Go Man Go (film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Go, Man, Go!

| image = Go Man Go 1954 poster.jpg

| caption = 1954 Theatrical Poster

| director = James Wong Howe

| producer = Alfred Palca

| writer = Alfred Palca

| narrator =

| starring = Dane Clark
Sidney Poitier
Ruby Dee
The Harlem Globetrotters
Patricia Breslin

| music = Alex North

| cinematography = William O. Steiner

| editing = Faith Elliott

| studio = Sirod Productions

| distributor = United Artists

| released = {{Film date|1954|01|27}}

| runtime = 82 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $300,000{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/variety193-1954-02/page/n235/mode/1up?q=%22domestic+gross%22|magazine=Variety|title=Rialto drops sexsational policy|date=24 February 1954|page=20}}

|gross=$800,000 (US/Canada rental estimate)

}}

Go, Man, Go! is a 1954 American sports film directed by James Wong Howe, starring Dane Clark, Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Patricia Breslin, The Harlem Globetrotters and Slim Gaillard. Clark plays Abe Saperstein, the organizer of the Globetrotters. Poitier's character is Inman Jackson, the team's showboating center. Breslin plays Sylvia Saperstein, the love interest. Gaillard plays himself.

Plot

The film tracks the Globetrotters from humble beginnings through a triumph over a major-league basketball team, as they struggle to overcome racial discrimination. Actual Harlem Globetrotter players portray the team in basketball action throughout the picture.{{cite news |first= Bosley |last= Crowther | authorlink = Bosley Crowther |title= THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; Harlem Globetrotters Perform in a Sports Romance, 'Go, Man, Go!' at the Globe |url= https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A01E2DE1738E23BBC4852DFB566838F649EDE |newspaper= New York Times |date=March 10, 1954 |access-date=2008-05-04 }} The friendship between Saperstein and Jackson, and their wives, is an important storyline.{{cite web |url= https://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:93354|title= Go, Man, Go!|access-date=2008-05-04 |last= Brennan|first= Sandra |publisher=Allmovie}}

Cast

{{castlist|

Dane Clark as Abe Saperstein
Patricia Breslin as Sylvia Franklin Saperstein
Sidney Poitier as Inman Jackson
Anatol Winogradoff as Papa Saperstein
Celia Brodkin as Mama Saperstein
Carol Sinclair as Fay Saperstein
Ellsworth Wright as Sam
Slim Gaillard as Himself
Frieda Altman as Ticket Seller
Mort Marshall as Master of Ceremonies
Jean Shore as Secretary
Reece 'Goose' Tatum as Himself, Harlem Globetrotter
'Sweetwater' Clifton as Himself, Harlem Globetrotter
Marques Haynes as Himself, Harlem Globetrotter
Bill Stern as Himself
Marty Glickman as Himself
Ruby Dee as Irma Jackson

}}

Production

The film was cinematographer Howe's directorial debut. It was filmed at the Fox Movietone Studios and at Madison Square Garden in New York in 20 days.{{cite magazine|title=2 Factors Held Back Howe in N.Y. Filming of 'Go, Man, Go', 20-Day Biopic|magazine=Variety|date=August 19, 1953|page=7|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-08/page/n136/mode/1up?view=theater|access-date=March 17, 2024|via=Internet Archive}}

Hollywood blacklist

Screenwriter and producer Alfred Palca was accused by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1953 of being a Communist. He refused to cooperate with their investigations. No distributor was willing to release the film with his name credited, so he gave the producing credit to his brother-in-law, Anton Leader, and the screenwriting credit to his cousin, Arnold Becker, a pediatrician. He never worked in the film industry again. According to Palca, the F.B.I. saw his casting of Poitier as further evidence of his Communism.{{cite news |first= Bruce |last= Weber |title= Four Decades After He Was Blacklisted, A Writer-Producer Finally Gets Credit |url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E0D7163EF933A1575BC0A961958260&sec=&spon=|work= New York Times |date=August 20, 1997 |access-date=2008-05-04 }}

In 1997, a ceremony at the Academy Theatre honored blacklisted Hollywood writers and directors and restored Palca's writing credit for the film.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Dinitia |title=Alfred Palca, 78, Screenwriter Blacklisted After Basketball Film |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/22/us/alfred-palca-78-screenwriter-blacklisted-after-basketball-film.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 June 1998}}

Reception

Bosley Crowther, reviewing the film for The New York Times, observed, "This is the second little picture in which the Globetrotters have been starred. The encore is not excessive. They still give an entertaining show."