Good concept, poorly executed.

Brilliant and touching

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Am tired of these films trying to confront the black experience in America. Ultimately, these films try to show racism as the culprit. The truth is that black America and all people must look at the mirror to see what's going on.In a non-singing role, Diahann Carroll received a best actress nomination for her portrayal of a 36 year old woman with 6 children. She supposedly has had 2 marriages, but you have to wonder about that. She meets garbage man James Earl Jones and the two immediately begin a relationship. Jones is excellent as the man who is looking for a life, but can't get it due to his being hailed into court by one of his ex-wives for more financial support.The story really boils down to the fact whether or not these 2 people can find happiness.Carroll slaps her daughter around when she finds her pregnant. The last scene with the attempted marriage of Carroll and Jones is fruitless at best. I'd expect something like this from the Jeffersons.The film is basically an insult to black-America. Didn't the Jeffersons state that we're moving on up? The film is rather a cheap exploitation of the cliché black experience in America. Blacks were so right in demanding better roles other than the maid and butler. The same should be true of films depicting them.

I went to the movies to see Claudine and loved every minute of it the cast and the soundtrack as well. Diahann Carroll was never better than in this role. We saw Ms. Carroll downplayed her looks barely saw her naked,smoked a cigarette, drank beer and oh she cursed. Whenever this movie was shown on TV and finally cable I would call my friends to watch it. Just the soundtrack from the very beginning of the movie is awesome all thanks to Gladys Knight and the Pips. We saw a black woman struggling to raise her children, dealing with teen pregnancy and everyday life meets a man whom she learns later on has issues himself. Finally this movie made it to DVD and well deserving.

After playing a smartly-dressed working mom on television for years, Diahann Carroll finally gets back to her dramatic roots and triumphs here as "Claudine", a single welfare mother in a houseful of unruly kids who begins seeing a well-meaning garbage collector (nicely played by a low-keyed James Earl Jones). Dated product of the 1970s has all the expected stereotypes, but director John Berry has fun with the convincing urban milieu and gets mileage out of Claudine's monetary predicaments, played for sarcastic laughs. The script brings up some all-too-realistic problems which it hasn't a hope in hell of solving, but the sharp, knowing, wise-ass dialogue lends a bracing quality to these characters--one respects them almost immediately. It's a fairy tale, a black variation on "Cinderella", yet the film is a bit overreaching, hoping to be both a lightweight romp and a diatribe on how we're all victims of the Man. Despite the hardships we presume are to come, the overall absence of malice--coupled with a cast full of brash, wonderful kooks--is ingratiating. **1/2 from ****

I first saw the 1974 film "Claudine" on Showtime in 1996. It's a warm film that is easily embracable, thanks to the humane way in which the characters -- and their misfortunes -- are dealt.Diahann Carroll, in the title role, plays a single mother raising -- oh, four or five or six -- kids while working as a maid for a wealthy, affluent family.James Earl Jones, as a garbage man, is smitten with Claudine. However, he has problems of his own, and the idea of committing to Claudine has him running scared.The characters have pride and love, and, even though this isn't original, I found "Claudine" to be quite inviting. The performances (especially from Carroll, who won a well-deserved best-actress Oscar nomination for a role that had originally been cast with Diana Sands, who had to drop out due to a bout with cancer that would eventually kill her in September 1973) seem flawless, because the actors have a firm grasp and understanding of where "Claudine" is at, in terms of heart, mind, and soul.And "Claudine" has plenty of those three to spare. It's well-worth checking out, if you haven't already done so.