STUDIOCANAL has announced the release of a 4k restoration of a classic study of interracial marriage in 1960s America, ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO. Directed by Larry Peerce (The IncidentGoodbye Columbus) at the height of the Civil Rights movement, this pioneering, low-budget Cannes-winning and Oscar-nominated drama will be available to own on Blu-ray for the first time, DVD & Digital from October 13.
A new restored DCP will premiere as part of Bristol’s Cinema Rediscovered at The Watershed on July 26. Tickets are available now.
Owing to its controversial subject matter, Peerce’s directorial debutinitially struggled to find distribution upon completion but was picked up only once Barbara Barrie (Breaking Away) won the Best Actress Award at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. Bernie Hamilton (The Young One) and Richard Mulligan (Little Big Man) also star in this landmark drama which preceded the more famous Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) by three years. ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO went on to receive an Oscar-nomination for Best Original Screenplay for writers Raphael Hayes and Orville H. Hampton.
One of the HOTTER Topics Of Our Time...Now Scorches the Screen!
A young, white, divorced single mother Julie (Barbara Barrie) does her best to create the best possible environment for her young daughter. But when Julie falls in love with Frank (Bernie Hamilton), a Black man who works at the same factory, societal pressures surrounding interracial marriage gets in the way of their desire to create a family together.
Julie's ex-husband Joe (Richard Mulligan) goes as far as suing for custody of their child based on his prejudices with devastating consequence, and Julie and Frank’s steady romance, and newly founded bliss slowly quickly deteriorates due to institutional and cultural racism.

EXTRAS MATERIAL
•                New Breaking New Ground: An Interview with Barbara Barrie
•                New How We Made It: An Interview with Larry Peerce
•                Audio Commentary by Film Historian and Critic Sergio Mims
•                Introduction by Jean-Baptiste Thoret
•                Analysis by Régis Dubois

 

Runtime: 80 min / Cert: 12

One Potato, Two Potato

1h 20m

Director: Larry Peerce
Cast: Barbara Barrie, Bernie Hamilton, Richard Mulligan  

UK Release: On Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital 13th october 2025