Film
The Story of a Three-Day Pass
- Director
- Melvin Van Peebles
- Certificate
- 15
- Running Time
- 87 mins
Best known for his 1971 blaxploitation classic Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (and for being Mario’s dad), Melvin Van Peebles actually made his feature debut three years earlier with this little-seen drama adapted from his own novel, which was in turn based on his experiences in the US Army. Set and shot in Paris, it stars Harry Baird as an African-American soldier stationed in France who’s given a three-day leave from his base as part of a promotion. He promptly heads to Paris, where he finds whirlwind romance with a white woman (Nicole Berger).
The film caught the attention of Hollywood, where Van Peebles had previously struggled to get a break, because producers assumed he was French.
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