Don't Play Us Cheap (film)

This article is about the 1973 film adaptation. For the original 1970 stage musical, see Don't Play Us Cheap.
Don't Play Us Cheap
Directed byMelvin Van Peebles
Written byMelvin Van Peebles
Produced byMelvin Van Peebles
Starring
CinematographyBob Maxwell
Edited byMelvin Van Peebles
Music byMelvin Van Peebles
Release date
  • January 1, 1973 (1973-01-01)[1]
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Don't Play Us Cheap is a 1973 American musical comedy film based on the 1970 musical of the same name.[2] The musical was written, produced, scored, edited and directed by Melvin Van Peebles. Both the original stage musical and the film adaptation are based on Van Peebles' 1967 French-language novel La fête à Harlem (1967).

The film stars Avon Long and Joe Keyes Jr. as Brother Dave and Trinity, a pair of demons who take human form to break up a house party thrown by Miss Maybell (Esther Rolle), an African American woman, in honor of her niece Earnestine (Rhetta Hughes), who is celebrating her 20th birthday in Harlem.[1] Trinity's devotion to his mission comes into question when he falls in love with Earnestine. Don't Play Us Cheap was part of a diptych with Van Peebles' stage musical, Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death, which presented a darker vision of African American life compared to the lighter portrayal in Don't Play Us Cheap.[3]

Don't Play Us Cheap was filmed in 1972 as Van Peebles' follow-up to his hit film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, but he could not find a distributor, and subsequently wound up adapting the script for a Broadway stage play based on the film.[4] The film later received a limited theatrical release on January 1, 1973, and was not widely seen until it was released on home video.[1] The film's plot has been seen as an allegory for African American resilience in the face of adversity.[5] The house party has been described as a stand-in for the Black Panther Party, and the imps turned human as a metaphor for attempts to thwart the black power movement.[3] The film has also been described as a defense of the United States.[6]

  1. ^ a b c Deming, Mark. "Synopsis". AllMovie. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
  2. ^ Bernard L. Peterson (1993). "Don't Play Us Cheap!". A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, Or Involving African Americans. Greenwood Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780313266577.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Barrett was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Don't Play Us Cheap Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Remer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference White was invoked but never defined (see the help page).