Lady Sings The Blues (1972)

The story of the legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday (Diana Ross) who rises from scrubbing floors in brothels to headlining at Carnegie Hall. Loosely based on the autobiography by Billie Holiday and directed by Sidney J. Furie (THE IPCRESS FILE). All the movie biography cliches are intact so you know exactly where the movie is going. But what elevates it into something special is Diana Ross's fierce no holds barred performance. She's sensational! One would have thought she had a major acting career in her future but it never happened. She never found a suitable follow up that challenged her as much. She only did two more theatrical features (the soap opera MAHOGANY and the dreadful THE WIZ) and just gave up. Realistically, as a singer, she can't match Billie Holiday's phrasing and style but if she can't sing Holiday, she can certainly act her. The film is to be taken with a grain of salt. For example, Louis McKay (Billy Dee Williams) is romanticized in the film when in reality, he was physically abusive and speculated with her money. With Richard Pryor, Isabel Sanford, James Callahan, Virginia Capers, Sid Melton and Ned Glass.