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Overview
Brief Synopsis
Benny's a hipster, moving in and out of Manhattan's beat scene, aimless, maybe close to trouble. His sister Lelia, who looks less African-American than White, is vulnerable and about to fall in love. Hugh, their older brother, is a struggling singer whose agent, Rupert, may be the only person with faith in his talent. The story moves back and forth, like jazz, among the three of them and what seems at first to be separate lives. Lelia meets Tony, and lets herself hope this is true love. Then he meets Hugh and prejudice gives Tony an excuse to cut and run. Can family and friendship bring solace for her hurt, purpose for Benny, and belief in Hugh? Is life more than shadows?
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Synopsis
Aspiring jazz trumpeter Ben Carruthers, a young, light-skinned black man, attends a loud and crowded Manhattan party. As the evening wears on, he looks increasingly unhappy, but the next day, his enthusiasm is renewed by his efforts to meet girls with his friends Tom and Dennis, both of whom are white. Meanwhile, Ben's older brother Hugh Hurd, a singer whose skin is darker, meets with his manager, Rupert Crosse, who has secured a job for him singing in a seedy Philadelphia nightclub. Feeling belittled by the club manager's insistence that he introduce the chorus girl act, Hugh complains bitterly, but allows Rupert to talk him into accepting the job. At the rehearsal, Ben appears and asks Hugh for a loan, but will not explain why he needs the money. Needing to keep his job in order to help support Ben and their sister Lelia, Hugh rushes to make the train to Philadelphia. Lelia sees him off at the station and then, ignoring her brother's exhortation to catch a cab, walks home through Times Square. Although one man tries to accost her, another defends her, and she runs home unharmed. In Philadelphia, Rupert coaches Hugh on his stage banter, but during the show, Hugh's singing and emceeing is deemed unworthy and the stage manager cuts his act short. Back in Manhattan, Lelia's white boyfriend, the bright, controlling David, tries to convince Ben and his friends to take advantage of the city's cultural offerings, and although they laugh, they decide to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In contemplation of the statues there, Dennis expounds on the intrinsic value of art, while Tom argues that most artists are sellouts. David invites them all to a literary party that evening, where two of the guests exchange heated remarks about existentialism. Lelia is wounded by David's critique of a story she wrote, and to bolster her argument that life is spontaneous, she kisses the man whom she has just met, Tony Russell. The two are immediately attracted, and Lelia invites Tony to join her and David in the park the next day. There, they run away from David and share an intimate discussion, during which Lelia admits that she is afraid life is passing her by. Unaware that she is a virgin, Tony asks her up to his apartment for a drink, and soon the two are in bed together. Afterward, Lelia expresses profound disappointment, stating that she still feels like a stranger to Tony, while he seems both confused and frightened by the strength of his feelings for her. Against her wishes, Tony accompanies her to her apartment, where they again begin to kiss. Just then, Hugh returns from Philadelphia, and when Lelia introduces him as her brother, Tony realizes that she is black, and suddenly announces that he is late for an appointment. Weeping, Lelia tells Tony that she loves him, as a furious Hugh orders him to leave. Ben later realizes that Lelia is upset, but Hugh tells him that it is "just a problem with the races, nothing you'd be interested in." Hugh throws a party that night at the apartment, where both Ben and Lelia are moody and argumentative. Lelia's friend Vicky insists on introducing her to a black friend named Davey, but Lelia is rude to him, even after David enters and apologizes for Tony's actions, explaining that he did not know what Tony was really like. Ben also reacts boorishly to a woman who is flirting with him, and after she throws her drink in his face, Hugh punches him, causing Lelia to scream at Hugh. Ben then leaves the party while Hugh grouses to Rupert. The next morning, Hugh tells a petulant Ben that he hopes they are still "friends, buddies, brothers." Later, Davey arrives to take Lelia to a dance, but she, while making him wait for over two hours, continually insults him. Hugh argues with Davey and Rupert about his songs, which the other men consider too slow. As Davey and Lelia are finally leaving the apartment, Tony arrives, but Lelia pushes past him silently. Tony clumsily tells Hugh and Ben that he has realized that "there's no difference between us," and Ben agrees to pass this on to Lelia, but laughs with Hugh after Tony leaves. At the dance club, Lelia remains snappish, but Davey reveals that he knows she is angry with Tony rather than him. After he declares that "It's you I like," Lelia finally ceases her insults and dances with him quietly. Soon after, Hugh is late once again to meet Rupert for an out-of-town job, prompting Rupert to declare that Hugh is too difficult and demanding. After a heated argument, Hugh entreats Rupert to believe in him, calling Rupert the greatest manager in the world. Meanwhile, Ben and his friends get into a brawl with another group of young men, after which Ben claims that he no longer wants to drift aimlessly about the city. He bids goodnight to his friends, but as Ben crosses a busy street, it is clear that his direction remains uncertain.
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