The Ballad of the Sad Cafe

1991 | Comedy, Drama, Mystery

Synopsis

A tangled triangle. In the rural South of the early 20th century, Miss Amelia is the town eccentric, selling corn liquor and dispensing medicine. She takes in her half-sister's son, a diminutive crook-back named Lymon. He suggests they open a café in the downstairs of her large house. Marvin Macy gets out of prison and returns to town; turns out he was married to Amelia but it wasn't consummated. He pleaded, then got angry. Is he back for revenge? Eventually, Amelia and Marvin stage a no-holds-barred fight in the café. Lymon's complicated response to Marvin and to Cousin Amelia figures in the resolution.

Scores

Overall Score
18.7
Popularity Percentile (Year)
8.3%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
9.2%
Review Aggregate
58.9

Critic Consensus

60.0% Fresh • 5 critic reviews

Critic reception is mixed, with 60% of 5 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize visually striking, realistic, emotional. Common reservations focus on execution consistency, even when reviewers praise standout elements.

visually strikingrealisticemotionalstylizedtragicfunnycharacter-driven

Cast

CastYearReported SalaryInflation AdjustedNotes
Vanessa Redgrave1991$141,000$325,000(est)
Keith Carradine1991$87,000$200,000(est)
Rod Steiger1991$65,000$151,000(est)
Cork Hubbert1991$53,000$123,000(est)
Austin Pendleton1991$46,000$105,000(est)
Beth Dixon1991$40,000$93,000(est)
Lanny Flaherty1991$36,000$83,000(est)
Mert Hatfield1991$33,000$76,000(est)
Earl Hindman1991$30,000$70,000(est)
Anne Pitoniak1991$28,000$65,000(est)

Aggregated Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes critic score56.0
RT critic review count9
Rotten Tomatoes audience score62.0
RT audience rating count100
IMDb rating5.9
IMDb votes918

Box Office ?

CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Domestic1991$184,890$425,844
International1991N/AN/A
Worldwide1991$184,890$425,844

Earnings / Profitability

Estimated net revenues and net expenses for films based on reported and estimated numbers. This income statement should be considered most viable for the first 24 months after the inital movie's release (ie after most lucrative pay windows).
CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Revenues
Theatrical Net Revenue1991$92,445$212,922
Digital Rentals ?1991N/AN/A
Digital Purchases ?1991N/AN/A
Physical Rentals ?1991$2,025,000$4,664,042
Physical Purchases ?1991$1,235,000$2,844,490
TV & Streaming Revenue1991$83,200$191,630
Total Revenues1991$3,435,646$7,913,083
Expenses
Budget ?1991$3,500,000$8,061,307
Print & Advertising (P&A) ?1991$148,000 (est)$340,878 (est)
Participations1991$69,000$158,923
Residuals ?1991$236,000$543,562
Interest & Overhead1991$700,000$1,612,261
Total Expenses1991$4,653,000$10,716,931
Movie Net Profit or Loss1991$-1,217,354$-2,803,848

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