Save the Children 70s Documentary with Jackson 5 and Soul Stars on Netflix

Save the Children , an early ’70s concert film featuring many of the era’s biggest names in black music, needed some saving. Although the documentary featured cult stars such as Jackson 5Starring Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and Bill Withers, the film completely fell off the radar after a brief theatrical run in 1973 by Paramount Pictures, never receiving an authorized home video release, let alone reruns. But salvation came, p Netflix taking the document to make it available for viewing for the first time in half a century.

The two-hour film documents a concert held in Chicago in 1972 in support of Reverend Jesse Jackson’s Operation PUSH, with an all-star lineup including the Staple Singers, Roberta Flack, Isaac Hayes, Gladys Knight, the Tempations, Ramsey Lewis, Wilson Pickett, Sammy Davis Jr., Cannonball Adderley and Jerry Butler. Those who worked on it behind the scenes included Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy, Al Bell and Clarence Evant. With a lineup like this, it seems impossible that most ’70s soul fans wouldn’t even have heard of the film, much less had the opportunity to see it. And yet, after its initial release (and the two Motown soundtracks that followed), it truly haunted the world to the point where there isn’t a single user review for this lost doc on the IMDB website.

Save the Children just had its official re-premiere at this month’s Chicago Film Festival, attended by Jesse Jackson and his son Youssef Jackson, as well as the film’s director, a well-known African-American. Stan Lathanand the behind-the-scenes initiator in the reissue, Alan Elliott (who produced the Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace). Lathan and Elliot talked to Variety about the efforts made to bring photography back into the world.

Lathan has had an exemplary career as a director and continues, at 79, to direct most of Dave Chappelle’s projects since the turn of the century, having directed episodes of everything from Sanford & Son to Sesame Street. to “Hill Street Blues”. This early project is still the culmination of his career, although few people realized it.

“It kind of went away over the years because Paramount kind of… I wouldn’t say they dropped the ball, but they released it in a few cities and when it didn’t do the way they wanted it to, they kind of put it down , and then somehow it got lost in the Paramount archives,” Lathan says. “So it took us a long time to find it, and when we did find it, we had to do a lot of tinkering. We haven’t changed anything (in terms of content) but it looks good, the soundtrack is great and I’m excited about it.”

Says Elliott, who as a producer and uncredited producer “pushed” the film to be re-released: “I don’t mean to give up the title because it’s the only footage from the film – not TV, cinema – Jackson 5 in 1972 and they were the biggest thing in the world at the time. This is Taylor Swift; they are the beatles At the time, they’re riding the wave of these five or six huge hits, and when they come on stage and the kids are running on stage, it’s fun. I went to a screening in Chicago with a friend of mine from college who is a lawyer there, and he started crying in the middle of The Jackson 5. I said, “Are you really that moved?” He said: “You forget how important the Jackson 5 were to our time, and to see them like that…”

Elliott continues, “It’s amazing, the genius of almost everyone involved in this movie. Bill Withers looks like he should be on Mount Rushmore. Gladys Knight should be standing next to him. Nancy Wilson is an absolute revelation in the film, what an incredible performance she delivers. She looks like Maria Callas – so theatrical, so large-scale. Temptations are fantastic. My goodness, Mavis Staples and her father (Pops Staples) are just adorable to watch. And Stan and editor George Bowers really tell the story. This is not just a concert movie. It is a history of the culture of that time and how it represented America at that time. And it happened at such an important time, when Jesse Jackson won the supreme position in the American language.”

“It was (Stax Records co-owner) genius Al Bell who signed Jesse Jackson to a record deal after Dr. King’s death and promoted him as a country preacher. And then Al Bell helped fund Operation PUSH at the same time he funded the start of the blaxploitation film movement with Shaft and Sweet Sweet‘s Baadasssss Song’ and all these other movies. And this movie is such a culmination of Al Bell and Clarence Avant and Berry Gordy and Stan using their influence in the art that they create to create a positive message for society. I mean it’s a really important movie, I’m just proud to have been there to help push it to the finish line. It’s as important as mine (‘Amazing Grace’) and I think mine is really important.”

Lathan goes on to discuss the origins of Save the Children: “I can’t say that there was anyone in the movie that wasn’t great because everyone came, and that’s the fact that the word got out to the industry. The reason this happened is because of Jesse’s importance and people’s interest in his efforts. He was very close to Clarence Evant, who brought me in and introduced me to Jesse. They hired me as a director and Matt Robinson as a producer, and they brought in Ewart Abner, who was the president of Motown at the time, and Al Bell. And Quincy Jones, of course, brought it all together and assembled an all-star (cast) with the stars of the day. Once word got out, everyone really brought their game to the top spot. And Phil Ramone was the music coordinator, of course, along with Quincy, so the sound was perfectly mixed. It sounds even better now that we did surround sound at Capitol Studios.”

Lathan is grateful not only to have met Jesse Jackson at the premiere in Chicago, but also to have worked with his son. “Youssef was 3 years old when we did it and now he’s a producer because he did a lot to help us get through all the mess we had to go through to get it now as something that’s really going to be preserved. “

Lathan explains what was unusual about the crew at the time. “Jesse Jackson’s PUSH Expo was a huge annual event that brought a lot of people together for civil rights, and he wanted to do a big concert with some of the best artists. But he also meant to try to do it with an all-black crew. I mean, there were some black cameramen around, but a crew for a show this big, it was unheard of — and we were able to do it. The time we spent on preparation was about finding good people from all over the country. We had eight or nine cameras, and only one of the operators was white. It was David Myers, someone I’ve worked with on other things and done a lot of great documentaries with. So he was kind of an anchor. We put it together and it was great and everyone delivered.”

Elliott notes, “It matters because when there’s audience reaction footage and things like that, it’s done through the lens of, literally, black directors and black cinematographers. And so when they take pictures of girls and react to them, they don’t shoot. They are different now. And you can see it, you can feel it.”

Lathan says that “when I look back on it now, I just feel how lucky I was to have this experience and to work with Jesse and all these great musicians. I think it helped me get a little bigger—what can I say? — a little more eager to do a good job. And I’ve always done my best and now it’s 52 years later and I’m doing everything I ever wanted to do and more as a director. So I’m excited about that. It’s just an important anniversary for me to observe.”

Elliott says: “It’s really great for Stan to have a victory lap. Not that he needed it, because he had many victories. But at a screening at the Chicago festival, he said, “This is the most impressive film or project I’ve ever worked on.” And he’s filming Chappelle, and he’s one of the original Sesame Street directors! Just a very, very smart, funny, sweet, sweet man.”