Mahogany (film)

Mahogany is a 1975 American romantic drama film directed by Berry Gordy and produced by Motown Productions. The Motown founder Gordy took over the film direction after British filmmaker Tony Richardson was dismissed from the film. Mahogany stars Diana Ross as Tracy Chambers, a poor AfricanAmerican woman who rises to become a popular fashion designer in Rome. Fresh from the success of Lady Sings the Blues, this film served as Ross followup feature film. It was released on October 8, 1975, and performed well at the box office.

One day a great photographer, Sean, played by Anthony Perkins, comes to the department store to shoot models, all Caucasian. He is clearly dissatisfied with the models and the shoot. Tracy and Miss Evans come in to observe and see what they can do for him. As soon as Tracy meets him she begins to talk about what a great photographer he is, Miss Evans cuts her off by asking her to fetch chairs for the models and coffee for herself and Sean. When Sean first sees Tracy he says that she is the type of model that he is looking for not realizing that she is Miss Evans secretary. Miss Evans then insists that she is only a secretary to which Sean insists that he has found a great model. Tracy is smitten with the attentions of the photographer because he is a conduit into the world of fashion that she is working so hard to get into but she is not romantically interested in him. When his time is done in Chicago he lets her know that she would do great in Rome and that he will be sending for her in the future. She takes that news with a grain of salt.One night, before she meets the photographer while coming home from her art class, she is verbally accosted by Brian Walker Billy Dee Williams, who is a local activist trying to make the neighborhood aware of the gentrification process going on in their community and attempting to drum up support for change. Tracy comes home from her class, tired and somewhat beleaguered by her circumstances. When Brian Walker directly addresses her through the bullhorn as she walks past him, she then begins to exchange verbal slings with him because she is in no mood. During the verbal exchange, an upstairs neighbor looks out his window and yells at Brian about making so much noise late at night while opening a can of beer and some of the foam falls on Tracy. Everyone laughs, except for Tracy who then, in a beersoaked huff, heads up to her apartment. Her next encounter with Brian is during her walk to work where she sees him with his bullhorn ta

Source: Wikipedia