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IMDb > Ragtime (1981)
Ragtime
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Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   3,671 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
E.L. Doctorow (novel) and
Michael Weller (writer)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Ragtime on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
6 January 1982 (France) more
Genre:
Tagline:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was Ragtime more
Plot:
A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family set among the racial tensions, infidelity, violence, and other nostalgic events in early 1900s New York City. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 8 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 12 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(10 articles)
Stage Door: Ragtime, My Wonderful Day
 (From Huffington Post. 23 November 2009, 12:28 PM, PST)

Birthday Suit: You've Seen Demi's
 (From FilmExperience. 11 November 2009, 4:00 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Great To See Cagney But Don't Overlook Olson more (43 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

James Cagney ... Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo

Brad Dourif ... Younger Brother
Moses Gunn ... Booker T. Washington

Elizabeth McGovern ... Evelyn Nesbit
Kenneth McMillan ... Willie Conklin
Pat O'Brien ... Mr. Delphin Delmas

Donald O'Connor ... Evelyn's Dance Instructor
James Olson ... Father

Mandy Patinkin ... Tateh
Howard E. Rollins Jr. ... Coalhouse Walker Jr.

Mary Steenburgen ... Mother

Debbie Allen ... Sarah
Jeffrey DeMunn ... Harry Houdini (as Jeff Demunn)

Robert Joy ... Henry 'Harry' Kendall Thaw
Norman Mailer ... Stanford White
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Love and Glory (Philippines: English title)
Ragtime (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Ragtime (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Na Época do Ragtime (Brazil) [pt]
Ragtime (France) [fr]
Ragtime (Poland) [pl]
Ragtime (Greece) [el]
Ragtime (Italy) [it]
Ragtime - toivon ja vihan aika (Finland) [fi]
more
Runtime:
155 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Mandy Patinkin's daughter is played by Jenny Nichols while Mary Steenburgen's son is enacted by Max Nichols. Both young performers are the real-life children of director Mike Nichols. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: Charles W. Fairbanks was not the Vice President of the United States when he was running with Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. He was a Senator from Indiana and was chosen as Roosevelt's running mate that year. Roosevelt was Vice President when he succeeded to the presidency upon William McKinley's assassination and he had no Vice President for his first term of office. more
Quotes:
Rheinlander Waldo: Where is J. P. Morgan?
Vernon Elliott: Oh, he's on an expedition down the Nile... in Egypt.
Rheinlander Waldo: Hmmm... Lucky him!
[Looks at the Captain]
Police Captain #1: Yes, sir!
Rheinlander Waldo: And contact some colored big shots to talk to us in case we need to negotiate.
Police Captain #1: Very good, sir. Anything else?
Rheinlander Waldo: Yeah, he said something about a car and a fire chief.
Police Captain #1: Conklin. Willie Conklin.
Rheinlander Waldo: Get him. I want to meet him.
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Forty Deuce (1982) more
Soundtrack:
ONE MORE HOUR more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
29 out of 37 people found the following comment useful.
Great To See Cagney But Don't Overlook Olson, 10 November 2005
7/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

I never saw this film until 2005 and after I had become a big James Cagney fan and wanted to see the movies of his I had missed. Thus, I had to check this out, especially since it was his first film he had made in over 20 years.

En route to getting a glimpse at the 80-year-old star, I found out (1) he wasn't on screen until 45 minutes were left in this 155-minute movie; (2) his absence didn't upset me that much because I was absorbed in this interesting story (plus, to be fair, I was told in advance he didn't appear until the last part!), (3) the sets, clothing, etc. of this "period piece" were fantastic to view.

Anyway, in my opinion, the star of the film was a guy who hardly got any billing: James Olson. He is the key figure in this story and very interesting to watch. Actually, just about everyone is interesting which makes for good storytelling. Nonetheless, Olson's fine performance is unfairly overlooked.

Howard Rollins was good as the black "victim" of the profane slob Kenneth McMillian and Elizabeth McGovern certainly kept ones attention although I wasn't quite sure how her character tied into the story.

By the way, to rate this movie "PG" is ludicrous since McGovern is seen in a 3- to-4-minute scene casually talking away with bare breasts for all to see. And - contrary to a popular rumor - nothing of her was cut out of the DVD.

Meanwhile, Cagney showed he hadn't forgotten how to act. It was a pleasure to see him again, just a few years before he would pass away. It's a cliché, but I doubt if anyone was in his class as an actor and a dancer, a tough guy or a comedian. He was the best and went out in style here, too, although he did do one last made-for-TV film a short time after this.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (43 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Ragtime (1981)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Worst movie ever nominated for more than one academy award? whigpresident
Movie of the musical, anyone? cmiller11
Jack Nicholson MJBell25
Question esbie44
nude scene = PG rating? SeldonRL
Did anyone else notice... brainybrailler
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