Paris Blues 
Set in Paris to the sounds of a Duke Ellington sonic lullaby, this jazz-infused drama starring Sidney Poitier takes the A-train to your heart. Eddie Cook (Poitier) is an expatriate jazz musician who finds love with Connie, an American girl (Diahann Carroll), and shelter from the United States in a “racially tolerant” Paris. With Paul Newman, Louis Armstrong, and Joanne Woodward rounding out the cast, this picture shows sensitivity toward romance and interracial friendship. 

A Man Called Adam 
Loosely based on the life of Miles Davis, A Man Called Adam centers on a gifted trumpeter (Sammy Davis Jr.) on a self-destructive streak. With a lethal combination of deep personal misfortune, systemic racism, and alcoholism, Adam finds connection and hope with activist Claudia (Cicely Tyson in a role that predates her marriage to Miles Davis). A Man Called Adam also stars Ossie Davis and Louis Armstrong. The film was made by Sammy Davis Jr.’s production company and produced by Ike Jones, one of Hollywood’s earliest Black producers.  

Paris Blues 
DIRECTED BY: Martin Ritt. WRITTEN BY: Jack Sher, Grimes Grice, Walter Bernstein. ADAPTATION BY: Lulla Adler. WITH: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier, Louis Armstrong. 1961. 98 min. USA. B&W. English. 35mm. 

A Man Called Adam 
DIRECTED BY: Leo Penn. WRITTEN BY: Les Pine, Tina Rome. WITH: Sammy Davis Jr., Louis Armstrong, Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson. 1966. 104 min. USA. B&W. English. 35mm. 

Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation.