Liberty Heights

Liberty Heights is a 1999 comedy-drama film by writer-director Barry Levinson. It is a semi-autobiograpical account of his childhood growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s.

Related Topics:
1999 - Comedy - Drama - Barry Levinson - Baltimore - 1950s

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In the fall of 1954 the Kurtzmans, a Jewish family, live in Forest Park, a suburban neighborhood on the northwest outskirts of Baltimore. Nate, the father runs a nightclub joint downtown that often engages in seedy numbers rackets. His wife Ada stays home and takes care of the boys. Van, the older one is in college while Ben is in high school.

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Ben meets Sylvia, a black girl in his school, which has just been "integrated". On Halloween Ben dresses up as Adolf Hitler, offending his parents. Van and his friends head over to a party in the "Gentile" section of town. There they run into girls including a blond mystery "princess" with a magic wand Van falls for.

Related Topics:
Halloween - Adolf Hitler

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A fight between one of Van's buddies and a "Gentile" erupts and Trey, one of the party-goers crashes his car into the crowd.

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Meanwhile, Ben and Sylvia listen to "black music" at her house-before Ben is caught by her father. In this scene, a ratehr comical incident occurs when Sylvia finds that Ben has prematurely ejaculated due to incidental, yet fully clothed contact with Ben's knee.

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Trey goes to court for the drunk-driving crash during the Halloween party. Van and his buddies are there as witnesses as well as some girls from that night. After court lets out, Van asks the other guys about his "mystery girl" with the "magic wand". Trey now knows that the girl Van is after is Dubbie, his own girlfriend. He now has a scheme to find another girl, such as Maggie or Megan (other Gentile girls) for Van.

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Nate's stripclub has problems. Little Melvin, a local drug dealer has made a payoff with Nate's business. Nate offers a deal with Melvin.

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Sylvia gives Ben two tickets to see James Brown in concert. At the concert Ben and his friend are the only white patrons in the audience. Van and his friends head out to a gathering.

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Little Melvin abducts Ben, Sylvia and their friends from the concert in a payback to Nate's racket.

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Van has word that Trey is in surgery after a car accident. He and Dubbie go see him in Virginia.

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Nate and his associates at the nightclub are charged and booked with prostitution and racketeering. Ben and Sylvia graduate from high school.

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At the end of the film, Ben looks back at his childhood with memories of Sylvia, his father and white bread.

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