Kansas City
VHS cover
Directed byRobert Altman
Written byFrank Barhydt
Robert Altman
Produced byRobert Altman
StarringJennifer Jason Leigh
Miranda Richardson
Harry Belafonte
Michael Murphy
Steve Buscemi
CinematographyOliver Stapleton
Edited byGeraldine Peroni
Production
company
Distributed byFine Line Features
Release date
  • August 16, 1996 (1996-08-16)
Running time
116 min
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$19 million
Box office$1,356,329

Kansas City is a 1996 American crime film directed by Robert Altman, and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy and Steve Buscemi. The musical score of Kansas City is integrated into the film, with modern-day musicians recreating the Kansas City jazz of 1930s.

The film was entered into the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.[1]

Plot

On the afternoon before the 1934 Democratic primary election in Kansas City, petty thief Johnny O'Hara botches a robbery of Sheepshan Red, a wealthy Black gambler on a semi-annual trip to the Hey Hey Club, local Black mob kingpin Seldom Seen's jazz club and casino. As a token of respect to a highly lucrative customer, Seldom kidnaps Johnny himself and holds him at the Hey Hey Club, where he monologues to Johnny about racism and deliberates on how best to punish him. Kansas City jazz performances played at the Hey Hey Club are intercut with much of the film.

Blondie O'Hara, Johnny's Jean Harlow-obsessed wife, desperately searches for a way to secure Johnny's release. She decides to kidnap Carolyn Stilton, the wife of local politician Henry Stilton, leveraging his involvement with the imminent election to force him to free Johnny. Blondie kidnaps Carolyn at the Stilton mansion without much resistance. She finds that Carolyn is trapped in a loveless marriage, nursing a laudanum addiction to cope with her husband's emotional distance. Carolyn finds Blondie's devotion to her husband admirable, and a tenuous friendship forms between the two as they travel across the city and flee the alerted police.

When Blondie tells Henry about the kidnapping, he is torn between the obligation he feels towards his wife and the risks presented towards his re-election campaign. As a member of the Pendergast political machine, he secures the aid of its boss Thomas Pendergast, who agrees to indirectly reach out to Seldom. On the morning of the election, Blondie attempts to hide Carolyn at a bar owned by her brother (ironically a Pendergast ward heeler himself tasked with paying local vagrants and addicts to vote), but he realizes who Carolyn is and drives them away. When Seldom makes his decision to kill Johnny known, the latter offers to give himself as a slave to Seldom.

In the evening, Blondie and Carolyn finally return to the O'Hara home, from which Johnny had been kidnapped a day before. Henry manages to get Johnny released, but Seldom and his gangsters shoot and mutilate him before turning him over, and he collapses and dies once he enters the house. As Blondie weeps over his body, Carolyn grabs her gun and shoots Blondie dead. She leaves the house and enters Henry's car. He anxiously asks her if she is alright, but she does not reply.

Cast

Reception

Kansas City received mixed reviews from critics, as it holds a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 42 reviews.

Roger Ebert gave it three stars for Altman's "originality and invention", saying the story is "fairly thin" but "Altman gathered some of the best living jazz musicians, put them on a set representing the Hey Hey Club, and asked them to play period material in the style of the Kansas City jazz giants (Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins, Jay McShann, Lester Young, etc.). He filmed their work in a concert documentary style, and intercuts it". He praised the period recreation of colors and looks of the clothes, cars, and advertising and was reminded of Altman's other 1930s gangster movie, Thieves Like Us (1974).[2] Harry Belafonte won the New York Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Soundtrack

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]

The soundtrack was produced by Hal Willner and Steven Bernstein and featured several contemporary musicians playing the roles of jazz musicians from the 1930s. For example, Joshua Redman plays the role of Lester Young, Craig Handy plays Coleman Hawkins, Geri Allen plays Mary Lou Williams, and James Carter plays Ben Webster.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Soloist(s)Length
1."Blues in the Dark"
James Carter & Joshua Redman4:54
2."Moten Swing"
Jesse Davis & James Carter3:43
3."I Surrender Dear"
James Carter, Nicholas Payton & Cyrus Chestnut6:02
4."Queer Notions"Coleman HawkinsDavid Murray, Russell Malone & Cyrus Chestnut5:40
5."Lullaby of the Leaves"
Jesse Davis, Clark Gayton & Geri Allen4:26
6."I Left My Baby"
Mark Whitfield, David Newman, Craig Handy & Curtis Fowlkes7:24
7."Yeah, Man"
Craig Handy & Joshua Redman5:00
8."Froggy Bottom"Mary Lou WilliamsGeri Allen, David Newman & Mark Whitfield6:20
9."Solitude"
Joshua Redman6:02
10."Pagin' the Devil"
Don Byron, Olu Dara & Clark Gayton5:27
11."Lafayette"
Nicholas Payton, James Zollar & Olu Dara4:04
12."Solitude (Reprise)"
  • Irving Mills
  • Eddie DeLange
  • Duke Ellington
Don Byron, Christian McBride & Ron Carter4:05
Total length:63:07

Charts

Chart (1996) Peak
position
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[4] 6

References

  1. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Kansas City". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  2. ↑ Ebert, Roger (August 16, 1996). "Kansas City". Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  3. ↑ Yanow, Scott. Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  4. ↑ "Soundtrack Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
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