me cry
I ain't weepin'
'bout no money
Just that man of mine
Lord, you see me
weepin'
And you hear me cry...
We got rehearsals
in the morning.
- I could be sleeping
or at least partying.
- Well, go on, then.
- I just wanna meet her.
- You can meet her tomorrow.
Man:
Mobile, Alabama,
we're on the road for a week,
then Gainesville, Florida.
- ( piano music playing )
- Oh, slow, slow, slow, baby.
Have mercy.
Contract's only four nights,
then we can go on to--
Why we backtracking
to Mississippi instead
of going to 'Bama?
Seem like we should
just go on from here,
maybe do a longer run
in Mobile, even add
Huntsville.
Well, we'll be
making it just in time
for cotton season
and catch everybody
with their pay, you know?
- ( distant
piano music playing )
- ( train hissing )
Oh, sh--
( train whistle blows )
Hey, get back here.
Man:
Besides, the harvest
don't start in Florida
- for another two weeks.
- Mm-hmm.
You've been using
that goober oil
like I told you?
Yes, ma'am.
Nice and soft.
Well, what about Tennessee?
You got Memphis,
you got Chattanoog-- oh!
- ( piano music stops )
- How'd you get in here?
- Can I join your show?
- You can see yourself out.
Where you from?
- Blue Goose Hollow.
- A who what?
That a street name?
Bessie:
Where I'm from, they don't
have no street names.
( chuckles )
That where your
people from, too?
They died a long time ago.
Well, the loneliest thing
in the world
is a motherless child.
Well, I got two brothers
and my sister Viola--
Well let me shave you dry.
They don't amount
to much, do they?
You on your own.
- ( train rumbles )
- ( crystals clinking )
- Well, Miss Blue Goose...
- Clarence: Bessie!
- I thank you for calling.
- Bessie! Bessie, get down
from there.
- Do I audition or--
- Ma: I heard you in the show.
I know you can sing.
So stay or jump, bitch.
( chuckles )
- Well, the train is--
- I don't give a damn
about the train,
a thunderstorm,
a shotgun or what.
You just got to decide
for yourself.
Hell, you got
the St. Louis blues,
the Chicago blues,
the Gin House blues,
the "my man
done left me" blues.
They all the same song,
ain't they?
With the same three chords.
And you done heard 'em
about a dozen hundred times
from a dozen hundred people.
So what make folks
wanna hear from you?
So you got to put
something else in it.
The blues is not about
people knowing you.
It's about
you knowing people.
( train whistle blowing )
( patting )
Who done that
to you, huh?
Big old girl like you
letting folks beat on you.
This look like
it might stay forever.
( liquid pouring )
What you doing
fanning yourself
around here for?
Shut the door good
on your way out.
Where you going
without my sugar,
though?
- Mm.
- Mm-hmm.
What you grinning about,
Blue Goose?
What you know about it?
Same thing you know.
( chuckles )
What's your name,
pretty lady?
Bessie Smith.
Miss Bessie Smith.
( music playing )
- So, like we said--
- How many seats
in the house?
- 200.
- I counted 250.
Ah, I meant 200 plus,
give or take.
And you sure
eager to take.
- She need to be here?
- Ma: She needs to understand
why TOBA stands
for "Tough On Black Asses."
Actually, it stands for
Theater Owners Booking
Association, T-O-B--
- What's the cover?
- A nickel.
Hmm, newspaper ad
say a dime.
- Well, we don't always--
- $12.50.
- Pardon me?
- That's 10 cents
times 250 seats.
Our contract
is 50-50 per head.
$12.50 in advance
every night.
( laughing )
We have no way of knowing
how many people
are actually gonna show up.
We'll refund
your no-shows.
Bessie will be counting
the empty seats.
$12.50.
( chuckling )
Boy, aren't you getting
a hell of a deal?
Now let's talk about
the bar.
What you standing
way back here for?
Keep on going.
I ain't said stop.
A little bit more.
- Ma.
- That's about right.
Now how that feel?
Like I'm about to fall.
That's how
it should feel
every night.
If you're not
risking nothing,
neither will they.
Now where's that heifer
that stole your man?
- Ain't nobody here.
- Pick somebody.
Right there.
How about her?
Three rows back
on the left.
- Mm-mmm.
- Yeah.
Yeah, that look
like her.
And what you gotta
say to that bitch?
And right there.
Oh, there's
that pinched-back man
that stole all your money.
Yeah, that's him.
Tell them
about theyselves.
Go on, baby.
- Bess?
We're rehitching.
- Okay.
( men shouting )
That mighty caboose
right there.
( chatter )
- Man: That was Bertha--
I mean, Miss Bessie Smith.
- ( piano playing )
- ( scattered applause )
- Man: Aw, come on now,
be nice, be nice.
We got your headliner
coming up.
Gin.
I got that, Clive.
( coins clink )
Gin'll make you crazy.
Why don't you let me
buy you a whiskey
instead?
That "stand and shout" shit
might work back home,
but you got to bring
some hoop-de-doo to get
these silly folk attention.
Don't nobody care
what you think.
You don't know nothin'
from nothin'.
Oh, I ain't trying
to fuss with you,
gorgeous.
Just 'cause you got
a little sport in your strut
don't make you
no authority.
I was just giving you
my opinion, that's all.
I'm gonna see you
later tonight.
- Not hardly.
- Yeah, you will.
- ( cheering, applause )
- Hey.
Say, you seen Ma?
( chuckles )
You were just
talking to her.
( music playing )
I went out last night
With a crowd
of my friends
Must have been women,
'cause I don't like no men
Wear my clothes
just like a fan
Talk to the gals
just like any old man
They say I do it
Ain't nobody caught me
Sure got to
prove it on me...
Oh, wait a minute now,
wait a minute now.
I see some
of your eyes rolling,
trying to find my Johnson.
That ain't ladylike.
Trust me, mama,
I got everything you need.
Ha!
( audience shouting,
laughing )
'Cause they say I do it
Ain't nobody caught me
Sure got to
prove it on me
Sure got
to prove it on me.
( cheering )
I almost got her
to go to bed with me.
- ( laughter )
- Bessie: You ain't
almost nothing.
What?
Oh, ain't no "almost"
right here, baby.
- ( both moaning )
- All: Ooh-hoo!
Ma get more tail
than me.
( all chuckling )
What you looking
'round for?
Who gonna see ya?
And so what if they do?
They got to prove it
on you, baby.
( laughter )
They got to prove it
on you, baby.
( knocking )
- ( laughter )
- Shit, like they
doing something bad.
What they doing, baby?
Go on with that.
Let the cards
do the talking.
Let the cards do
the motherfucking talking.
What the fuck
was she talking about?
Take that bullshit on back
where you got it from.
I told you,
you ain't ready
for the big leagues.
( laughter, chatter )
Oh!
( laughing )
( music playing )
( crowd cheering )
Lord, you see me
weepin'
And you hear me cry
Lord, you see me
weepin'
And you hear me cry
I ain't weepin'
'bout no money
Just that man
of mine
Lord, this mean
old engineer
Cruel as he could be
This mean old engineer
Cruel as he could be
( crowd cheering )
Both:
Took my man away
And blowed the smoke
back at me
Back at me
I'm going down South
Won't be back till fall
Back till fall
I'm going down South...
Crowd: Yeah!
Won't be back
till fall
If I don't find
my easy rider
Ain't comin' back
at all
- Woman: Bessie!
- ( crowd cheering )
Yeah, if I don't find
my easy rider...
- Come on, Bessie!
- Ain't comin' back
at all
Back at all.
( cheering )
Yeah, Bessie!
Clarence:
Yeah!
( stammering )
You can't control that.
- Her goddamn ego--
- Whoo-hoo hoo!
I ain't never
seen 'em like that!
We sung that song.
Yeah, I earned
this tonight.
( laughing )
Oh, yeah.
Come on, Ma,
you ain't gonna
drink no co--
I know you ain't drinking
no corn with me.
Remember what I told you
about the blues?
About you knowing the people
and not the other way around?
Yeah.
I knowed everybody in there
and they knowed me.
You sure love yourself.
I see that gin
done finally made you
blow your top, huh?
I did good.
It's not a matter
of you doing good.
You're just busted
'cause they was
yelling for me
more than they was
yelling for you.
You better turn
your damper down.
- I ain't scared of you.
- I ain't never asked you
to be.
All I asked you for
was respect.
Respect for yourself,
respect for these songs.
I ain't see you respect
all this extra money
I'm bringing in here.
Oh, let me
get you told,
little gal,
'cause I can see you ain't
learnt your lesson yet.
It's my name
on this train,
it's my name
on those flyers,
and it is in my name
that everybody in this company
takes to that stage.
Now, until you can
get yourself together,
you're going back
to deucing, 'cause you
ain't ready to headline.
- Deucing?
- Deucing.
No.
I ain't playing second
to nobody anymore.
Best we shake hands
and go.
Well, Miss Blue Goose...
take off
my goddamn shoes.
What's wrong?
What happened?
- Bessie: We're starting
our own show.
- Our own show?
- We're just getting started.
- I'm finished with starting.
Wait, Bessie,
I'm gonna go
talk to Ma.
Hey, don't leave.
I'm coming!
( chatter )
- Man: The 3:00 with service...
- Clarence: They're coming,
all right?
All right,
don't give me
that face now.
Just relax.
They're coming.
( man shouting )
- Ha ha!
- Hey, man!
- How you feeling?
- You all right?
Bobby, you know
I'd catch you.
- ( laughing )
- Good to see you.
So good to see you.
Man:
It's corn bread time.
The money gonna come in soon.
Thank y'all for heaven.
Clarence:
Sure. This ain't nothing
like it used to be.
You want some more
of these greens?
Clarence: You know,
I ain't nervous yet.
You have to take
the show on the road.
Hip, too.
Get a piano
on the ground floor.
We're gonna take
good care of you.
'Cause what we're doing
here, man, is
we're bringing
a little South
to the North.
A little taste of home
for all these homesick
Yankees.
You know what I'm saying?
They ain't ready for it.
They ain't ready for it,
but I'm telling you,
Bessie's doing
big things, man, and...
you on bass,
you on horn.
Next, we have Doreen Dupree
from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Is that a real name
or a made-up one?
- Hattiesburg is a real--
- Not Hattiesburg.
I know
where in the hell
Hattiesburg is.
I'm talking about
"Doreen Dupree."
That sound
like some made-up,
store-bought shit to me.
Don't that sound like
some old vaudeville
mess to you?
Who mama and daddy
gonna name 'em something
go together like that?
You pick that
out of a magazine
or something?
It's on
my birth certificate.
They have birth certificates
in Hattiesburg, Mississippi?
And take that damn gum
out your mouth.
Don't nobody
wanna see you up there
chewing like a cow.
- Where do I put it?
- Hold it in your damn hand,
Hattiesburg.
( whispers )
Five, six, seven, eight.
Wait, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa.
What is that?
Um, I'm dancing, ma'am.
- I wanna--
- You better sing
something first.
( stammering )
I don't know how to sing.
You don't know
how to sing?
You wanna be in my show,
you have to be able to sing,
dance, and tell
a damn joke or two.
( clears throat )
Well, I woke up
this morning--
That's enough.
Clarence, give her
the bag test.
What you grinning for?
You failed.
You must be darker
than the bag to be
in my show.
Now get going with
your high-heeled ass.
- Next!
- Clarence: Etta Johnson,
Bell Buckle, Tennessee.
Bell Buckle?
Lord!
No yellow bitches.
-( yelps )
- Next!
- Next!
- What if I didn't
pass your bag test?
- I never give you no test.
- Oh, you test me... daily.
No, you--
you tell me.
Come on, Lucy.
No.
I wanna know.
Would you still
love me?
You'd still be you.
And how would you
know that?
You know how I feel.
Then I need you
to say it.
- You know.
- No, I don't know.
You know.
Then say it.
It wouldn't matter.
It wouldn't matter,
what?
It wouldn't matter
about your color.
And?
And?
You know what?
I cares for you.
( chuckles )
You cares for me?
You cares for me.
Is that all?
No, that ain't all.
What-- why you
acting up today?
I need you
to tell me something.
- I'm gonna show you
something instead.
- ( laughing )
Clarence:
You can make this bigger.
You know what I mean?
It's got to say,
"This is Bessie Smith,"
so make this bigger
and this a little bit
smaller like that.
Now, that's what--
that's what I'm talkin'
about, right there.
( chatter )
Clarence:
Come on. All right.
Clarence:
Open your eyes!
- Hey now!
- Clarence: That's right.
Bessie Smith
and Her Down Home Trio.
- Ho-ho, now!
- That's right.
- I was with you, baby...
- ( crowd cheering )
When you didn't
have a dime
I was with you,
baby
When you didn't
have a dime
Now, since you got
plenty of money
You have throwed
your good gal down...
( crowd cheering )
( overlapping voices )
This is A.R. Knight from
the "Chicago Defender,"
and I'm here to tell you
that Bessie Smith
is the locomotive
that shot out of Tennessee.
This is W. Alexander
from the "Boston Guardian."
Talk about
"Chattanooga Choo-Choo,"
Bessie Smith
is the biggest thing
since Ma Rainey.
This is J. Anderson
reporting for the "New York
Amsterdam News."
If you haven't got
your tickets, folks,
you're not gonna get 'em,
'cause it's already
sold out.
( knocking on door )
( knocking continues )
Who is it?
Man:
I'm here to audition
for Miss Bessie Smith.
I didn't ask
you what you want,
I asked you who you are.
Man:
Open the door
and see me, big man.
My name is Jack Gee, ma'am,
and I'm 32 years old
from Titustown, Virginia,
and I schooled till
the 10th grade.
I'm nobody's husband
and I'm nobody's daddy.
I make $13.75 a week
working as a security guard
at the five and dime.
Another $2.80
on the weekend
at the Top Hat.
I got my own
two-bedroom apartment
and I drive a brand-new
1921 Davis Touring.
Now, I don't
believe in church,
but I do believe in God,
and I know it to be
the God's honest truth
that you're
the most beautiful woman
ever sing the blues,
or any woman, period.
And I'm very pleased
to make your acquaintance
this fine afternoon.
- Can you sing?
- Oh, yes.
- Can you dance?
- Oh, yes.
Auditions for the show
are over.
I ain't auditioning
for no show.
I'm auditioning
to be your man.
( scoffs )
You look a little small.
- Baby, I'm built for speed.
- Really, now?
Well, maybe you only
auditions women.
I auditions
whosoever I please.
I can give it
as hard as I can take it,
and I don't mind
going to jail.
- Jack: Mm-mm-mm.
- Woman: Whoa,
gone away, baby
Won't be back
till fall
Lord, Lord, Lord
Gone away, baby,
won't be back...
Bottle of gin for the lady
and a glass for me.
If I find me
a good man
I won't be
back at all...
- ( men chuckling )
- Oh, she fine. Man.
Man:
Watch this.
- The lady don't smoke.
- The hell she don't.
( chuckles )
So that's your man
or what?
No, he's still auditioning.
( men laughing )
Can I have
this dance, baby?
Touch her hand, Charlie,
and draw back a nub.
And what if I touch his?
- ( knife clicks )
- ( Bessie gasps )
- ( women scream )
- Ah!
Man:
Hey! Yeah, come here!
- Jack: Come on, girl.
- ( Bessie laughing )
- Let's go get 'em, okay?
- Get that motherfucker!
- ( tires screeching )
- ( Bessie laughing )
- Chump!
- Bessie: You were
so brave, papa!
See how crazy I am
about you, girl!
- Your audition
ain't over yet.
- ( honking )
( women screaming )
Keep your eyes
on the road.
- ( belt buckle clinking )
- ( chuckles )
A good man
is hard to find
You always get
the other kind
Just when you think
that he's your pal...
Say, we still
$15 short.
- 10 is what everybody gets.
- But we had a contract, sir.
Contract?
You must be one of them
old country niggers.
( chuckling )
Contra--
I'll cut you
every way but loose.
Hug him in the morning,
kiss him every night
Give him plenty of lovin',
you know what I mean
And treat him right,
'cause a good man
nowadays...
Bessie:
And remember when we did
that show at Don's place?
- Clarence: Ah,
you don't remember that.
- Bessie: Oh, lookit.
Lookit, J.G.
That's our corner.
- That's our corner.
- Clarence: A penny a song.
( laughs )
- Woman: I love you, Bessie!
- You see that gin joint
right there?
That's where I made
my first whole dollar.
- Spent it, too.
- Hug him in the morning,
kiss him every night
Give him plenty of lovin',
treat him right
'Cause a good man nowadays
is hard to find
Ah, yes,
hard to find...
- How y'all doing?
- Oh, my God.
A good man
is hard to find
You always get
another kind
So if your man
is nice
- Take my advice...
- Come over here right now.
- You know all them words?
- Yeah.
You know
what you're singing?
Hold out your hand
right now.
Keep singing.
Make sure all
you're doing is singing.
- Boy: Come on, let's go.
- ( children giggling )
( young Bessie crying )
Mommy. Where's my mama?
- ( child giggling )
- ( crying continues )
Man: Welcome home.
Come on inside.
- Man #2: Hey, hey!
- ( men laughing )
Hey y'all.
How you doing?
How you doing?
Well, I guess you think
you're something.
How are you?
You care?
I think I'm gonna go show
Jack and Lucille around.
That's your man?
You got something
to eat?
- Drink?
- Oh, city gal, huh?
Can't stand to be in regular
folks' houses no more.
You still keeps
the food locked up.
That's right.
Y'all was like
little rats.
How else was I supposed to
keep the food in the house
- and feed six people?
- Come here.
Go get a case of Coca-Cola
and a lot of ice.
As many potato chips
and peanuts as you can get.
Oh, golly. Mm.
A whole case
of Coca-Cola.
After 10 years,
ain't you a saint?
Don't drink it all up.
You're one to talk.
Well, you're the one still
keeps the food locked up.
Don't look like you're
missing no meals.
Well, I sure didn't
get 'em here, did I?
I got some tickets
for the show tonight.
You want to bring
the family...
I got someplace
else to be.
You been by
Mama's grave yet?
Lucy:
No street signs,
no lights, no nothing.
Bessie:
Told ya, Mama, this is
Blue Goose Hollow.
I know this town
better than J.G.'s
ding-a-ling.
( all laughing )
Yeah, this is my town!
Woman:
Hey, Bessie! Hey.
( crowd cheering )
Woman:
Oh, you remember.
I know you remember...
Woman:
Easy, papa. Leave room
for the Holy Ghost, now.
Man:
Good times
with you two.
Woman #2:
Girl, you gotta
get your man.
- Hey.
- Leave them gals be.
- Yeah.
- Get off of me.
- What do you think this is?
- I said leave 'em be!
Shut up, fat bitch.
- What'd that fucker
say to me?
- I said--
- ( thuds )
- ( man yells )
- ( whistling )
- ( cheering )
- ( applause )
- Don't nobody try her.
She's in her gin, y'all.
...your little dancer
decided to come along
for the ride.
Y'all know how to ball!
And we're gonna
ball again tomorrow.
- ( woman screaming )
- Man: Hey, get back here!
Woman:
Clarence, help us.
- Where's a doctor?
- Clarence: Get somebody!
- Get somebody! Hurry up.
- Baby, look at me.
Look at me.
Oh, shit.
Help!
Help!
Baby...
( shushing )
- Lucy: Bessie!
- Clarence: Hurry up!
Bessie!
- Bessie! Bessie!
- Mommy!
- Bessie!
- Mommy!
- Bessie!
- No!
( screaming )
Where's my mommy?
Where's Mama?
( screaming, crying )
Jack:
It's okay.
It's okay, baby.
- Baby, it's okay.
- Get off of me!
Get off of me!
- Get off of me!
- She's okay. She's okay.
- Why did you--
- I'm right here, baby.
- You let her get me.
- I ain't going nowhere,
I love you.
Jack
You gotta let that heal.
You gotta let that heal.
- Bess, you gotta
let that heal.
- We got a show to do.
Clarence:
No, no, ain't no show.
Ain't no show.
Lucy: Bess!
Jack: Bess!
Bess!
- Lucy: Nurse!
- Bess, what are
you doing?
( chattering )
( crowd cheering )
How much y'all pay
to get in here?
- Crowd: 25 cents.
- 25 cent?
Hmm, I wouldn't pay 25 cent
to go nowhere.
Well, I guess I better
sing something, huh?
'Cause y'all spent
all that money.
( music playing )
Man:
"Dear Miss Smith,
my name is
Harry Herbert Pace,
president of the newly formed
Black Swan Records
based in Harlem,
New York City.
I'm a great admirer
of your work,
having seen you perform
at the Royal Theater
in Philadelphia.
News of your great talent
continues to precede you
and we would like to invite you
to an audition
at our offices
in Times Square,
New York City,
to be our first recording
artist signed to
the Black Swan label!
- Hoo!
- Well, this is it.
I always wanted to
live in New York City,
you know.
You're gonna be the biggest
thing since Mamie Smith.
You know how many records
she sold last year?
- Bessie: A million.
- A colored outfit?
Ain't nobody heard of
no Black Swan.
What you need is
a national label.
Big-time.
W.E.B. Du Bois' company
wants to record you, sis.
This is the big time!
- So? I read his book.
- I doubt you read his book.
I read the damn book.
- What's that got
to do with music?
- This is the big ticket.
Bessie, this is what they're
calling Pan-Africanism.
Well, what about
Pan-Americanism?
Can she sell more tickets?
That's what I wanna know.
"The only genuine
colored records.
The others are only
passing for colored."
- That's their motto.
- I like that.
I like it, too.
"Yours in negritude,
Harry Herbert Pace."
The fuck is negritude?
That means they're real,
real black.
My kind of people.
Talk about passing.
Y'all is fried, dyed,
and laid to the side.
Well, and we are very
excited to be here.
- Very excited.
- We were surprised you could
schedule the audition
so quickly given your
busy tour schedule.
We canceled the rest of
our tour to be here.
- Well, that's, uh--
- Well, y'all wanna
hear me sing, right?
Yes. Yes, yes,
of course.
Is there anything else
that you need?
I need a little something
for this tea.
Honey, sugar, milk?
Splash of Old Tom
will be just fine.
- "Old Tom"?
- Gin?
I'm sorry, I-- I--
I don't know that we have any
or where we could find any.
You see, it's, ah...
- I mean, it's illegal.
- Never mind. It's okay.
No, it ain't okay.
You want her at her best,
then give her what she needs.
Oh, it's okay, papa.
( vocalizing )
Oh...
( clears throat )
Hold up.
Something ain't right.
Oh--
Ahem--
( snorts )
( retches )
I got a man I love
Why he had
to leave me?
I got a man I love
Smart as he can be...
( clears throat )
Dear Miss Smith,
while we appreciate your
downhome sound,
we do not feel
that it is a fit
for Black Swan Records.
We have chosen
to record instead
a young lady who
we unanimously agree
has a more
compatible sound
and is a bright,
shining example
of the Harlem Renaissance
and an uplift to the race.
We hope you can appreciate
the difficulty
of our decision
and the choices
that must be made
in the name of progress.
We remain admirers
of your work
and hope that you will
keep us in mind
for your
future recordings.
Jack:
You let her go in there
and make a damn fool
- out of herself.
- Pour me another glass
of this corn.
- Ain't nobody crying.
- It was a good meeting, man.
Hey, baby, look here.
Never again.
Damn fools don't know nothing
about no talent.
I'm gonna get you
a real record deal!
I said I don't wanna
hear no more about it.
What the hell you know
about anything?
We've been in
this business
- before you were wiping
your own ass.
- Look it here.
It's about damn time she started
taking advice from a nigger
that don't wear no
stage makeup!
Listen--
Give me some more
of this!
Give me some more
of all this stuff!
It'll pass.
...a couple of them
myself, too.
Are you sure?
( chattering )
( laughs )
Jack: Hey, Bessie.
This here Mr. Walker--
want to meet you.
The hell you bring
him here for?
You remember him.
Brought him by a couple
of your shows.
He wants to talk
to you about a record deal.
- A real recording contract.
- Miss Smith,
I'd like to record
you for Columbia Records
for our new
Race Records division.
What is a Race Record?
The one where they put
a coon on the front?
What? Um, no, ma'am.
We at Columbia are taking
a different approach.
I'm not interested
in your Race Records.
And I'm not interested
in wasting my time singing
no store-bought blues.
But we want your sound.
We want
the Bessie Smith sound.
And it would be
your face on the ad,
- nothing like those
other records.
- I already sell out
every show from
Philly to Chicago.
Ain't nobody doing it
like I'm doing it.
You'd attract
a broader audience.
I've been doing
just fine without 'em.
I can offer you
50 dollars a side.
No royalties, of course.
( scoffs )
Don't play with me now.
J.G.
Now, you want
what's in my jacket
or in my pocket?
( scoffs )
I already know
what's in your pocket.
Maybe you do,
maybe you don't.
Now, what do you want?
This or this?
I want another velvet box.
Marry me.
You ou can't be
putting me upon no shelf.
I ain't no
henpecked man, either.
Take the chance on me.
Come here, girl.
Now, what's in
that other pocket?
Oh. ( chuckles )
Uh, just
a recording contract
from Columbia Records.
125 a side.
That's double
what that man said.
That's 'cause I'm fighting
for you now, baby.
Well, maybe we should
tell Clarence.
Uh-uh. This here is
me and you now.
Man:
All set. Let 'em know.
Man #2:
Let's hope she knows
what she's doing.
Man #3:
They tell me she does.
Take a listen.
This always takes...
Everything all right,
Bessie?
Yeah, as soon as y'all
move this thing
out the way,
I'm ready to go.
Well, no, that's
the recording apparatus.
- I know it's bigger
than what--
- It's crowding me.
( stammering )
Well, we need it to--
- I don't need it.
- Look, Bess, you got to--
Hey, hey.
I'll help her.
What's wrong?
It's gonna be just like
the last time.
- No, it's not.
- It ain't gonna go, J.G.
It ain't gonna go, J.G.
I know it.
I know how they do it.
They act like they're your pal,
and then it all comes loose.
You can't make
no silk purse out
of no sow's ear
- just like Viola
always said--
- Damn Viola.
You hear me? Damn her.
Damn Black Swan.
Damn these crackers
in here.
Let's just go home.
Okay, we're going.
We're going now.
Right now.
But sing one song,
honey.
The way you like it.
Don't sing it for me,
them, nobody.
You sing it
for yourself.
Now what you say?
Mr. Walker:
Okay, here we go, Bessie.
Mr. Gee, if you could just
step away from the cone--
He's staying right here.
Um, okay.
( music playing )
Gee, but it's hard
to love someone
When that someone
don't love you
I'm so disgusted,
heartbroken, too
I've got those
downhearted blues
Once I was crazy
'bout a man
Who mistreated me
all the time
The next man I get
Has got to promise me
to be mine
All mine
Trouble, trouble
I've had it all my days
Trouble, trouble
I've had it all my days
It seems that trouble's
I love you. You're mine.
Going to follow me
to my grave
I ain't never loved but
Three mens in my life
I ain't never loved but
Three mens in my life
My father, my brother
The man that
wrecked my life
I got the world in a jug
The stopper's in my hand
Recording:
I got the world
in a jug
The stopper's
in my hand...
Man: Put that
on top of that box.
Hey.
Seems I done traced
the lightning back
to her source.
Man:
Hey, boss. One more.
What's your name?
Ain't too smart
to give out names
in my business.
Just call me
your bootlegger.
And what do I call you?
You don't know who I am?
Oh, I know
who you are.
But what do you want me
to call you?
Oh, yes. Yeah!
What the fuck
is your name?
- Richard.
- Tell me your name.
Richard, baby!
My name is Richard.
Jack:
Come on, baby.
Mm-hmm.
Right here.
( chuckles )
Look good, huh?
- ( both chuckle )
- Bessie: Yeah!
Well, why is your
name on it?
Why is my name on it?
'Cause somebody somewhere
right now putting
a record on
listening to you.
You're making money
while you sleep.
Ain't had to sing
a word this morning.
It is fine.
- A whole train.
- Clarence: It was my idea.
Told you six months ago
we should get a train.
Look here,
we're saving money now.
Ain't never have
to go through another
third-rate backdoor again.
That's what I told you!
Yeah, well, some are talkers
and some are doers.
And, baby, I'm a doer.
And I done done it.
"Jack Gee presents."
Jack Gee presents
the most demonstrating,
syncopating, electrifying
woman in the world.
( Jack laughs )
My girl.
- ( music playing )
- ( chattering )
- ( cheering )
- Bessie: How y'all
feeling tonight?
Yeah!
Come on, now. Yeah!
( chuckles )
Give a little bit.
Oh, this reminds me
of church.
What? I think we might
have to preach
them blues tonight.
- Yeah!
- ( engines whirring )
Man: Here, nigger,
nigger, nigger, nigger!
- Man #2: Nigger!
- Man #3: Hurry!
Man #4:
Nigger, nigger,
nigger nigger!
Give it here,
give it here.
Come on, go around the side.
Go around the side.
Come on, let's move it.
- Man: Bring it down!
- We gotta get out of here.
- ( hollering )
- Man: The Klan is here.
The Ku Klux Klan is here!
- ( crowd chattering )
- ( men hollering )
- It's gonna be
all right.
- Man: Come on, niggers!
Man #2:
Come on, come on.
Let's get a move on.
Man #3: You ain't singing
so pretty now, are you, nigger?
Man #2:
Are you scared inside?
I bet you are!
Man:
Don't go out there, Bessie!
They're gonna kill you.
Woman:
Bessie, no!
( chatter continues )
Get on out of here!
What the hell
are you doing?
- Get back.
- Hey!
You better pick up
your sheets and run!
- ( gunshot )
- ( crowd screams )
Get out of here.
I'm gonna get you!
Bessie:
Get out of here!
We'll be back!
( cackles )
We'll be back!
Down in Atlanta, GA
Under the viaduct
every day
Drinking liquor
and hollerin' hooray
Pianos playing
till the break of day
But as I turned my head
I loudly said
Preach them blues
Sing them blues
They certainly sound
good to me
I've been in love
for the last six months
Ain't done worrying yet
Moan them blues,
holler them blues
Let me convert your soul
'Cause just
a little spirit
Of the blues tonight
Let me tell you, girls
That your man ain't
treating you right
Going on down the line
a little further now
There's many
a poor woman down
Read on down
to chapter nine
Woman must learn
how to take their time
Read on down
to chapter ten
Taking other women's men,
you are doing a sin
Sing 'em, sing 'em,
sing them blues
Let me convert
your soul...
Here we go! Here we go!
Girl: Hey, Bessie!
We're praying for you!
( cheering and shouting )
( cheers and shouts
continue )
( shouting )
Man: Thank you, Bessie!
Thank you!
Clarence:
Never thought
it'd be like this.
You woke us up.
( mumbling )
( whispering )
Hit it again.
Man: New York is celebrated
for its transitory fads.
During the current season,
the Negro is in ascendency.
Miss Smith, so wonderful
you could join us.
You're one of our
last guests to arrive.
Edgar!
Mr. Van Vechten,
4th floor.
Soon, doubtless, the homely
Negro songs of lovesickness
known as "the blues"
will be better known
and appreciated by
white audiences.
It's a little tight,
don't you think?
Bessie:
Ooh, yeah!
Man:
Bessie Smith is here!
Oh, you look fabulous!
I heard that you were wild.
Get the fuck off me.
Now, where's the good music,
the good food,
and the good liquor?
( chattering )
Langston Hughes
is the greatest
Negro poet of our time.
Oh. Who's the best
regular poet?
( laughing )
Van Vechten:
Langston, how about
a little poem?
Langston:
I'm not feeling
up to it.
Well, I'll sing
a note or two.
Ladies and gentlemen,
quiet, please.
Go, girl.
Miss Smith. Miss Smith,
I should warn you.
This crowd isn't...
Van Vechten:
I have a treat.
I have a special treat.
The incomparable Bessie Smith
is going to
sing us a song.
( faint applause )
Everybody's cryin'
The workhouse blues,
all day
Oh, Lord
Oh, Lord
The work is so hard
Thirty days is so long
Oh, Lord
I can't plough
I can't cook
If I'd run away,
wouldn't that be good?
Well, I'm goin'
to the nation
Goin' to the territor'
The workhouse sits
way out a
Long old lonesome road
I'm a hard-luck gal
Get the devil
everywhere I go...
Mmm.
Where the drinks at
around here?
Let me get
a little something.
You are a treasure.
That was so beautiful
and so soulful,
and, frankly,
exactly the kind
of dusky pathos
that I'm looking to capture
for my new book
"Nigger Heaven"--
- Say what?
- "Nigger Heaven," it--
You know
the only difference
between white folks
in the North
and white folks
in the South?
White folks in the South
don't care how close you get
as long as you don't
get too big.
And white folks in the North
don't care how big you get
as long as you don't
get too close.
( chuckles )
- Man: Are you all right?
- Van Vechten: If Bessie Smith
is crude and primitive,
she reflects the true
folk spirit of her race.
Man:
Whoo-hoo!
Morning, Gee!
I got something for you.
Got somebody I want
you to meet.
This here is Gertrude.
She's a singer.
Writes songs, too.
You know Claudine
dropped out in Cincinnati.
Got pregnant.
So I hired Gertrude
here to replace her.
What the fuck you showing her
to me for?
I don't know.
Thought maybe you might
have something to say.
Sort of like "welcome."
What kind of fucked-up name
is Gertrude?
- You a half-breed?
- Excuse us, please.
Go on and get yourself
something to eat, baby.
What the hell
is wrong with you?
I know you got your
side pieces,
but why you gotta
rub 'em in my face?
I'm just trying
to build a--
You want me to
sniff her for you, too?
I'm just trying to build
a show here, Bessie.
You got her
wearing my things.
I know you think
I'm big and ugly.
You think I'm blind
and dumb, too?
It ain't-- it ain't like you
ain't been tipping out, too.
I know it.
Tell me different.
Look.
Baby, I promise.
Cross my heart.
I don't love
nobody else but you.
And you don't love
nobody else but me,
so the rest really don't
matter now, do they?
You know I don't think
what you said.
You're my fine woman.
Look.
Let's start over, huh?
Let's me and you both
clean house.
Come on.
Let's try.
They said you had
your own train.
I didn't believe 'em.
But goddamn, sis.
You a high post
now, huh?
You ain't tell me
about all this.
- You get that money
I sent you?
- Oh, yeah.
I get them little wires
you've been sending.
They're nice,
feeding four kids and all.
Okay, look.
I know you and I bump heads
most of the time,
but I'm just here
to show my support.
Mmm, real nice.
This is from Europe and...
what have you.
I got you something.
Probably not fancy enough
for you now, but...
I thought you'd like it.
I'm proud of you.
I'm so proud of you.
You gonna stay around
for a while?
Think Clarence could
get me tickets?
He's in the box office.
Thank you.
Bessie: Come on.
Come on and see.
Come on in here.
Come on.
- Come on, y'all.
- Get inside.
The paint already fading.
Bessie:
Take a look around.
( chattering )
Man:
Lord have mercy.
Bessie: Look around,
breathe it in.
Lucy: This is
something, Bessie.
Smell different, don't it?
Listen here, Bessie.
We ain't talk about
getting no house.
I ain't see your name
on my bank book.
I mean,
I did it for us, papa.
- I knew you'd like it.
- Man: How the upstairs look?
But if you did it for us,
why all of them got to
move in here for?
And especially
why is she here?
Baby, she's gonna be
all the way back
in the house.
You ain't hardly
gonna see her.
I don't know
why certain people's
got they lip turned up.
Must be smelling something.
Damn right,
I'm smelling something.
Must be a dead rat
in the wall.
Must be.
Baby, stop.
Why you ain't
ask me first?
- See if I was ready?
- Well, I'm ready.
I want a real family,
not no road family.
I want the whole thing,
you know?
A big house
and everybody in it.
Well, everybody ain't gonna
be in it if you don't start
showing me some respect!
I'm gonna put a big piano
right here,
a big dining room table
is gonna go here.
I'm gonna get me a nice rug
for that parlor.
And I'm gonna get me
a baby, too,
and I'm gonna put him
right in there.
- A what?
- Come see the-- a baby.
Come on, see the kitchen.
Always a pleasure.
Bess?
You're gonna have to
start delivering.
I'm a married woman now.
I can't keep doing
these pick-ups.
No problem, ma'am.
What do you want?
I'll follow you home
just like this.
( chuckles )
You trot yourself out there
swinging and dangling.
See what happens.
Yeah, suits me fine.
I don't want you for
no customer anymore, nohow.
Why not?
Every man in your life
is a business relationship.
Your brother's your partner,
your man's your manager,
and your woman
is your dancer.
And you're my
bootlegger.
Not no more.
Matter of fact,
I'm giving you
a full 100% refund.
- Richard.
- Look...
I don't wanna be
in business with you.
I want to be
in love with you.
I'll take the shine.
Fine, take it.
I'm giving it to you.
Not selling it.
I oughta get home to J.G.
Bess.
You don't have to pay
for something
that I'm already
offering for free.
- ( door opens )
- I'm gonna spend it
on you anyhow.
( door shuts )
Shit.
( chatter, laughter )
Bessie: Everybody!
I want you to meet
Jack, Jr.
Junior, this is my family.
Your new family.
That's your Uncle Clarence.
There's your Aunt Viola.
And this is your
new daddy, Jack.
J.G.,
come meet your son,
Jack, Jr.
How old are you, boy?
Seven years old, sir.
Where are you from?
Shelby County
Children's Home, sir.
- An orphanage?
- Mm, mm, mm!
Jack, Jr.:
I don't know
about that, sir,
but that's what
she told me to say.
Well, what's your
real name?
My name is
Jack Gee, Jr., sir.
- Viola: Oh!
- ( all laughing )
Come on over here
and give your daddy a hug.
Bessie: Whoo!
Smells good in here.
Eat as much
as you want, Jack Jr.
- Viola: Mmm!
- Happy Thanksgiving.
Jack: What you
looking at, Viola?
Come on, sit down here.
With that fork there.
- Know how to use a knife?
- Yes, sir.
Jack:
That piece of chicken
right there.
( chattering )
Clarence:
You want some of this
dressing here?
( chatter continues )
Clarence:
Wait till I'm finished.
( woman vocalizing )
( giggling )
Come here!
Jack:
Bessie, where you at, baby?
Put 'em up.
Yeah, guard yourself. Bam!
I'll knock you out.
Guard that face.
Bam, bam!
Come one, you ain't gonna
whup nobody like that.
Now, you gotta get in there,
baby. Come on. Pop!
- Oh.
- There you go. Pop!
There you go.
Get in there on him.
You can't get him
if you're afraid
to take one.
Block him.
Block now. Block!
What you trying
to do, huh?
What you trying
to do?
Get him, Mama!
Yeah, get him!
You gonna beat
your old man, huh?
Louis and I
are getting married.
You and who?
I can't no more.
I want a family.
Like you.
Showbiz life
can't last forever.
I just want
a normal life.
Thank you.
( applause )
Woman #1:
We love you, Bessie!
Man #1:
Love you, Bessie.
It's a long old road
But I'm gonna find
the end
A long old road
Mm-mm
Find the end
And when I get there...
( humming )
Shake hands
With a friend
Come on, come on.
No, no, no,
you don't-- no.
- No, no, no.
- What the fuck
is this shit?
Don't worry about it.
Bitch!
Jack, you fucker!
"The most beautiful
blues sensation"? Huh?
Jack:
The hell are you
talking about?
I'm talking about you backing
this bitch with my money!
- With what?
- I can't believe
you did this shit!
- I gotta see it
on the street!
- That's my money!
You're spending my money
on this bitch!
That's my goddamn money.
( shouting )
- I made you!
- ...fucking money.
( Jack growls )
- ( Bessie grunts )
- Huh?
- You promised me, Jack.
- You promised me, too!
You promised me, too!
Where you get
them earrings from, huh?
I know where.
That goddamn bootlegger.
- You--
- Don't touch me!
Don't you fucking touch me!
You want this bitch,
you eat her!
- You eat her.
- ( Jack growls )
Crazy.
Where are you going?
You're leaving?
You're leaving?
You don't get to leave me!
I should've left your ass!
You got what you want.
You can have it.
- Get away.
- ( groans )
Jack!
Go!
You go!
Jack!
( car door slams )
- Jack!
- ( engine whirring )
Jack!
- Bessie: No!
- ( glass shattering )
- I can't stand it.
- You want me to get
your medicine?
What did you say to me?
Your medicine, honey.
Don't think I don't know
what you be saying about me.
Get out!
- Get out.
- We're not talking
about--
Get the fuck out
of my room!
Get out of here, Viola!
The fuck is you
looking at? Go!
( glass shatters )
- It ain't my fault!
- ( glass shatters )
I hate you.
Go, go.
You think I don't know?
Yeah, I know.
Leave me alone.
( muted footsteps )
Man: Shh, shh, shh.
Come on, come on.
Hurry up.
J.G.?
- Hey!
- Let's go.
- Who the hell are you?
- Jack, Jr.: Mama!
What you doing in--
- Come on, boy.
- Jack!
- Mama!
- Junior! No!
Mama! Mama, keep me!
- Jack, don't you--
- Mama, keep me!
What you doing?
- That's my stuff.
- Mama!
Hurry up.
Get in there.
- ( shouting )
- Hey!
- I'll kill you.
- Get this shit off.
- ( grunting )
- Get off of me.
Get Junior in the car!
Stealing my baby!
You're trying to kill me.
- Jack: Stop it, stop it!
- Mama!
You ain't fit
to be a mother!
Can't just leave him?
Just leave him, okay?
You're high, you're drunk.
You ain't fit!
You're just trying
to kill me!
You ain't gonna never
see Junior again!
You're a liar!
I'll kill you!
I'll kill myself.
- Go! Let's go!
- No! Stop!
Jack, Jr.: Mama!
- Junior!
- Mama, keep me!
Mama!
You let him in.
( sobbing )
Man on radio:
...to glimpse a small,
flickering hope.
General Motors,
that formidable
industrial titan,
has not only weathered
the Great Depression,
but has bested it
in a demonstration
of typically American
fortitude and ingenuity.
Where others are
shuttering their windows,
General Motors turns in
its second quarter of profits.
( radio continues,
muted )
( children shouting )
Hmm.
( radio play playing )
Narrator: ...draws his
gleaming revolver,
its cold silvery glint
reflected in a dark puddle.
( radio play continues )
Hey, there's food here, now.
You need to eat
something.
( jazz music playing )
Come on.
You have anybody
under that name?
No.
Yeah, yeah,
I'll take it.
Mm-hmm.
- Old, empty bed
- It's gonna be all right.
Springs hard as lead
Feel like old Ned
Wish I was dead
All my life through
I've been so
black and blue
I'm white inside
But that don't help
my case
'Cause I can't hide
- What is in my face
- We're going on a trip.
( scatting )
How will it end?
- Ain't got a friend
- You ready?
- Yeah.
- My only sin
Is in my skin
Clarence:
One last drive, then we
have to sell this, too.
Recording:
...to be so black
and blue?
( laughs )
Okay.
( chattering )
Yeah, she just
needs some time.
Ma:
"Of the artists who have
communicated the blues
to the more sophisticated
Negro and white public"--
What the hell does he know
about being sophisticated?
"I think Ethel Waters
is the best.
In fact, to my mind,
Miss Waters is superior
to any other woman
stage singer of her race."
( chuckles )
"Superior."
See how they love
to instigate? Set us up
against each other?
Them's graveyard words.
Don't worry, honey.
No decent colored folk
even read that
silly magazine.
It ain't for us anyhow.
"Nigger Heaven."
( scoffs )
I'm thinking of writing
my own book.
"Cracker Hell."
If Vechten
is the nigger expert,
then I'm damn sure
the cracker authority.
Come on, Ma.
It hurts too much to laugh.
Yankee blacks
cut you up.
Yankee whites trying
to cut you down.
Hmm.
J.G. took Junior.
And he's trying to...
- And he's...
- Shh.
You just take care
of you right now.
Get your head right.
Things never
turn out straight.
Well, you can't hit
a straight lick
with a crooked stick,
and you're about
as crooked as they come.
( chattering )
Oh!
Now, this right here,
this used to be my favorite.
See how it'd been
drawn up three sizes?
You grew three sizes.
Just like you
outgrowed your life.
It was like you had
a hole in your stomach,
or maybe even a worm,
and you weren't
gonna stop till you ate up
everything around ya.
You got to fill that hole
yourself, sweetheart.
Nothing or nobody else
will fill it.
Yeah.
( chuckles )
Uh-huh, yeah.
Yeah.
They still fit.
Now...
You done heard the rest.
And I'm gonna
show you the best.
Ma gonna show ya
her black bottom.
Don't you see the dance
They call your big
black bottom
It'll put you
in a trance
Ha
All the boys
in the neighborhood
They say my black bottom
is really good
Come on, let me show you,
do the big black bottom
I want to learn that dance
Come on, Bess.
Come on. Get up.
Early in the morning,
'bout the break of day
Grandpa told my grandma,
I heard him say
Come on and let me see
your big black bottom
I want to learn
that dance, oh
All right now, Ma!
Come on now, honey.
You gettin' kind of
rough there, Ma.
Ah, too strong,
too strong!
Oh, baby, too strong.
Oh, I love you, baby.
I love you, too, Ma.
Rent shake this Saturday.
Rent shake this Saturday.
Bring what you can.
- ( crowd chattering )
- ( music playing )
( women scatting )
Man:
Why I'm a ladies man
About the sweetest
in the land
( singing continues )
- Here you go.
- Hey, that's right, Gilbert.
Don't be stingy now.
Hey, y'all, help yourself
to the kitchen, now.
Cooked up some good food.
- ( chattering )
- ( singing continues )
Still got 'em
coming, too. Come on!
Hey, can I use this kitchen
for a second, child,
if you don't mind?
Come on right back
and do as you please.
( coins clinking )
And how are you
gonna have a rent shake
without a bootlegger?
You ain't my bootlegger,
remember?
...pretty papa
Falling on my knees
I ask,
if you ain't got nobody
Kind daddy,
take me please
You wanna know
how to really make
some money nowadays?
Now--
Now, I'm serious, now.
This is only
for grown folks, now.
If you plan on going to church
this morning, stop me now.
Play the damn record.
( music playing )
Woman:
I got a man I love
I got a man I like
Every time I fuck
them mens
I give em'
the doggone claps...
Oh. Oh, my Lord.
She's so nasty!
Mm-hmm.
But that's the kind
of pussy that--
Oh, unh-uh,
that is too much.
Unh-uh, she is
just too rough.
These party records
going much further nowadays.
Mm-mm,
I can't go that far.
Well, you could always
dust something off,
do one of your
old numbers, you know?
Rough cock, suck my cock
You can tuck my cock--
I ain't gonna suck, tuck,
or nothing else to nobody.
We can get close
to it, though.
See, that's what I'm--
that's the spirit.
His frankfurters are,
oh, so sweet
How I like his
sausage meat
I can't do without
my kitchen man
Oh, how that boy
can open clam
No one else
can touch my ham
I can't do without
my kitchen man
( music playing )
Gin with no ice, right?
You know,
when I saw your name on
the sign out front,
I thought it had to be
some sort of mistake
or an imposter.
I-- I can't believe
it's you.
It is such an honor
to meet you, Miss Smith.
Alhambra Ballroom,
7th Avenue, 126th Street,
Harlem, New York, 1927?
I stand by it.
You changed my life.
That was six years ago,
sugar.
Change doesn't last
that long.
Oh, but it does.
I'm sorry.
I'm John Hammond,
by the way.
Bessie, I wanna produce
your comeback tour.
And this is only
the beginning. You see,
I'm putting together
a concert, right,
from spirituals to swing.
Nothing but
the best musicians.
We've got Benny Goodman,
Fletcher Henderson,
a young girl named
Billie Holiday.
- She loves you so much--
- Hey, slow down, now.
Sorry, I get excited.
Gonna build a new venue
specially for it
called the Cafe Society.
The first integrated
nightclub.
No color lines,
no balconies.
Everyone under one roof
just swingin'.
You're dreaming, John.
Will you dream it
with me?
Sing some of
that old stuff?
I'm going in a different
direction now.
You know, trying on
some new shoes.
Okay, well,
whatever you're thinking,
I just wanna be
a part of it.
We'll see.
Give me a call?
Throw me a line?
Just wanna be
a part of it, Bessie.
Laugh, frown, laugh
Bessie:
Okay, this one is good,
with the dancer girl.
Now, see, I like
this one here.
- Look at this little smile.
- ( Richard laughing )
Hammond:
Calvin, how are you?
Nice to see you.
This is Bessie Smith,
who I was telling you about.
We got everything
you might need.
Not those old weights
and pulleys.
( whispers )
Get tea.
- Nothing but the best.
- I see you got all
the parts.
You got Buck Washington,
Chu Berry,
and this is
Benny Goodman.
Such an honor.
Well, well.
I didn't know
where you wanted to start,
so I put together
every song you ever wrote
and then some.
( chuckling )
( music playing )
It's a long, old road
But I'm gonna find
the end
It's a long, old road
But I'm gonna find
the end
And when I get there
I'm gonna shake hands
with a friend
Weeping and crying
Tears falling
on the ground
Weeping and crying
Tears falling
on the ground
When I got to the end
I was so worried down
It's a long, old road
But I'm gonna find
the end...
I do wanna know.
Know what?
What's over
that next hill,
round the next corner.
Well, you can't
go back.
But you can stop.
- ( laughs )
- No, I can't stop.
Well, let's go.
Well, let's go.
( music playing )
25 cents? Ha!
No, no.
I wouldn't pay 25 cents
to go in nowhere!
'Cause listen here...
Up in Harlem
every Saturday night
When the highbrows
get together
It's just too tight
They all congregate
at an all-night strut
And what they do is
tut, tut, tut
Oh, Hannah Brown
from cross town
Gets full of corn
and starts breaking 'em down
Just at the break of day
You can hear
old Hannah say
Give me a pigfoot
and a bottle of beer
Send me 'gain,
I don't care
I feel just like
I wanna clown
Give the piano player
a drink
Because he's
bringing me down
He's got rhythm, yeah
When he stomps his feet
He sends me
right off to sleep
Check all your razors
and your guns
We gonna be arrested
when the wagon comes
I want a pigfoot
and a bottle of beer
Send me 'cause
I don't care
Play me 'cause
I don't care
Gimme a pigfoot
and a bottle of beer
Send me 'gain,
I don't care
I feel just like
I wanna clown
Give the piano player
a drink
Because he's
bringing me down
He's got rhythm, yeah
When he stomps his feet
He sends me
right off to sleep
Check all your razors
and your guns
Do the shim-sham-shimmy
till the rising sun
Give me a reefer
and a gang o' gin
Play me 'cause
I'm in my sin
Play me 'cause
I'm full of gin.
( music playing )