Mahogany

Plot synopsis:
Tracy Chambers is a sassy industrious young woman living in the projects of Chicago who dreams of becoming a fashion designer. She has worked her way up from salesgirl to secretary and assistant to the head buyer at a luxury department store (modeled after, and filmed at, Marshall Field's on State Street, Chicago). Her supervisor at the department store, Miss Evans (Nina Foch), does not support Tracy's desire to be a designer. She dissuades her from taking the night class due to her belief that it is interfering with Tracy doing her job for her effectively. In actuality Tracy is attempting to bring her dream of being a designer into fruition. She visits her aunt who works in a factory and gives her designs to sew together for her and she visits buyers to see if anyone will purchase her designs. There are no takers as well as comments made to her that the designs are good for Paris but not Chicago. She does not give up though.
One day a great photographer, Sean, played by Anthony Perkins, comes to the department store to shoot models, all Caucasian. He is clearly dissatisfied with the models and the shoot. Tracy and Miss Evans come in to observe and see what they can do for him. As soon as Tracy meets him she begins to talk about what a great photographer he is, Miss Evans cuts her off by asking her to fetch chairs for the models and coffee for herself and Sean. When Sean first sees Tracy he says that she is the type of model that he is looking for not realizing that she is Miss Evans secretary. Miss Evans then insists that she is only a secretary to which Sean insists that he has found a great model. Tracy is smitten with the attentions of the photographer because he is a conduit into the world of fashion that she is working so hard to get into but she is not romantically interested in him. When his time is done in Chicago he lets her know that she would do great in Rome and that he will be sending for her in the future. She takes that news with a grain of salt.
One night, while coming home from her art class, she is verbally accosted by Brian Walker (Billy Dee Williams), a local activist trying to make the neighborhood aware of the gentrification taking place in their community and attempting to drum up support for change. Tracy is tired and somewhat beleaguered by her circumstances. When Brian directly addresses her through the bullhorn as she walks past him, she then begins to exchange verbal slings with him because she is in no mood. During the verbal exchange, an upstairs neighbor looks out his window and yells at Brian about making so much noise late at night while opening a can of beer and some of the foam falls on Tracy. Everyone laughs, except for Tracy who then, in a beer-soaked huff, heads up to her apartment.
Tracy again encounters Brian during her walk to work. She sees and hears him talking through a bullhorn while neighborhood buildings are being demolished. The construction workers make comments meant to annoy Brian, such as that the neighborhood is better with the rat infested buildings coming down. However, Brian decides that he will not retaliate and continues to speak about the situation. At one point, Brian puts the bullhorn down and Tracy sees her chance to get back at him for their last encounter. While no one is looking, she pours milk into the mouthpiece. When he picks it up, the milk splatters all over him. For Brian, this is the last straw. He assumes that one of the construction workers has done it and a free for all fight begins. The police are called and Brian is taken to jail.
When Brian is let out, he finds Tracy waiting outside the police station. She tells him that she bailed him out because it was she who had poured the milk. She also tells him that she has written a bum check for his bail and they high tail it away from the precinct. He tells her that he will give it back to her and he then talks about when. She tells him that she is not interested in him and that she was only relieving her guilty conscience for the misunderstanding which put him in jail. He insists that he will return the money and so she tells him to put it in the mail slot.
One night she hears coins, lots of them, being placed in her mail slot. She opens the slot and tons of change fall to the floor. She opens the door and finds Brian is in the hallway. They begin a relationship at that point and Brian becomes her boyfriend. Their relationship includes her assisting in his running unsuccessfully for office in the district. The same night when Brian insists Tracy give up her dreams for his, Tracy receives a call from Sean (Anthony Perkins) to come to Rome and she flees in the middle of the night to become his muse.
Sean reinvents Tracy as "Mahogany" and ultimately she becomes among the most in-demand fashion models. An uneasy relationship develops with Sean, who is possessive and jealous of anyone vying for Tracy's attention. He struggles to control Tracy sexually and artistically by discouraging her attempts to break away from modeling and further her design aspirations. Tracy, feeling she owes Sean a great deal for bringing her into a world where she has wealth and fame, reluctantly agrees to sleep with him. Sean's implied or latent homosexuality makes the union a failure. Sean goes on to menace and threaten Brian, who visits Tracy in Rome. Brian fails to persuade Tracy to return home with him to support him in his political aspirations, and Tracy remains behind with Sean. This leads to tragic consequences and a new, wealthy benefactor for Tracy who finally helps her realize her design ambitions.
Tracy becomes demanding, cruel to her employees, and unwilling to express her appreciation to her new benefactor by becoming his mistress. She finds her career is not all she dreamed it would be without the love and support of Brian. Tracy realizes she must decide whether to continue with her material lifestyle and loveless relationship in Rome or return to the man she loves in Chicago.

Tags: melodrama

Review:
Casting Diana Ross as a fashion model was truly inspiring since it gives her an opportunity to look sensational throughout.
Billy Dee Williams is fine as her idealistic boyfriend intent on changing the world rather than his clothes, but the most fun is provided by Anthony Perkins whose performance could be subtitled "Norman Bates's Greatest Hits."  As the neurotic and gay photographer, he chews the scenery like never before, and gives a sensational performance..
And so with "Mahogany," her second motion picture, Ross' mentor/lover (and, now, director) Berry Gordy fashioned an extravagant "hymn to how glorious it is to be Diana Ross", as reviewer Rex Reed put it.
Not since the glory days of Joan Crawford's dewy-ewed close-ups had a star been so lovingly photographed; never considered a classic beauty, Diana Ross is astoundingly luscious in this film.
She plays Tracy Chambers, a spunky Chicago ghetto girl with her eye on becoming a great fashion designer.
Tracy falls in love with Brian (Billy Dee Williams), an earnest politician, but his social conscience is at extreme odds with her desire for fame, fortune and the good life.
Enter Sean (Tony Perkins), the world's most famous fashion photographer, who discovers Tracy, whisks her off to Rome, and prego!
(Sean calls Tracy "Mahogany," you see, because she is also "dark, beautiful, rich and rare.") When in Rome, Tracy/Mahogany indulges in la dolce vita, drips candlewax on her nude body at a Roman orgy, becomes the renowned fashion designer she always dreamed of becoming, and also becomes the kept woman of filthy rich Jean-Pierre Aumont...but, she soon learns, "Success is nothing without someone you love to share it with." If you haven't already guessed, despite the chic Roman locales, there's more corn here than in the state of Kansas.
However, Diana Ross simply dominates the screen; it's a shame and a sin that her acting career never fulfilled its promise (due in large part to the mostly negative reviews "Mahogany" initially received), because she's precisely the larger-than-life, iconic figure that Hollywood's been lacking for so long.
Having said that, "Mahogany" IS best viewed as camp--the cornball dialogue, outrageous costumes (designed by Diana herself) and over-the-top performances ensure its cult status.
Only in this valley, the only doll is black beauty Diana Ross, piloting the whole vanity vehicle like a Sherman tank.
She plays Tracy Chambers, a gorgeous secretary from the mean streets of Chicago who finds fame and fortune (but alas--poignant sniffle--not happiness) as Europe's top model/designer, Mahogany ("Meeeee!
As her lovely theme song flows from the soundtrack, Ms. Ross throws a tantrum in a fountain (which ends up on a Revlon billboard); does a wax-covered striptease; and wears a number of eye-popping, often hideous fashions that she designed herself, including a Sea Monkey costume and a sugar glider made out of pantyhose.
It has to be seen to be believed.But no-one can inspire a drag queen like Ms. Ross who never lets plot or story-line interfere with her chances to soft pout or give us long enigmatic looks.
The storyline is simple....girl from the projects with big dreams leaves behind the bleakness of Chicago as she is "discovered" by Anthony Perkins who can't quite figure out if he is gay in the movie (as he was in real life) or straight.
The result is unintentional hilarity.Part of the rags to riches subplot (if you can call it that) is the Billy Dee Williams character who we know is the true love of Ms.Ross.
Actually I don't remember the story, because the camera barely moves from Ross the whole time.If you love high camp then this movie is for you.
Fun fact, some of the frocks on display were designed by Ms. Ross, and the whole camp drag-show was put together by her then lover, Berry Gordy.This move is camptastic!.
The over the top fashions, some designed by Diana Ross herself are hysterical and totally fun to check out.
Anthony Perkins has never been better in this over the top performance of one very strange photographer who can't quite decide whether to make the moves on Diana Ross or her 70s superstar smooth as hot chocolate boyfriend Billy Dee Williams.
The movie is overloaded with Ross from the theme song, the (ugly) clothing she designed for it, & the fact that she's in just about every scene.
Billy Dee Williams is very good as her leading man, as he was in "Lady Sings The Blues".
Ghetto girl from Chicago wants to be a fashion designer, but her politician boyfriend wants her instead to help him take care of the unfortunates at home (which is more important, after all, than working with coat-hangers, but can't he see that a big salary from the Mrs. might be used to strengthen his campaign?).
As good as Diana Ross was in "Lady Sings the Blues", I was restless with that film for a number of reasons (it followed the standard bio-flick pattern, it was heavy-handed and drab).
However, "Mahogany" exists purely on adrenaline, and Ross is hyped-up, high on life, and her kicky fashion scenes are both entertaining and gaudy.
The love story with Billy Dee Williams is relaxed, Anthony Perkins is loose and campy as a gay shutterbug who puts the moves on La Ross, and the decadent, glamorous surroundings are fun escapism.
Diana Ross is luminous, funny, charming and beautiful in a role that doesn't ask much of her but to pose - her delivery and timing are good, but the dialogue she's asked to utter sounds pretty campy today.
Billy Dee Williams as the Honest Politician Who Loves Her - well, he's good, but you could have hired a Steiff teddy bear to play that role.
Have to wonder whether Tracy's designs were set up to be appallingly bad (and they are) so that the audience would object less to her decision to give up on the fashion world.In my view, the best quote is not the oft-trotted out one about success, but: "You're only young once; you can be immature forever."The overall "stand by your man" message is singularly abhorrent, but "Mahogany" is such fine kitsch that even the staunchest feminist will laugh, despite herself..
In "Mahogany," a young woman has aspirations of becoming a successful fashion designer only to learn a life lesson from her wannbe politician boyfriend that success is meaningless without true romantic love (yeah, right).Motown singing legend (and Gordy's onetime lover) Diana Ross stars in the title role as Tracy Chambers, a black woman from the slums of Chicago who's starving for success in the fashion design industry.
Torn between her relationship with her boyfriend, along with his political ideals, and the golden opportunity of making a significant step in achieving her dream of becoming a successful fashion designer, she opts for the latter and abruptly departs for Rome.Although a pop singing icon, as the movie's hit theme song ("Do You Know Where You're Going To?") will attest, Ross' acting abilities in this movie however leave a great deal to be desired.
Although few would argue that the ostentation of the European fashion industry, the setting for most of this movie, is fitting for her real-life persona as that of the narcissistic Motown diva.Anthony Perkins appears as a prominent but emotionally imbalanced fashion photographer named Sean who under the guise of being Tracy's mentor, and similar to another Italian benefactor that she encounters later in the movie, has lecherous ulterior motives up his sleeve.
His unrequited attraction for Tracy results in some very unpleasant and devastating consequences, making her start to realize that success in the European fashion industry ain't exactly all that it's cracked up to be.Billy Dee Williams plays Brian, Tracy's altruistic boyfriend, who, with his own aspirations, has ambitions of becoming the alderman of the Chicago ward where Tracy herself resides.
As the consummate movie matinée idol, and in somewhat of a reprise from the previous movie in which he co-starred with Ross, "Lady Sings the Blues," he does suffice in "Mahogany" as the handsome leading man.
However, in scenes where he's embroiled in altercations with construction workers while conducting political campaigns in the streets of Chicago--and besting the roughnecks in street fights--are a tad "Hollywoodish" to say the least and far more humorously cheesy than action-packed.But above all else, what makes the movie such an unadulterated piece of camp (or crap) is the ludicrous, naive theme it perpetuates—"Success is nothing without someone you love to share it with." In what was presumably meant to be the climax of this movie, and to the background of heavy sentimental orchestral music, Brain emphatically delivers this line to Tracy amid a heated lovers' quarrel.
I love Diana Ross but hate this movie.
Diana Ross plays Tracy a poor black woman who hopes to become a famous fashion designer.
They fall in love (of course) but then she meets a famous fashion photographer named Sean (Anthony Perkins).
She starts designing her own fashions but discovers success means nothing without having someone you love to share it with.
Poor inner-city girl (Diana Ross) just wants to be a successful fashion designer but can't get a big break.
Oh, and there's some stuff about an up-and-coming politician (Billy Dee Williams) she loves and a homosexual photographer (Anthony Perkins) who "understands the needs of a woman." Cheesy kitsch from Berry Gordy.
Diana sings the theme song ("Do You Know Where You're Going To") that plays throughout the movie.
As Diana and Billy Dee argue there's this background actor in between them whose eyes just go from one actor to the other as they say their lines like he's watching a tennis match.
The Big Question is: should Diana choose her aging lover in Paris, including the promise of fashion immortality and unimaginable riches--or should she fly back to Chicago for the love of a good man and cook his dinner on a regular basis?
And Tony Perkins is around too,, probably strung out on something dangerous, making the film a few years after Psycho, still cruising on Norman Bates, so there's the added attraction of watching his shifty eyes never know quite where to land.
Diana Ross overacts in the second half of the film, screaming at Billy Dee, berating the workers making her outfits .
Nothing to really reccommend this film, except kitsch value, Diana Ross looking lovely despite some awful(self-designed)fashions, and a lush theme song.
Photographer Sean thinks Tracy should be a model named Mahogany, and he claims to like her fashions.I thought Diana Ross did a good job, somewhat charming, very determined to succeed despite obstacles and not willing to let anyone stand in her way.
I liked the theme song and the jazz that was played in some scenes where Sean and Tracy were together.
Not As Bad As The Wiz. This film is another vanity piece for the ultimate diva Diana Ross.
Only Billy Dee Williams and Jean-Pierre Aumont manage to do credible performances as the two men who love Ross' character and Anthony Perkins is at his creepy best as the psychotic photographer.
Unfortunately, Diana Ross is wasted in this role, which tends to prove that she had only one good performance in her and, unfortunately, it was in her debut, Lady Sings the Blues..
The fact that Diana Ross never looked more beautiful certainly makes the movie a bit more palatable..
This movie stars the famous Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams (who I've noticed loves to smile a lot **giggles**).I've seen a few fashion films, and I will admitt, out of all of the ones I've seen, this one has to be the best.
It's more than just a fashion movie...its also a love story.
I love the outfits that Diana Ross's character designs and the ones that she wears.
Acting is over-rated and Diana Ross knew this when she was over-looked for an Oscar for Lady Sings the Blues.
Boy loves girl but girl has bigger dreams than Billy Dee Williams and his jive-talking ways.
Girl is discovered and scales the dizzying heights of modeling and managing not to detect Anthony Perkins was gay, all the while enduring bad lines, great lighting and seemingly never-ending photo montages of her looking fab.
Yes...girl finally realized fame and glamah is a mirage and all she really wants to do is return to the projects and have Billy Dee touch her in the mornings...but this time not walk away.Okay, maybe that's NOT the oldest story in the book, but this is a dazzling music video.
Anthony Perkins then lures Diana Ross away from Chicago, and away from the demanding BDW who wants her to give up her dreams and become the good wife.
Just to teach Brian a lesson, Tracy enters into an abusive but rewarding relationship with Anthony Perkins who plays the camp and sassily sadistic photographer Sean.
There are ups and downs, and moments of camp gold with some of the fashion shoots, and there is one scene where Diana falls into a fountain and it is later used as a fashion ad...because every designer in the 70's wanted to PROVE that polyester was resilient to fetid fountain water, and impervious to bad acting.
In fact I prefered it over Miss Ross's other movie Lady Sings The Blues..
Though Diana Ross has been in a number of films as well as TV movies, I don't think the general public thinks of her as a well rounded actress.
Diana Ross gorgeous, Billy Dee Williams handsome and strong.
this movie along with lady sings the blues is the epitome of diana at her best.
I thought Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, and Anthony Perkins were outstanding in their roles.
This was Diana Ross' second feature film, and Berry Gordy, who had done such an excellent job guiding her career, could have done a much better job to star this American treasure in.
Billy Dee Williams and Diana Ross should have made many more films together.
Even tho miss Ross is credited with the costumes designs for this film.
He's the reason why anything bad at Motown happened, just because of his "Diana Ross is the star, everyone else second-class" attitude.This movie was weird, no, wait!
Billy Dee Williams, I can't remember him in any movies, but he did a good job in Lady Sings...
This movie seems like it was primarily a vehicle for Diana Ross's singing ability.
"And now, Mahogany presentsthe Kabuki Finale!" This is the movie that made me want to be a fashion designer *and* a drag queen.
Just like in *Mommie Dearest* when you *know* you're looking into the heart of Joan Crawford, *Mahogany* makes you feel as if you're looking into the heart of Diana Ross.
In this self-serving tale of the perils of stardom, Diana, as Tracy Chambers, scales the heights of the glamour and glitter of international high fashion and plummets directly into Bad-Movie-Hall-Of-Fame.
Just when things seem hopeless, her job in the display department of a local department store puts her in the line of vision of a famous, but unstable fashion photographer, played to extreme by Anthony Perkins.
Diana Ross is so beautiful in this film - mostly when she isn't modeling actually.
Only bad part to this film is when Tracy (Ross's character) seems to give in and become nothing but a helpmate to Billy Dee who doesn't care about her goals or dreams at all.
Being a fan of The Supreme's I heard some of Diana Ross's music on their greatest hits compilations so I'm familiar with Mahogany's theme: "Do you know where you're going to".
So I figured I'd watch the movie, especially considering how good Ross was in Lady sings the Blues, that must have jus been a one time thing.
It is sung as the theme throughout this film.I was expecting a Diana Ross performance as I saw in her nominated "Lady Sings the Blues" of 1972.
Ross plays Tracy, a poor secretary who yearns to be a fashion designer.
As they meet and fall in love, Tracy's big break as a model and designer come through Sean (Anthony Perkins), a photographer who may not be all that he appears.As her fame rises, Tracy/"Mahogany" discovers fame does not always equal happiness.
Berry Gordy's love letter to Diana Ross is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time.
Frankly, the only thing saving this flick from zero stars is Anthony Perkins's ultra-campy performance of the photographer who gives Ross her big break.
My wife says that this movie is for people who like fashion and design.
The only thing I knew regarding this movie was the title theme that Diana sang (Do You Know Where You're Going To).
Anthony Perkins plays Sean McAvoy, the fashion photographer who tries to take advantage of Tracy's career (he gave her the nickname Mahogany).
Billy Dee Williams is great as the politician boyfriend of Tracy's.
"Tracy Chambers" (Diana Ross) lives in the south side of Chicago and works as a secretary at a large department store during the day and attends a fashion school at night in the hope of one day being a fashion designer.
However, things change when Tracy meets a famous photographer named "Sean McAvoy" (Anthony Perkins) who entices her to Rome to become a fashion model which could greatly help her in her initial dream of becoming a fashion designer.
Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film contained some decent drama here and there and Diana Ross performed in an adequate manner in the starring role.
Diana may belt out a song--look beautiful in fashionable outfits but sorry, the girl is not the best actress.
In most films, Anthony Perkins plays the psycho characters---here you will not be disappointed.
And Billy Dee Williams is the male dream cake as always.Much better movie than The Wiz, Diana Ross fans will love it.