Motown Productions, the film and television arm of Berry Gordy's Motown Records label, was founded by Gordy in 1968, with the original focus on TV specials starring such recording artists as Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and the Jackson 5. Motown first branched into feature-film production with Lady Sings the Blues (1972) and built on that success with such movies as Scott Joplin (1977), Thank God It's Friday (1978) and The Wiz (1978).

TCM presents a retrospective of three Motown Productions movies co-hosted by our own Alicia Malone, along with entertainment journalist, interviewer and producer Chris Witherspoon of the African-American Film Critics Association, a group that presents annual awards for excellence in film. The movies in our tribute are shown below.

The Last Dragon (1985), Motown's final theatrical feature, is a martial-arts movie with comic overtones, starring Taimak as a young man who searches for a martial-arts expert who can help him attain a level of mastery known as "the Glow." At the same time, he must rescue a beautiful singer (Vanity) from a corrupt music promoter. The movie has become a cult favorite and inspired a popular soundtrack album supervised by executive producer Gordy and featuring music by such artists as Smokey Robinson, DeBarge, Willie Hutch and Charlene.

Mahogany (1975) also stars Ross, this time playing a fashion design student from the southside of Chicago who gains fame and fortune as a designer in Rome - but she soon discovers that success is empty without love. Billy Dee Williams again is Ross's leading man, and Anthony Perkins steals scenes as a flamboyant photographer. The cast also includes veterans Jean-Pierre Aumont and Nina Foch. British director Tony Richardson was dismissed from the film and Gordy himself took over its direction. Ross's background number, "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin, was nominated for an Oscar as Best Song and became a No. 1 single for her. She performed it live on the Academy Awards ceremonies that year.

Lady Sings the Blues (1972), a biographical drama focusing on Billie Holiday, is based on the legendary jazz singer's 1956 autobiography and features Motown recording star Diana Ross as "Lady Day." The film highlights the singer's turbulent early life and her success in the 1930s and '40s as a recording and touring star, as well as her later troubles with legal matters and substance abuse. Billy Dee Williams costars as the romantic interest, and Richard Pryor lends support as a helpful piano player. The film, co-produced by Berry Gordy and directed by Sidney J. Furie, received five Oscar nominations including one for Ross as Best Actress in a Leading Role. Ross's album of songs from the movie became a No. 1 best-seller on the Billboard charts.

by Roger Fristoe