One Potato, Two Potato
| One Potato, Two Potato | |
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Film poster
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| Directed by | Larry Peerce |
| Produced by | Sam Weston |
| Written by |
Orville H. Hampton Raphael Hayes |
| Starring |
Barbara Barrie Bernie Hamilton |
| Music by | Gerald Fried |
| Cinematography | Andrew Laszlo |
| Edited by | Robert Fritch |
| Distributed by | Cinema V |
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Release date
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Running time
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83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
One Potato, Two Potato is a 1964 black-and-white American drama film directed by Larry Peerce and starring Barbara Barrie and Bernie Hamilton.
Julie Cullen is a young parent, single for the past four years, since her husband abandoned her and their daughter, Ellen, only a year old at the time. At work, Julie, who is white, meets Frank Richards, who is black, and the two strike up a friendship that blossoms into a romance. Their relationship is strained by the racial prejudices of many around them, including Frank's parents, William and Martha, who oppose the pairing. But ultimately Frank and Julie decide to persevere through such difficulties. They marry, and Julie and Ellen move in with Frank and his parents. Ellen's arrival immediately softens Martha's heart, but William remains cool toward Julie, steadfast in his belief that Frank and Julie's marriage is a foolish endeavor. His attitude only changes when Frank and Julie have a son together. When William first holds his new grandson, he loses any remaining animosity and the household becomes a happy one for all.
Eventually, Julie's ex-husband, Joe, returns, seeking to establish a visitation relationship with Ellen. However, when he finds that Julie and Ellen's new family is black, he finds this unacceptable and petitions the court for legal custody of Ellen. Frank's lawyer tells him that Joe is likely to win. Agreeing with the lawyer's analysis, William advises Frank to take Julie and the children and flee the state. Frank, however, decides to stay and fight the case in court. When Julie appeals to Joe directly, it only angers him, and he even briefly attempts to force himself on Julie physically. When Frank learns what has happened, he is intensely frustrated by his inability to defend his wife by directly confronting Joe, since he knows that if he does, that will be the end of whatever small chance he and Julie have of winning the custody case.
The judge in the case looks carefully into Ellen's family situation, including interviewing her directly. She affirms how much she loves Frank and she seems oblivious to the racial issues at play. When the judge asks her about her baby brother being "different" from her, the only thought that occurs to her is that her brother is a boy, while she is a girl. The judge recognizes that the family situation in the Richards home is superior for Ellen in every way except for the fact that she is white, growing up in a black household. While the judge does not condone racial prejudices and agrees that they should be fought, he also says that he cannot ignore that they exist and, if Ellen remains with Frank and Julie, will negatively impact her when she reaches adulthood. For that reason, he grants Joe's petition for custody.
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