TCM Classic Film Festival brings together Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and other actors from the influential coming-of-age movie from 1975.
LOS ANGELES — Though the marquee attractions at the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival were Hollywood luminaries such as Warren Beatty, Bruce Dern, Piper Laurie and Steven Spielberg, a chapter and corner of Chicago history also shared a moment in the spotlight. “Cooley High” (1975), the made-in-Chicago, coming-of-age comedy, often cited as a breakthrough title in Black-produced cinema, received a tribute at the 13th annual festival, held over the weekend at the historic TCL (Grauman’s) Chinese Theatre complex and other nearby venues. Director Michael Schultz and the “Cooley High” stars—Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Garrett Morris, Cynthia Davis and Steven Williams—appeared for a pre-screening talk, moderated by TCM host Jacqueline Stewart, on Friday night at the Hollywood Legion Theatre. “I grew up in Chicago, where ‘Cooley High’ was considered Black national cinema,” said Stewart, who’s also chief artistic and programming officer of the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. “If you were from Chicago, you knew this film.” Black filmmakers John Singleton, Spike Lee and Robert Townsend all singled out “Cooley High” as having an important impact on their own careers. “This film is so influential,” Schultz said. “Without ‘Cooley High,’ there would be no ‘Boyz N the Hood,’ ” referring to Singleton’s 1991 debut, for which he became the first Black filmmaker to earn a best director Oscar nomination. Townsend, who had a bit part in “Cooley High,” told the Los Angeles Times in 2019 that “Michael Schultz really changed the landscape for people of color.
