The Landlord

Hal Ashby’s 1970 directorial debut stars Beau Bridges as Elgar Winthrop Julius Enders, who at 29 still lives at home with his well-off, servant-attended, establishment family in upstate New York. When Elgar buys a ghetto tenement in New York City—with plans to eventually evict the black tenants and renovate—the proverbial wheels are set in motion for this caustic social satire. After a shaky start (Elgar is chased by a group of black men hanging out on his stoop and he loses some hubcaps off his car), the naïve new landlord discovers that he enjoys hanging out with black folk, falling for a go-go dancer named Lanie (Marki Bey) and sleeping with (after a drunken party) Fanny (Diana Sands), "Miss Sepia 1957," who is married to the somewhat unhinged Copee (Louis Gossett, Jr.). Everyone is behind on their rent, but Elgar doesn’t press too hard and even does considerable repair work in the apartments before moving in himself. None of Elgar’s current activities sit well with his racist parents (Walter Brooke, Lee Grant). Based on the titular 1966 novel by Kristin Hunter and adapted by Bill Gunn, The Landlord has plenty of fun and funny moments—including a great sequence in which Grant (who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress) stiffly visits with tenant Marge (Pearl Bailey) but winds up having a wonderful time (no small thanks to copious amounts of inhibition-freeing alcohol). Very much a product of its time, the film does include racial slurs, but it also hits hard with uncomfortable racial truths, as when one character notes: "You whites screaming about miscegenation and you done watered down every race you ever hated." A still relevant satire with decided bite, The Landlord bows on Blu-ray with extras including interviews with Bridges, Grant, and producer Norman Jewison. Recommended. (R. Pitman)