Watermelon Man (film)

'Watermelon Man is a 1970 comedy-drama film directed by Melvin Van Peebles.

Related Topics:
1970 - Comedy-drama film - Melvin Van Peebles

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Written by Herman Raucher and distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation, it tells the story of a racist named Jeff Gerber who wakes up one morning to find that he is no longer white.

Related Topics:
Herman Raucher - Columbia Pictures Corporation - White

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The role is played by African-American actor Godfrey Cambridge, who plays the role in "whiteface" (white makeup) for the first few minutes of the film, and then goes without the makeup when his character changes into a black man. Studio execs had originally thought of casting a white actor for the part, but since the character would be black for a great majority of the film, Van Peebles veto'd the decision.

Related Topics:
African-American - Godfrey Cambridge

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