‘Mr. Soul!’ a time capsule of a televised revolution
It was 1968, and television was pretty white. Some quality public affairs programs — “Say Brother,” “Like It Is” — were getting off the ground, and Diahann Carroll (“Julia”) and Bill Cosby (“I Spy”) made some network waves. But there was nothing to match the energy of the Black Arts Movement taking flight outside the studio walls.
Nothing, that is, until “Soul!” The new documentary “Mr. Soul!” will be a blast from the past to those who were lucky enough to catch the variety show during its original run from 1968 to 1973. For most viewers, however, the film will qualify as a revelation, or, if you will, a revolution, one that was in fact televised. If the recent documentary “Summer of Soul” is a supernova, “Soul!” represents an overlooked constellation.
The master of ceremonies for this public television culture feast was a slight, softspoken man named Ellis Haizlip. Openly gay in a sowhat, nonchalant way and as curious as he was knowledgeable, Haizlip had the enthu
siasm to match his sense of mission: to bring Black culture — music, dance, literature, politics — into America’s living room, and to give Black America a feeling of pride by giving his guests a primetime platform.
And oh, what guests. The untested duo of Ashford & Simpson took the stage and surprised themselves with their power. “We weren’t performers,” says Valerie Simpson. “There would not be an Ashford & Simpson were it not for “Soul!” Kool & the Gang and Earth, Wind & Fire also had their first national TV performances on “Soul!” Poets such as Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez brought Black letters to the show; Giovanni also conducted a lengthy interview with James Baldwin.
Al Green, the Delfonics, Stevie Wonder, Billy Preston, Carmen de Lavallade … all took their turns in the intimate New York studio auditorium, making history before a rapt, boogieing audience.
Haizlip and his staff courted controversy from the start, when the Last Poets performed a song whose very title kicked up dust. Haizlip interviewed a young Louis Farrakhan, knowing full well his views on homosexuality. He welcomed Kathleen Cleaver, wife of Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver, and Georgia Jackson, mother of slain Soledad Brother George Jackson. You get the sense that Haizlip knew every “Soul!” episode could be the last, and he wasn’t going to pull any punches along the way.
For all the greatness on display here, there’s room for a little more. We learn a bit about Haizlip’s upbringing, including a devastating family loss — the film is codirected by his niece, Melissa Haizlip — but less about what and who made him tick as an adult. Then there are elusive moments mentioned in passing. Toni Morrison visited “Soul!” to read from her first novel, “The Bluest Eye.” Wait, what? Can we see that please? No dice. To be fair, not every bit of vintage video out there has been successfully archived.
Eventually Haizlip proved prescient. The sword did fall on “Soul!” President Nixon was not a fan of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, especially not its darker hues (there’s a tape relating as much). Funding for Black programming was directed toward less incendiary options. The last episode of “Soul!” was broadcast March 7, 1973.
“Mr. Soul!” is like a wrinkle in time, a time capsule that needed to be opened. In uncovering rare gold, it’s a film that reminds us just how much we don’t know.
For most viewers, ... the film will qualify as a revelation, or, if you will, a revolution.