Paris Blues

Sidney Poitier woos Diahann Carroll in the city of love and to the strains of a rich Duke Ellington score.

The screening on Friday 24 January features a pre-screening spoken word performance by Nat Nye the Lyrical Alkhemist and Stella B aka The Power Couple.

  • Director

    Martin Ritt

  • With

    Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, Diahann Carroll, Joanne Woodward

  • USA 1961. 99min

  • Digital

  • Certificate

    12A

Poitier makes for a dashing romantic lead as jazz saxophonist Eddie Cook, enjoying the freedom of bohemian Paris with bandmate Ram Bowen. Eddie falls for Diahann Carroll’s vacationing schoolteacher, yet is torn when she attempts to convince him to return with her to America and to live life as a second-class citizen. A cameo performance by Louis Armstrong rounds out this film’s many pleasures.

Contains implied hard drug use.