“Loving” Trailer Shines a Mirror on What It was Really Like

July 14, 2016 | Christelyn Karazin |

If the “Loving” movie trailer is any indication of what the entire movie might be like, get ready to grab a box of tissues.

Imagine a world where the police can burst into you home and arrest you for SLEEPING WITH YOUR WIFE. Imagine an entire government ordering through legislation that you can not love and marry who you want out of a rabid desire to maintain white supremacy. Imagine being loved, honored and protected so much by your man that his country bumpkin self is willing to fight fire breathing dragons to keep his wife and family together.

When you stack up today’s relatively minor challenges to that kind of struggle, anything less seems so trivial.

If you believe in destiny, it was Mildred and Richard’s life we could use as a case study. In their stubbornness, they changed the trajectory of the world as all of us knew it. And when that victory was won, sadly Richard dies from a fatal car crash. It’s almost as if the universe kept him alive for as long as it took for the world to change, and then his work was done.

I often wonder what the world would have been like if Richard and Mildred didn’t walk fearlessly to their destiny. So glad to have never found out.

coco78728
Not going to lie I teared up when he said “I can take care of you, I can take care of you”. Great looking movie can’t wait to see it!
Shirley2006
According to the director, he took the script to her for their only surviving child to read (their daughter). She flipped through it while he sat there. He was worried at first. Then she burst into tears. He said that’s when it really hit home for him that these are real people with real loved ones who sacrificed a hell of a lot to be recognized as husband and wife in their state. Mildred only recently passed away in 2008, too, so it’s still real for their daughter.
Also, the director’s wife said to him, “I love you but if you don’t make this movie, I’m divorcing you”. 🙂
It does look like a tear-jerker. And as I said in another thread, the white “nationalists” were so aggressively hateful in the comments section in the half day the trailer was released that Focus Features shut that section down.
“Oscar Buzz” for Australian actor and half Irish half African Ruth N.
Here’s a clip of their Cannes press conference. Everyone involved is really reverent about the movie.
Shirley2006
coco78728 “Tell the judge I love my wife..” Yes, bring some tissue. And forget about it if they say what happens to him just a few years later. AND she lives in the house he built up until her death in 08.
EarthJeff
I can’t imagine….. and it blows my mind to think that WITHIN MY LIFETIME, I would not have been able to marry my beloved in some places. And…. while they were not trying to be heroes, Mildred and Richard ARE heroes.
trinigirl1
Richard and Mildred was the living example of what love, determination and passion could build. Hopefully they are together on the other side of this life and resting as they both deserve, in peace.
EarthJeff
Looks like a tear jerker? I started crying at the trailer.
trinigirl1
Guys- I can’t see this movie- my eyes will be swollen shut! “Tell the judge I love my wife”.
NATruthstudent
I can’t wait to see this movie. I don’t usually go to theaters due to my inability to stand in line for long, but I’ll do it for this one. Didn’t Christelyn have some t-shirts made with the “Swirling” cover screen printed? I’d buy one of those to wear to that show too!
FriendsofJay
The first version of the Lovings’ story was a TV movie MR. AND MRS. LOVING made in 1996, starring Tim Hutton and Lela Rochon.You can watch a poor video version on Youtube, but with all the publicity about the new version it might be re-released.The TV movie is very good.This new movie will have to go some to be better.
The story of how I got this long out of print DVD might interest you. I get a DVD of every film that has a BW/WM love story. I had looked for this title for quite a while. Someone put it on eBay and I bought it right away. The owner was a black woman who had been married to a white man. I told her my story and she said she was so happy it was going to somebody like me. She told be about her husband who had died a few years ago, and we exchanged a few emails on the subject.
One thing she said to me that I’ve never forgotten was “Virginia hasn’t always been for lovers.” There was sadness in her voice when she said those words. I asked if she was from Virginia. she said yes.
StephenPaula
” One of the most pure love stories in American history ”
Can’t wait to see it and my husband will accompany me ! He’s not the biggest fan of romantic films but we both know we owe Mr and Mrs Loving quite a bit , because of them and couples like them, he can now tell the world he loves his wife
Shirley2006
One of the lawyers on the case and their daughter Peggy spoke at an HBO premiere event/symposium a few years back to talk about the case on the anniversary. Even the now elderly LAWYER who spoke before the Supreme Court wept on stage right along with their daughter. It just hurts a human’s heart to think about the humiliation and harassment they went through to simply win the right to be married and raise their family in Virginia. It was clearly an emotional roller coaster for everyone involved.
I’ve sent the link to a bunch of my husband’s relatives, too. Lots of them had NO IDEA that the U.S. had laws banning white people from marrying non-white people. On Loving Day, I sent them links to what the day meant. You’ve got to educate people about the history of relationships like ours because many white Americans don’t know this part of the Civil Rights Movement (and for whatever reason, they start teaching this case only in law school–not in high school or elementary.)
Shirley2006
Savage Tango Right?! That’s why I have such respect for Richard Loving. Did you ever see the HBO documentary on them? Here’s a clip. They are both so quiet and sweet. It gives me chills to think that their 9-year battle, in and out of prison, harassed by the cops, etc. led to ending the IR marriage ban in 19 states!! And the Lovings are just thinking, “we can go home now.” The line from the SCOTUS decision that expunged their criminal convictions:
Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State.
These convictions must be reversed.
It is so ordered.
All our simple lives should have such an impact!
BWC
Shirley2006 Savage Tango
Wonderful doc. One of those that is hard to change the channel once you start watching. (and having ADHD, that means alot;-)
Shirley2006
BWC Shirley2006 Savage Tango It is and I’m so glad they are being remember to this day. The fact that Richard dies just a few years after is the ultimate tragic love story for the ages.
Shirley2006
FriendsofJay I have the dvd of the 1996 movie. I had never heard of them before that movie. I was kind of surprised that a white man back then would go to such lengths to marry a black woman (half black-half Native American, I think?) Because they could have just moved to a different state. But, as Mildred said, “It’s the principle of it. It’s not right.” Good for her.
friendswmimi
I can’t wait for the movie to come out and I hope that every interracial couple in America goes to see it. We owe so much to the Lovings for the freedom to date and marry interracially in this country. Their story is a beautiful story.
EarthJeff
Hey…. how have you been? I agree… every interracial couple in this country SHOULD go see it
smartacus
Shirley2006 FriendsofJay
“Because they could have just moved to a different state like other
couples no doubt did. But, as Mildred said, ‘It’s the principle of it.
It’s not right.'”
Well, it was more than just the principle, I’d say. They were effectively exiled from their families, who lived in Virginia. As part of their criminal conviction for miscegenation offenses, they were required to leave the state and go live in one of the places where IR marriage was legal. If they tried to stay in Virginia, they’d be jailed.So, for the Lovings, the actual effect of the law was to make them choose between their marriage and their families.
At the time, IR marriage was legal in about 3/4ths of the country, but illegal in 15 Southern states plus Delaware.
Shirley2006
I can’t remember where I read this but the cops initially burst into their bedroom at night to try to catch them making love. Subsequent times when the cops went to their home (times when they would sneak back to Virginia) they’d show up during the day.
smartacus
Shirley2006
Could be. This was the Bible Belt in the ’60s, so it wasn’t just their race laws that were dumb. Their laws on sex were also dumb.
So I think the deal was that it was a crime for an unmarried couple to be having sex and living together. And since their marriage “didn’t count” in the eyes of the state of Virginia, they were an unmarried couple and therefore were breaking the sex law. That was what the Lovings were originally busted for.
smartacus
What makes their story even more moving is that they both seemed like such humble, nice people. So sad that they went through all that and then Richard got killed in a car crash and they weren’t able to be together very long.
zipporah
EarthJeff ive seen the original with LELA ROCHON.. i might see it…and see the differences
seeing the pictures on this one looks more ’50s’ authentic than the other one.. also showing Richard as being Blonde instead of brown haired
zipporah
Shirley2006 FriendsofJay they also wanted to be closer to their extended families….instead of too far (now many people don’t have much of extended family) and HATED the CITY LIFE
i’ve even heard, they knew each other since CHILDHOOD
since Caroline county VA was NOT SEGREGATED like other parts of VA
zipporah
smartacus Shirley2006 FriendsofJay and BOTH of their families were FINE with their marriage…
FriendsofJay
Shirley2006 Love is the reason for such courage.
FriendsofJay
Savage Tango From what I understand, Richard Loving had a bad temper. He was ready to get into a fight at the drop of a hat. If you look at some of the picitures of the two of them together, he has a “look at us again and I punch you in the nose” look on his face. Of course, in 1967 when they finally won the case at the Supreme court, they both had probably gone through a lot of bad times.
The 1996 movie is well done, and it shows the horrible choices they were forced to make. Keep in mind, we’re not talking about two hundred years ago, only 1967. That means that less than 50 years ago, the police could break down your door and arrest a WM and his black wife just for being married. It makes you think how far we’ve come——and how far we have left to go.
I’m so happy there’s a blog like this for all of us to get together and support each other. The world will eventually come around to our way of thinking. Let’s hope it sooner rather than later.
Shirley2006
FriendsofJay It’s very interesting that you have a catalog of sorts of BW/WM couplings in film! I think if I were a media major in college, I’d write a thesis.
I met a university professor at the Multiracial/cultural conference (in celebration of the Loving Decision) in Chicago 9 years ago now. The prof was a white man who was an academic when he met and married his wife, who is a black woman, in the late 1960s (I think he’s British). Anyway, they were raising kids in the 1970s and he was so appalled at the reaction he and his family got here in the U.S. that he dumped whatever he was studying at his University and switched to Multiracial and cultural studies. He’s written books and he lectures on BW and WM marriages, families, and raising biracial children (like how to support them when they are being forced to “pick a side.” My husband was nervous to have kids early on but after hearing the good professor, we walked out of that conference and husband was soooo ready! 🙂 I tell you all this because it is not beyond the realm of possibility that your collection be studied in the context of shifting attitudes in society. Although, as I said before, I’m not gonna lie I was a bit traumatized by the comments under this trailer when it was first posted a few days ago!! (And between you, me, and the blog, I’m writing up some “vignettes” of sorts about the experiences husband and I have had from meeting to dating, marriage, and baby making within the context of an IR marriage like mine in the U.S. I’m gonna see if I can string them together to make SOMETHING. We’ll see!!)
Shirley2006
FriendsofJay LOL! I was going to post the same comment! When Richard was in front of the camera talking or being photographed, he looked really “pent up” like he wanted to punch someone in their damn face! Lol But, then in those candid pictures of him and Mildred at home, he’s all relaxed and snuggly with her on the couch and playing with the kids, etc.
I’m glad this blog is here, too. I found it when it was maybe a year old searching for multiracial resources like children’s books and what not. Even though I’ve never met any of you, you are definitely important to me and you are all a really nice part of my day.
FriendsofJay
Shirley2006 Having had my experiences in 1974 and the heartbreak all those years ago, I keep BW/WM interracial films to remind me of the way things used to be.The more recent films are much more upbeat and point to the future of how thing could be.
I have over 100 of these IR films and I watch them often. I’m so happy when I drive past the local high school and see B & W couples holding hands on the way home.
I’ve long thought of writing a study using these films to show the beginnings of romance between BW and WM back in the days of slavery (Thomas Jefferson and Sally Heming for instance, along with the many sons of planation owner who feel in love with a slave girl), then moving up to the fifties and sixties with the Lovings and others that took place during this time period——and there were more than we knew back them——and finally arriving at today when things are so much easier, such as “The Last Place on Earth.” Considering I was part of that history, I might be able to add a personal perspective.
You just can’t help but admire the courage of these brave couples. We should celebrate Loving Day as much as Matin Luther KIng’s birthday. Three people who changed how this country looked at love, marriage, race and the dignity of all its people.
Shirley2006
FriendsofJay Shirley2006 So true. And for better or worse, seeing a white husband with a black wife and their children triggers something in everyone. We’re lucky that it’s only triggered positive interactions between us and others. My husband wondered aloud why this case isn’t covered in school like Brown v. Board and it’s a story of the “little guy” beating the system, it’s romantic, etc. I worked at a textbook company for ten years and I know for a fact that there was never any discussion about adding this to the book (and when I worked there in the 1990s, states in the south did not want to see interracial canoodling or friendships in the books…in the 1990s!!!
Dezzi
I cannot wait to see this. Will be watching opening weekend. I got to see Ruth Negga in Warcraft and a few other films/shows, and I think she’s a lovely actress. More importantly, I think this is a must needed film for them to make (because this is a story that must be shared) and for people to see. This looks promising. 🙂
Dezzi
Shirley2006 Wow, that is so sick and disturbing!
NewLife64
smartacus Shirley2006 Hmmm…not sure about this. While it was not socially sanctioned, I don’t think it was ever against the law for white men to have sex with black women. In fact, the historical record shows that white men routinely engaged in sexual relations with black women since the enslavement era. And during the Jim Crow era these relationships were often tolerated by the local community as long as the parties involved remained discreet. However, the Lovings broke the law by getting married – an act that effectively forced the state to legally recognize their union and all the rights and privileges that came with it. That was the ultimate transgression. The director of the HBO documentary discusses this point in the following clip:
https://youtu.be/hwakppvhsFM
ole’skool
How could the State of Va. separate the Race, when we’re All The Human Race?? The word, miscegenation; just saying that word feels like I’m using bad language or devil worship….
God Bless The Lovings and Their Love. Let no man put Asunder.
BreannaNouveaux
Savage- best comment I’ve read in a LONG LONG time. Men DO.
Simple.
smartacus
NewLife64 smartacus Shirley2006
I’m not 100% clear on whether unmarried sex itself was illegal, or
only cohabitation outside marriage was (for everyone, not just IR
couples). But in any case, laws are not always enforced, and the
authorities would likely turn a blind eye to sex between a white man
and a black woman — provided that the relationship was confined only to
sex.

It was only if a white man tried to have a
committed, publicly acknowledged relationship with a black woman, or
tried to raise kids that he’d fathered with that woman, that people
would object and he might get find himself in trouble with the law.
Like you said, as long as interracial contact was kept “discreet,” you
could get away with it.
friendswmimi
EarthJeff I”ve been great!! I miss talking to everyone!!
500and50
Yep, think I might be shedding a few tears at the cinema over this film. It looks so fantastic. And is so different from the rest of the Hollywood schlock out there at the current time.
FriendsofJay
ole’skool Absolutely right. Thank you for saying that! Love ya’ ole’skool! I said that a million times, but it’s always nice to hear someone else say it.
FriendsofJay
smartacus Shirley2006 Yes. This is shown in both the 1996 and the 2016 film.
ole’skool
FriendsofJay Thank you so much.
Michael F
smartacus
Richard was killed by drunk driversometime after the Supreme Court ruling.
Thank you,
Sincerley,
MIchael F.
Michael F
ole’skool Dezzi
The State of Virginias laws, like the laws of many southern states, were a form of highly illegal social control.
   The case Loving vs. Sate of Virginia set the tone down the road for further progress-albeit years later the removal of the Confederate flag from goverment buildings and other places in the last year.
   Thank you,
   Sincerely,
   Michael F.
Shirley2006
OT: Happy 80 plus birthday to diahann Carol, longtime swirler–marrying white dudes since the 1950s! I’ve always liked these pix with her and Paul Newman! 🙂
Shirley2006
I like this news report about the case from 1967 where the interview them.
Dezzi
Shirley2006 Diahann is a fabulous woman. I love her! In Paris Blues, Paul Newman’s character was so eager to get with Diahann’s character. He was completely ignoring the other woman (Joanne Woodward) who was desperately trying to get his attention. lol
I’d like to share a tidbit. At one point when Dorothy was engaged to her second husband (a white man) she asked Diahann Carroll for advice on interracial marriage.
Here’s an excerpt from the book:
“But Dorothy told her, ‘I’m about to marry him and he’s White and I thought you could give me some advice.’ Carroll was surprised. She was then married to Monte Kay, who was White. Yet she said his color meant nothing to her. For Dandridge, though, race was an issue. ‘I felt sorry for Dorothy–I tried to make her understand that she was marrying a man, a human being, not a color.'”
– Dorothy Dandridge: A Biography by Donald Bogle
Shirley2006
Dezzi Shirley2006 Interesting quote! Reminds me of that Phil Collins song. THIS song I know you don’t know! It starts with “Take that look of worry, I”m an ordinary man. They don’t tell me nothin, so I find out all I can”. That line always reminds me of that notion of “I can’t marry him because he’s WHITE” when in fact he’s just an ordinary MAN first and foremost.
Dezzi
Shirley2006 Dezzi Ah you got me this time. lol I’m not familiar with that song.
I found it kind of odd Dorothy would ask for advice like that given that she went on a few dates with other white men prior to her second husband. Of course dating someone is different from actually being married to someone, but she was married before only the second time it’s just with a white man.
Oh I have to add that Paul Newman was a really sexy guy. It killed me to see Diahann turn him down in Paris Blues… ugh… lol
Shirley2006
Dezzi Shirley2006 Paul Newman was so effortlessly gorgeous! I don’t know much about him but he was hot. I saw Paris Blues specifically because I read that his chemistry with Diahann C. was so palpable that filmmakers worried about offending people! There was some nice flirting, though.
Michael F
Good afternoon-
What impressed, and continues to impress me, is the simple dignity and grace the Lovings showed throughout their whole ordeal. It was their deep and enduring love for each other that carried them to ultimate victory. Everything else was odrama added from around them.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Michael F
BlackCherry
I could have sworn there was already a movie about this?
Point Dexter
There was.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117098/