# Always for Pleasure

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***Always for Pleasure*** is a 1978 documentary film by [Les Blank](/source/Les_Blank) about social traditions in [New Orleans, Louisiana](/source/New_Orleans,_Louisiana).

The film has footage of musical events, [Mardi Gras Indians](/source/Mardi_Gras_Indians), a "[jazz funeral](/source/Jazz_funeral)" with traditional music, various [second-line](/source/Second_line_(parades)) parades and cooking and eating of [red beans and rice](/source/Red_beans_and_rice) and a [crawfish](/source/Crawfish) boil. Events filmed include [New Orleans Mardi Gras](/source/New_Orleans_Mardi_Gras) and [St. Patrick's Day](/source/St._Patrick's_Day) 1977. Local musicians perform and are interviewed, including [Kid Thomas Valentine](/source/Kid_Thomas_Valentine), [Allen Toussaint](/source/Allen_Toussaint), [Danny Barker](/source/Danny_Barker), [Blue Lu Barker](/source/Blue_Lu_Barker), [Irma Thomas](/source/Irma_Thomas), [the Neville Brothers](/source/The_Neville_Brothers) and [Professor Longhair](/source/Professor_Longhair). The film profiles predominantly white second-line organizations whereas many other documentaries have falsely portrayed these traditions as the domain of mostly black groups.[citation needed]

The film subtitles a [Creole](/source/Louisiana_Creole_people) song as "Hey [Legba](/source/Legba)" although its title phrase is actually "Eh là-bas", a formerly common [Louisiana Creole](/source/Louisiana_Creole) greeting roughly translated as "Hey you over there." However, in New Orleans, [Legba](/source/Papa_Legba) was often referred to as "Papa La Bas", and some scholars such as [Henry Louis Gates](/source/Henry_Louis_Gates), believe that "[Eh La Bas](/source/Eh_La_Bas)" is a covert reference to Legba.

*Always for Pleasure* was preserved by the [Academy Film Archive](/source/Academy_Film_Archive) in 1999.[1]

The [DVD](/source/DVD) rerelease includes additional performance footage of [Professor Longhair](/source/Professor_Longhair).

## Cast

- [Kid Thomas](/source/Kid_Thomas_Valentine) as Self (as 'Kid Thomas' Valentine)
- [Allen Toussaint](/source/Allen_Toussaint) as Self
- [Blue Lu Barker](/source/Blue_Lu_Barker) as Self (as 'Blue Lu' Barker)
- [Irma Thomas](/source/Irma_Thomas) as Self
- [Professor Longhair](/source/Professor_Longhair) as Self
- Amos Landry as Self
- [George Landry](/source/George_Landry) as Self (as 'Chief Jolly' Landry)
- Booker Washington as Self
- Sylvester Martin as Self
- [Aaron Neville](/source/Aaron_Neville) as Self (as The Neville Brothers)
- [Art Neville](/source/Art_Neville) as Self (as The Neville Brothers)
- [Charles Neville](/source/Charles_Neville_(musician)) as Self (as The Neville Brothers)
- [Cyril Neville](/source/Cyril_Neville) as Self (as The Neville Brothers)
- [Deacon John Moore](/source/Deacon_John_Moore) as Self (as Deacon John)
- [Dr. John](/source/Dr._John) as Self
- [Les Blank](/source/Les_Blank) as Self (uncredited)
- [Maureen Gosling](/source/Maureen_Gosling) as Self (uncredited)

## References

1. ["Preserved Projects"](https://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=always+for+pleasure&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All). *Academy Film Archive*

## External links

- [Always for Pleasure](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077154/) at IMDb
- [*Always For Pleasure*](https://web.archive.org/web/20061021223407/http://www.lesblank.com/more/AlwaysForPleasure.html) on LesBlank.com

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Always for Pleasure](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Always_for_Pleasure) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Always_for_Pleasure?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.