Chicano Gang Film "Walk Proud" starring Robby Benson, 1979 original vintage photo archive

Robert L. Collins Robby Benson

Photograph

[Chicano] [Film] Chicano gang film Walk Proud. University City Studios, 1979. Archive of 8 original vintage silver gelatin photographs, all measuring 8" x 10" in black and white. Walk Proud is a 1979 American hood drama film directed by Robert L. Collins and starring Robby Benson, Sarah Holcomb and Pepe Serna, along with a Chicano cast. Benson plays Emilio, a young Chicano gang member in Los Angeles who begins to question his gang life when he meets and starts to fall for a girl who encourages him to try and leave. Emilio, with great pride in his Mexican heritage, suffers a further identity crisis upon meeting his father, a white American who got his mother pregnant when she was just 16. The film was a product of its time, and opted to cast the blonde hair blue eyed Robby Benson as a Chicano. He was made up in dark face and wore black contact lenses so he would look like a Chicano for the movie. But the film was still groundbreaking for being one of the earliest depiction's of Chicano culture in Los Angeles, particularly gang culture. The movie is part of the popular "gang movies" genre of 1979, which included The Warrior, Boulevard Nights, The Wanderer and others. Photos feature still images from the film including close-ups of Sarah Holcomb and Robby Benson, as well as Domingo Ambriz, Pepe Serna and Trinidad Silva. Most feature a caption printed on the verso describing the scene, such as: "Cowboy (Domingo Ambriz) and Emilio (Robby Benson) check out of a record shop they plan to rob, in Universal's 'Walk Proud' a love story." All feature additional press captions and the Universal City Studios logo and copyright date in the lower white margin. All original vintage photographs are in very good condition.

Item #20083

Price: $325.00