Claudine (1974)

"How can frightened people change anything?" Claudine (1974) by Tina and Lester Pine is touted as a "heart and soul comedy" about a struggling, single mother of six feisty children, who takes a rare leap of faith to date a smooth and amorous garbage man. Claudine Price (Diahann Carroll) thinks she found herself a prince of a man in Rupert "Roop" Marshall (James Earl Jones)-a hardworking man who seems genuinely interested in her and her defensive kids. He's attentive, affectionate, and persistent with Claudine, and he slowly earns the trust, better behavior, and affection of the children. The romance is steady and strong, and Rupert proposes to a hopeful Claudine, despite his reluctance to deal with the irrational and unhelpful rules of the Social Service department. When Rupert gets a "willful neglect" notice along with a wage garnishment for child support, however, he goes into a rage, quits his job, and disappears from Claudine's life on the day the children throw him a Father's Day party. The disbelieving and despondent Claudine and the kids now struggle to adjust to Roop's absence, and Charles, the oldest of the six, goes out to confront a drunk Roop at a bar. Roop is hardly in any state to fight back, so he gives Charles a bear hug and shows up later that night, in front of their apartment building, to say goodbye to everyone. What happens, instead, is a heartwarming exchange where Roop complains that Claudine's family is too much for him to handle financially, and the kids reassure him that they won't be as unmanageable as he thinks. Roop and Claudine get married and galvanize their new family unit by banning together to protect the impassioned Charles from the police. Themes of family, faith, following one's heart, and fighting for what is right are woven throughout this story based in civil unrest and family disharmony.