The Landlord

The Landlord is a 1970 film directed by Hal Ashby, which was based on the novel by Kristin Hunter. Elgar Enders (Beau Bridges), a man who lives off his parent's wealth, buys himself an inner-city tenement, planning to evict all the occupants and construct a luxury home for himself. However, once he ventures into the tenement, he gradually grows fond of the low-income black residents who dwell there. Enders decides to remain as the landlord, and h... more

The Landlord is a 1970 film directed by Hal Ashby, which was based on the novel by Kristin Hunter. Elgar Enders (Beau Bridges), a man who lives off his parent's wealth, buys himself an inner-city tenement, planning to evict all the occupants and construct a luxury home for himself. However, once he ventures into the tenement, he gradually grows fond of the low-income black residents who dwell there. Enders decides to remain as the landlord, and help fix the apartment building. He rebels against his WASP upbringing, and to his parents' dismay, he romances two black women, Lanie and Fanny, (Marki Bey and Diana Sands, respectively). Elgar falls for Lanie, a dancer at a local black club. Lanie is a beautiful black woman who has a mother of Irish decent, and a father of African descent, thus she has light skin and features, and has experienced colorism because of it. Their relationship is strained, as Elgar has an affair with one of his tenants, Fanny, and gets her pregnant. Consequently,... less