INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE (1999)

Directed by: Martha Coolidge

Based on the biography by: Earl Mills

Screenplay by: Shonda Rimes, Scott Abbott

Starring: Halle Berry, Brent Spiner, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Obba Babatunde, Loretta Devine, Cynda Williams, LaTanya Richardson, Tamara Taylor, Alexis Carrington, William Atherton, D.B. Sweeney, Don Gettinger, Nicholas Hormann, Sharon Brown, Darrian C. Ford, Andre Carthen, Jon Mack, Kerri Randles, Benjamin Brown, Tyrone Wade, Wendi Williams

120 minutes

(R - strong language, adult themes, adult situations, violence, rape, drug use, some nudity)

PLOT:

Biopic of the multi-talented African-American singer/dancer/actress Dorothy Dandridge. As a teenager, she was part of the Dandridge Sisters night club where she met her first husband, Harold Nicholas. She had difficulties with intimacy however owing to her brutal treatment at the hands of her mother's female lover, whom they referred to as Auntie. The stress of having a mentally disabled child ends her marriage to Harold and the color barrier in Hollywood makes it difficult for her to find meaningful work. Her big break came with the lead role in Carmen Jones, for which she was nominated for a best actress Oscar. She had a relationship with the film's director, Otto Preminger. Although she had never again was given the opportunity or a role as great, she re-married and continued performing. She died of a prescription drug overdose in 1965.

TRAILER: