IMDb RATING
6.7/10
2.9K
YOUR RATING
Jeff Gerber, a racist white man, wakes up one morning to discover that he has become black.Jeff Gerber, a racist white man, wakes up one morning to discover that he has become black.Jeff Gerber, a racist white man, wakes up one morning to discover that he has become black.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
Paul Williams
- Employment Office Clerk
- (as Paul H. Williams)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMelvin Van Peebles: The artist who letters Jeff Gerber's new office door.
- GoofsDr. Wainwright asks Jeff if he knows that the first man to die in an American war was Crispus Atticus. The man's name was actually Crispus Attucks, NOT Atticus. The doctor puts in an extra syllable.
- Quotes
Delivery Man: That guy needs a sun lamp like Fred Astaire needs dancing lessons.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Real Deal: What It is (2003)
- SoundtracksLove, That's America
Written and performed by Melvin Van Peebles
Featured review
Watermelon Man Doesn't Spit out Any Seeds~~Wonderful Movie
I first saw this film on television about 7-8 years ago. It was part of a "Heritage Network" movie special. This was hosted by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. I fell in love!!! I had to own this film!!! How much were they holding the film hostage for???? $20 dollars??? $100 dollars?? And so I waited for a few years. My father would keep saying to me "Aren't you going to buy that movie?" I'd say "Yeah Soon", but just didn't want to cough up the cash for it. Then it finally arrived on DVD in 2004 or so. I purchased it at Media Play. And I have watched it several times. I think that it's ahead of its time. Godfrey Cambridge plays a very disciplined white man with a nice white family. He puts on his sneakers and runs down the hill as exercise racing with the bus. Just the like the Yuppies of the 80's that wore sneakers to work then changed shoes. He was doing this in 1969.. He was an insurance man and he believed in exercise, family, all the values that this country was raging against in 1969. Then he wakes up one day and is black. All the showers in the world can't wash off the color. His whole universe changes. Some for the worse, some for the better. I have a whole new respect for Godfrey Cambridge from this film. A highly intelligent man in real life, Godfrey lets this shine through in this film. Especially poignant is when he is selling insurance to young black families. He talks straight to them, and doesn't patronize them. You will see this in the film. No hard sell, No baloney. Another tidbit that you will find interesting is that the house interior they used is the same one that they used for another famous television family.....THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY!!!!!! There is a small barely audible directors commentary with the film, and you have to listen carefully to really understand it. Seems that the film company did not treat Mr. Van Peebles very nicely. And I am putting this nicely as i can. Anyway it's a gem of a movie!!!!
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- definitedoll
- Mar 14, 2007
- How long is Watermelon Man?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Night the Sun Came Out
- Filming locations
- Burbank, California, USA(Studio)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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