film synopsis
Equal parts heart wrenching and exhilarating, the compelling story of one of show business’ greatest entertainers comes to the screen in Peabody award-winning filmmaker Sam Pollard’s revelatory documentary. Whether it was his uncanny impression of Bogey or his mesmerizing tap skills, Sammy Davis, Jr. drew rapturous applause from audiences across the globe. Knowing the stardom he achieved, his meteoric rise may seem as if it was inevitable, but in reality his journey to achieve his own American dream faced opposition and contradictions from both sides of the civil rights debate. Pollard illuminates the life of this complex individual through revealing footage, from Davis as a three-year-old tap dancing phenom through his time crooning with the Rat Pack. Featuring interviews with such greats as Quincy Jones, Jerry Lewis, Kim Novak, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg, Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me returns this consummate entertainer to the spotlight.