P.J. Johnson. I do not know where the director Peter Bogdanovich found her for his 1973 comedy classic, PAPER MOON, but when he found her, he found gold.
Late in my high school years and early in my college years, I learned a lot from Peter Bogdanovich. I read his magazine articles about the master film directors such as Preston Sturges, Orson Welles and John Ford, articles that delved into their classics. During those years, there were three new, young filmmakers who were deemed to be the top directors of their generation: Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Peter Bogdanovich.
Scorsese gave significant roles to Black actors in his films such as MEAN STREETS and NEW YORK, NEW YORK. Spielberg gave us the film adaptation of the acclaimed novel, THE COLOR PURPLE which brought Oscar nominations to three Black cast members. As for Bogdanovich, the only film of his I can recall that had a significant role for a Black actor is 1973's PAPER MOON. The story was set during the Great Depression. Like Hollywood films that were made during America's Great Depression, the 1930s, his Black character was a servant. A maid. P.J. Johnson played 'Imogene,' the teen maid to the busty carnival hootchie dancer, 'Trixie Delight,' played by Madeline Kahn. Those two actresses were terrific together. The brilliance of Johnson's performance is that she made her maid character subversive and smart. She took the old Hollywood trope of a Black maid being rather dim-witted and used that image that make seemingly innocent comments that would torpedo Miss Trixie's plans to sucker another dude out of his money. She had power. P.J.Johnson had great comedy timing with Madeline Kahn. Here's a clip.
P.J. Johnson gave 'Imogene' a wit and a depth. It's a performance that still stands out in PAPER MOON. I don't know why Peter Bogdanovich didn't give her roles in some of his other films. He used Madeline Kahn, Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Cybill Shepherd, Cloris Leachman and Burt Reynolds and more than one of his films. He used John Hillerman as a lawman in PAPER MOON and as a hotel manager in WHAT'S UP, DOC? I wonder why Bogdanovich didn't have more opportunities for Black actors. We didn't see any Black supporting or lead characters in THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, DAISY MILLER, AT LONG LAST LOVE, WHAT'S UP, DOC?, in THEY ALL LAUGHED, 2014's SHE'S FUNNY THAT WAY...or NICKELODEON.
In my college years, I went so see his 1976 film, NICKELODEON, a film about a ragtag film crew in Hollywood making movies during the silent screen era. The last 15 minutes of NICKELODEON are practically a valentine to D.W. Griffith's racist box office blockbuster, 1915's THE BIRTH OF A NATION. There is a long clip of the 1915 film with white actors in blackface. In Griffith's film, the Ku Klux Klan is portrayed as heroic. We see this clip during its movie premiere scene. THE BIRTH OF A NATION ends and the elegant movie audience breaks out into wild applause. The ragtag film crew is inspired.
As a college kid who'd been taking film journalism classes, I thought to myself "Does Peter Bogdanovich know that Black people go to see his movies?" I liked Peter Bogdanovich's other films, but found the end of NICKELODEON bothersome. Aside from that, no white film critic in print or on TV mentioned that business about a racist clip from THE BIRTH OF A NATION being celebrated. I cannot think of any white entertainment interviewer or reporter ever bringing that up when interviewing Bogdanovich then or even 30 years after the film's release.
To make my point, do this: Watch Peter Bogdanovich's 1976 comedy-drama, NICKELODEON. Then watch the first 10 minutes of the 2018 film, BlacKKKlansman, the Oscar-winning film directed and co-written by Spike Lee. Spike's movie, by the way, is based on a true story that was reported on NPR. Notice how Spike treats clips from D.W. Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION. They are seen behind Alec Baldwin who plays an obviously racist narrator.
As for P.J. Johnson who gave a memorable and highly quotable performance in a Peter Bogdanovich classic, she should be invited to appear onstage as a guest for a TCM (Turner Classic Movies) Film Festival interview.
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