Ossie DavisFilmography

BAADASSSSS!

Actors: T.K. Carter, David Alan Grier, Nia Long, Paul Rodriguez, Ossie Davis, Rainn Wilson, Joy Bryant, Khleo Thomas, Mario Van Peebles

Synopsis: In 1971, filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles released his third film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which he wrote, directed, and scored. Despite boasting an all-black cast, an X rating, a low budget, and a decidedly non-Hollywood approach to moviemaking, the ground-breaking independent film went on Read More

The Peace! DVD

Actors: Harry Belafonte, Noam Chomsky, Angela Davis, Ossie Davis, Danny Glover

Synopsis: A pair of pacifist-minded documentarians reach out to dozens of their generation's greatest thinkers in a bid to ensure a peaceful future for all in this documentary that encourages viewers to take an active role in the peace process. From September 2002 to May 2003, filmmakers Gabriele Zamparini Read More

XXI Century, Part 4: War, Peace and Patriotism

Proud

Actors: Stephen Rea, Ossie Davis, Albert Jones, Jeffrey Nash

Synopsis: The inspirational tale of the USS Mason comes to the screen in a dramatic account of the perils faced by the all-African-American-crewed World War II sea vessel, and the brave souls who cheated death to overcome the cancerous racism eroding the very shores they fought for. From the very Read More

The L Word: Lawfully

Bubba Ho-Tep

Actors: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Bob Ivy, Heidi Marnhout

Synopsis: An ancient evil finds resistance in the most unlikely of places in this oddball comedy horror effort from Phantasm director Don Coscarelli. Resting in the confines of a Mud Creek, TX, nursing home after fading into obscurity following his departure from the limelight, an aging and embittered Elvis Read More

Beah: A Black Woman Speaks

Actors: Beah Richards, Marylouise Patterson, Gerard Horne, Bill Cobbs, Ruby Dee

Synopsis: Actress Lisa Gay Hamilton makes her directorial debut with the documentary Beah: A Black Woman Speaks, a biography of actress and writer Beah Richards, whom Hamilton had worked with on The Practice and Beloved. The production of this project spanned many years; Hamilton realized, early on, that Richards Read More

Deacons for Defense

Actors: Forest Whitaker, Jonathan Silverman, Ossie Davis, Paul Benjamin

Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, this made-for-cable drama is set in 1965, not long after passage of the Civil Rights Act. To the African-American citizens of Bogalusa, LA, however, it is "business as usual"; they are still treated like third-class citizens, their fundamental rights as human beings Read More

J.C. Leyendecker: The Great American Illustrator

Synopsis: J.C. Leyendcker is considered by many to be one of the most important illustrators of the 20th century. This film documents his life and work and shows how his style allowed him to comment on many of the great events of the 1900s. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide Read More

Counting On Democracy

Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives

Synopsis: Among the tasks undertaken by the WPA's Federal Writers' Project in the 1930s was to transcribe the memories of those former African-American slaves who were still living. The result was a massive collection of notes, documents, and recordings, all of which found their way into the Library of Read More

Presidio Med [TV Series]

Actors: Dana Delany, Paul Blackthorne, Anna Deavere Smith, Sasha Alexander, Oded Fehr

Synopsis: The title of the CBS doctor drama referred to the fictional Presidio Medical Group of San Francisco. Distinguishing this effort from all other forcep-and-scalpel weeklies was the fact that the staff of Presidio Med was virtually all-female, save for a brace of "token" handsome hunks. Still, in Read More

Touched by an Angel: Remembering Me, Part 2

Synopsis: In the conclusion of a two-part story, Monica (Roma Downey) continues struggling with her emotions as Tess (Della Reese) sinks deeper and deeper into Alzheimers' Disease. Tess' plight makes Monica's current assignment, to help reformed wastrel Kevin Greeley (Charlie Schlatter, repeating his role Read More

Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Christmas Special - The Ghosts of Christmas Eve

Synopsis: Led by artist Paul O'Neill, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra has carried out a mission to create powerful artistry in music through the webbing of songs together by means of storytelling. In the Christmas special The Ghosts of Christmas Eve, written by O'Neill, artists like Jewel and Michael Crawford Read More

The Feast of All Saints

Actors: Gloria Reuben, Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals, Robert Ri'chard

Synopsis: Based on a story by Anne Rice, this made-for-cable miniseries explores the little-known phenomenon of the "Gens de Couleur Libres," or "Free People of Color," who lived in Louisiana at a time when slavery still held a stranglehold on much of the South. In 1822, it was not at all uncommon for Read More

We Shall Not Be Moved

Synopsis: Eyewitness accounts combine with archival footage to offer an illuminating account of the oft-neglected but undeniably important role that churches played during the Civil Rights Movement. Few movements have had such a profound impact on the very fabric of American society as the Civil Rights Read More

Dinosaur

Actors: D.B. Sweeney, Alfre Woodard, Ossie Davis, Max Casella, Hayden Panettiere, Sam Wright

Synopsis: Walt Disney Pictures redefined computer animation with this technically accomplished fantasy of prehistoric life, combining live-action backgrounds with computer-generated animals. After a pterodactyl snatches a dinosaur's egg and accidentally drops it while flying away, the egg is rescued by a Read More

Here's To Life

Actors: Eric McCormack, James Whitmore, Kim Hunter, Ossie Davis, Marya Delver

Synopsis: Screenwriter Arne Olsen makes his directorial debut in this comedy that explores the real meaning of youth and age. Owen Rinard (Eric McCormack) is the thirty-something manager of a Canadian retirement home who watches over his charges with an eagle eye and has a strong belief in rules and Read More

Finding Buck McHenry

Actors: Michael Schiffman, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Ernie Banks

Synopsis: A boy discovers that his coach may be more than just a nice old man who likes baseball in this family-oriented drama. Jason, a kid who loves baseball, is not doing very well with his Little League team, and he is bumped from the regular line-up to an "expansion team" of kids who aren't making the Read More

Scandalize My Name: Stories From the Blacklist

Synopsis: Scandalize My Name provides a searing examination of how "Red Scare" politics were used to hinder America's civil rights movement. This powerful film documents the first-hand experiences of African-American performers faced with blacklists, loyalty oaths and other discrimination. It explores the Read More

The Gospel According to Mr. Allen

Actors: Ossie Davis

Harlem

The Soul Collector

Actors: Bruce Greenwood, Ossie Davis, Melissa Gilbert

Synopsis: Based on Kathleen Kane's novel Pocketful of Paradise, the fanciful TV movie The Soul Collector stars Bruce Greenwood in the title role. As an emissary from Heaven, Zachariah (Greenwood) helps recently departed souls to make a smooth and happy transition from life to death. But after showing signs Read More

Snow Jam

Paul Robeson: Here I Stand

Synopsis: Paul Robeson was a distinguished and widely acclaimed figure in music, theater and film; as a singer, actor and educator, Robeson was one of the best known and best respected African Americans of the 1930's. However, Robeson was also politically outspoken as few performers were in his day, and his Read More

Touched By an Angel: The Christmas Gift

Synopsis: Although she has turned her back on the poor, violence-ridden East Saint Louis ghetto of her birth, Brianna (Suzanne Douglas) is reluctantly drawn back to the old neighborhood for her annual Yuletide visit with LaBelle (Ruby Dee), the mother of her husband Robert ($Cleavant Derricks}). Brianna is Read More

Chasing Secrets

Synopsis: A young girl stuck in a horrific cycle of familial violence finds the power to build her own future from the place she least suspected in an inspiring tale of friendship and devotion starring Ossie Davis and Della Reese, and directed by Bruce Pittman. For years Jo Ann Foley (Madeline Zima) has Read More

A Vow to Cherish

Actors: Barbara Babcock, Ossie Davis, Ken Howard, Donna Bullock, Megan Paul

Dr. Dolittle

Actors: Eddie Murphy, Ossie Davis, Oliver Platt, Peter Boyle, Richard Schiff

Synopsis: Betty Thomas directed this adaptation of the classic children's stories by Hugh Lofting (1886-1947), updating the original concepts into the present day. When noted surgeon Dr. John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) swerves his car to avoid hitting a dog, he hits his head on the windshield, triggering his Read More

Touched by an Angel: Vengeance is Mine

Synopsis: This is the first episode of a two-part story, which originally concluded on the Touched by an Angel spinoff series Promised Land. Monica (Roma Downey) and her fellow angels once again pay a visit to the family of Russell Greene (Gerald McRaney), on the one-year anniversary of the traffic accident Read More

Christianity: The First Thousand Years, Vol. 2 - Church and Empire

Christianity: The First Thousand Years, Vol. 1 - The Founding of a Faith

Synopsis: From the days when Jesus walked the Earth with his small band of disciples, and then was crucified for his teachings, Christianity's story has been one of passion and politics, struggle and conflict. This program chronicles the story of Christianity, from its beginnings as a subversive religion to Read More

Christianity: The First Thousand Years, Vol. 3 - The Glory of Byzantium

Christianity: The First Thousand Years, Vol. 4 - The Faith Conquers

Tuskegee Airmen: American Heroes!

Synopsis: During World War II, American soldiers fought for freedom overseas. At the same time, a battle for acceptance was being waged in the air. Tuskegee Airmen: American Heroes! is the story of the first black combat pilots to represent the United States. Their place in history is brought to life in Read More

Christianity: The First Thousand Years [TV Documentary Series]

Touched By an Angel: Joe's Return, Part 1

Synopsis: This opening episode of Touched by an Angel's fourth season is actually the first half of a "crossover" story, with the conclusion appearing on the spinoff series Promised Land. Heavenly caseworkers Monica (Roma Downey) and Tess (Della Reese) are dispatched to the town of Chicory Creek, home of Read More

12 Angry Men

Actors: Jack Lemmon, Courtney Vance, George C. Scott, Mykelti Williamson, Armin Mueller-Stahl

Synopsis: A jury argues a case in a stuffy room on a hot summer's day. Eleven say "guilty!" But one holdout (Jack Lemmon) is convinced of the defendant's innocence and stubbornly argues "reasonable doubt." This tense courtroom drama is a remake of Sidney Lumet's 1957 favorite and was produced for the Read More

MLB: Jackie Robinson - Breaking Barriers

Synopsis: Follow the inspiring journey of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, a monumentally gifted athlete whose greatest feat was accomplished off the playing field. With his dramatic entrance into major league baseball in 1947, Robinson smashed the color barrier and changed professional sports and the Read More

Miss Evers' Boys

Actors: Alfre Woodard, Laurence Fishburne, Craig Sheffer, Ossie Davis, Joe Morton

Synopsis: Produced for the HBO cable network, this docudrama explores the social and ethical issues at the heart of the infamous Tuskegee Study of Untreated Blacks With Syphilis. From 1932 through 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service studied 600 poor African-American sharecroppers in Macon County, AL -- 399 Read More

Touched By an Angel: Homecoming, Part 1

Synopsis: In this first episode of a two-part story, Monica (Roma Downey) and Tess (Della Reese) work independently to help down-and-out druggie Julia Fitzgerald (Delta Burke) get back on her feet. After several weeks of rehab, Julia is certain that she is ready to make amends for her past misdeeds. Read More

I'm Not Rappaport

Actors: Walter Matthau, Ossie Davis, Amy Irving, Martha Plimpton, Craig T. Nelson

Synopsis: In this screen adaptation of the award-winning play by Herb Gardner (who also directed the film), Nat Moyer (Walter Matthau) and Midge Carter (Ossie Davis) are two elderly men who sit on the same park bench each afternoon and have developed a relationship based on playful verbal sparring. Nat is Read More

Thomas Jefferson

Synopsis: Ken Burns, America's most popular and successful documentarian of history, has called Thomas Jefferson "the most important human being born in the last 500 years." It is with this passionate admiration, tempered as always by a blunt acknowledgement of Jefferson's flaws, that Burns approaches his Read More

Touched By an Angel: Promised Land

Synopsis: Originally telecast September 15, 1996, the third-season opener of Touched by an Angel is actually the pilot episode for the spinoff series Promised Land, which debuted two days later on September 17. Down in the dumps because she has failed her most recent assignment, Heavenly caseworker Monica Read More

Get on the Bus

Actors: Richard Belzer, Ossie Davis, Charles S. Dutton, De'Aundre Bonds, Andre Braugher, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Gabriel Casseus, Albert Hall, Harry J. Lennix, Hill Harper, Bernie Mac, Wendell Pierce, Roger Guenveur Smith, Isaiah Washington, Steve White

Synopsis: Released one year to the day after the 1995 Million Man March, in which a million African-American men marched peacefully in Washington, D.C. in a bid for greater unity and understanding, Spike Lee's Get On the Bus follows a group of black men who take a charter bus from Los Angeles to the rally Read More

The Android Affair

Actors: Harley Jane Kozak, Griffin Dunne, Ossie Davis, Saul Rubinek, Peter Outerbridge

Synopsis: In this off-beat romance, a medical android used for surgical practice becomes the object of a lonely intern's affections. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Mississippi, America

Synopsis: The PBS produced Mississippi, America chronicles a significant chapter in the history of the nation's civil rights movement. Noted actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee narrate this account of the 1964 "Freedom Summer" voter-registration drives in Mississippi when a coalition of civil rights activists Read More

The Stand

Actors: Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, Laura San Giacomo, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Miguel Ferrer, Rob Lowe

Synopsis: Originally aired as a television mini-series, this all-star filmization of Stephen King's gripping epic of good versus evil chronicles the episodic adventures of a disparate group of people who struggle to reestablish civilization after a man-made catastrophe wipes out most of the world's Read More

The Client

Actors: Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony LaPaglia, Anthony Edwards, Brad Renfro

Synopsis: A sterling cast headed by Oscar-nominated Susan Sarandon makes this slick thriller one of the better adaptations of a John Grisham bestseller. Mark Sway (Brad Renfro) witnesses the suicide of a Mafia lawyer, who confesses that the Mob was behind the murder of a U.S. senator. Mark's brother is Read More

Arthur Ashe: Citizen of the World

Synopsis: Arthur Ashe: Citizen of the World is a celebratory tribute to the late African-American tennis great Arthur Ashe. Narrated by Ossie Davis, the 50-minute program takes an in-depth look at Ashe's personal and professional battles, including his struggle with AIDS and racism. John McEnroe, Billie Read More

Reading Rainbow: Summer

Actors: LeVar Burton

Synopsis: For many people, summer is a favorite time of year, bringing long, warm days and time off from school or work. The featured book in this episode of Reading Rainbow is Summer, written by Ron Hirschi and read by Ossie Davis. The program offers a look at how the seasons differ according to the region Read More

The Ernest Green Story

Actors: Ossie Davis

Synopsis: This well-mounted made-for-cable film zeroes in on the personal story of Ernest Green, the only senior among the nine black students who integrated Arkansas' Little Rock High School in 1957. Faced with pressure from both his taunter and his peers, Ernest manages to survive a harrowing year with Read More

Evening Shade: Season 04

Actors: Burt Reynolds, Marilu Henner, Hal Holbrook, Ossie Davis, Charles Durning, Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Jeter

Grumpy Old Men

Actors: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah

Synopsis: This cheerful holiday comedy, a surprise box office smash, featured a generous dollop of raunchy, crude humor and was greatly elevated by the presence of masterful performers in the lead roles. Jack Lemmon is John Gustafson, an ice-fishing Minnesota native who has been feuding with his neighbor Read More

Malcolm X

Actors: Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Angela Bassett, Al Freeman, Jr., Delroy Lindo, Albert Hall

Synopsis: Writer-director Spike Lee's epic portrayal of the life and times of the slain civil rights leader Malcolm X begins with the cross-cut imagery of the police beating of black motorist Rodney King juxtaposed with an American flag burning into the shape of the letter X. When the film's narrative Read More

Gladiator

Actors: Cuba Gooding, Jr., James Marshall, Robert Loggia, Ossie Davis, Brian Dennehy, Cara Buono

Synopsis: Gladiator is the kind of boxing movie that goes that extra mile -- a self-loathing boxing saga that relishes in bare-knuckled sucker punches, illegal eye-rubs, and gentlemen boxers who obey the Marquis of Queensbury rules by drop-kicking opponents when the are not only down but unconscious. James Marshall Read More

Queen

Actors: Halle Berry, Tim Daly, Danny Glover, Ann-Margret, Jasmine Guy, Ossie Davis

Synopsis: In 1977, Alex Haley's groundbreaking mini-series Roots became one of the most watched programs in television history, telling the story of seven generations of the author's mother's family, from their capture in Africa and enslavement in the United States to their eventual emancipation more than a Read More

Evening Shade: Season 03

Actors: Burt Reynolds, Marilu Henner, Hal Holbrook, Ossie Davis, Charles Durning, Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Jeter

Lincoln: Now He Belongs to the Ages, 1865

Synopsis: This video is the fourth installment of the Lincoln series, originally aired on PBS. This volume focuses on the last days and hours of Abraham Lincoln's life. Viewers watch as Lincoln's enemies plot their final revenge on the man they believed had dishonored their heritage. The video also reveals Read More

Lincoln: I Want to Finish This Job, 1864

Synopsis: By the third year of the Civil War, personal and national tragedy had worn down President Lincoln. However, he focused on his job tenaciously, having a strong sense of history. This is the third of four programs in the Lincoln series, which originally aired on PBS. Produced and directed by Peter Read More

Smithsonian's Great Battles of the Civil War [Video Series]

Synopsis: A seven-part series that reviews and recreates the battles and sieges of the Civil War. Included are numerous artifacts and the words of participants. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Lincoln: The Pivotal Year, 1863

Synopsis: President Abraham Lincoln leads the Union in the fight to end the awful bloodshed of the Civil War. The year is 1863. The president had a continuous struggle with the commanders of his army, and the bloodshed from the fighting at Antietam and Fredericksburg distressed him greatly. 1863 was the Read More

Lincoln: The Making of a President, 1860-1862

Synopsis: A shrewd politician, Abraham Lincoln had the intelligence, ambition, and principles to grow into his job as president. This is the first of four videos in the Lincoln series, which originally aired on PBS. Produced and directed by Peter W. Kunhardt, this program is narrated by renowned actor James Read More

Smithsonian's Great Battles of the Civil War, Vol. 1

Synopsis: Each episode of this series examines different battles of this war. Each uses re-enactments, expert commentary, and readings by actors such as Burt Reynolds, Charlton Heston, and Richard Dreyfuss, to bring the events of the war to vivid life. This first episode covers the first months of the war. Read More

Smithsonian's Great Battles of the Civil War, Vol. 5

Synopsis: Each episode of this series presents different battles from the war. Each uses re-enactments, expert commentary, and readings by actors such as Burt Reynolds, Charlton Heston, and Richard Dreyfuss to bring the events of the war to vivid life. Smithsonian's Great Battles of the Civil War, Vol. 5 Read More

Jungle Fever

Actors: Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Spike Lee, Anthony Quinn, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee

Synopsis: Spike Lee defines "jungle fever" as sexual attraction between members of two races. In his film Jungle Fever, he examines the repercussions of an interracial affair upon two very distinct communities. Wesley Snipes is Flipper, a happily married and successful architect, and Annabella Sciorra is Read More

Evening Shade: Season 02

Actors: Burt Reynolds, Marilu Henner, Hal Holbrook, Ossie Davis, Charles Durning, Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Jeter

Hands upon the Heart

Joe Versus the Volcano

Actors: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Abe Vigoda, Dan Hedaya

Synopsis: Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Patrick Shanley's first foray into the director's chair is a quirky romantic fantasy, featuring Bo Welch's signature production design. Tom Hanks plays Joe Banks, a man who hates his job, thinks the overhead fluorescent lights are making him sick, and quakes Read More

The Red Shoes

Actors: Ossie Davis

Synopsis: This is a cartoon version of the classic Hans Christian Andersen story. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Evening Shade: Season 01

Actors: Burt Reynolds, Marilu Henner, Hal Holbrook, Ossie Davis, Charles Durning, Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Jeter

Do the Right Thing

Actors: Danny Aiello, Spike Lee, Richard Edson, John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez, Bill Nunn, Ossie Davis

Synopsis: Director Spike Lee dives head-first into a maelstrom of racial and social ills, using as his springboard the hottest day of the year on one block in Brooklyn, NY. Three businesses dominate the block: a storefront radio station, where a smooth-talkin' deejay (Samuel L. Jackson) spins the platters Read More

Her Alibi

Actors: Tom Selleck, Paulina Porizkova, William Daniels, James Farentino, Hurd Hatfield

Synopsis: A frustrated writer helps save a woman being railroaded by the law -- or is she? -- in this comic mystery with romantic overtones. Phil Blackwood (Tom Selleck) is a best-selling mystery novelist who has run into a bad case of writer's block. Hoping to find inspiration for his next book, Phil goes Read More

B.L. Stryker [TV Series]

Actors: Burt Reynolds, Ossie Davis, Dana Kaminski, Michael O. Smith, Alfie Wise, Rita Moreno

Making 'Do the Right Thing'

Actors: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Giancarlo Esposito

Synopsis: Spike Lee's 1989 movie Do The Right Thing was a bombshell when it came out, particularly because of its honest and unapologetic treatment of interracial prejudices in Bedford Stuyvesant. This documentary not only explores the director's filmmaking exploits, but explores the neighborhood and its Read More

Benjamin Banneker: The Man Who Loved the Stars

Synopsis: Ossie Davis stars in this 60-minute TV drama. Davis plays Benjamin Banneker, the self-taught African-American astronomer, surveyor and almanac author. Banneker accomplished all this in the late 18th and early 19th century, a time when most blacks were held in the grip of slavery. The story details Read More

School Daze

Actors: Kadeem Hardison, Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, Tisha Campbell, Kyme, Joe Seneca, Ossie Davis

Synopsis: Fraternity and sorority members clash with the other students at a historically black university in this politically charged musical, which marked the sophomore feature from director Spike Lee. Dap (Laurence Fishburne) is a politically conscious brother who leads anti-apartheid demonstrations and Read More

Avenging Angel

Actors: Betsy Russell, Rory Calhoun, Robert F. Lyons, Susan Tyrrell, Ossie Davis, Barry Pearl

Synopsis: Betsy Russell takes over as part-time prostitute Molly Stewart in this disappointing sequel to the surprisingly good Angel (1984). Old pals Rory Calhoun and Susan Tyrrell are along for the search for the killer of the cop who saved Molly's life in the first film, joined by street magician Johnny Read More

Bill Moyers' Walk Through the 20th Century: The Second American Revolution

Synopsis: This video is part of a PBS series, narrated by journalist Bill Moyers, that looks at some of the most influential ideas, events, and people of the 20th century. This program is the second episode in a two-part series that chronicles the history of the civil rights movement in the United States. Read More

Harry and Son

Actors: Paul Newman, Robby Benson, Ellen Barkin, Wilford Brimley, Judith Ivey

Synopsis: Harry (Paul Newman), a middle-aged hardhat, has trouble communicating with his teenaged son Howard (Robby Benson). While Harry wants Howard to find a bread-and-butter job, the sensitive boy would rather pursue a writing career. Howard tries his best to please his dad, but ultimately realizes that Read More

Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy "Satchel" Paige

Synopsis: This TV-movie biography of legendary black ballplayer Leroy "Satchel" Paige unfortunately whitewashes and hokes up his fascinating story. Louis Gossett Jr. stars as Paige, who spends virtually his entire professional career in the Negro leagues because of the "gentlemen's agreement" barring Read More

Death of a Prophet

Synopsis: Morgan Freeman makes an early screen appearance in this made-for-television docudrama inspired by the life and death of African-American activist Malcolm X. Book-ended by interviews with people who knew and worked with Malcolm X, the bulk of Death of a Prophet follows 24 hours in the life of a Read More

All God's Children

Actors: Richard Widmark

Synopsis: The issue of forced school busing is explored with an unfortunately heavy hand in All God's Children. Richard Widmark plays a judge who is tortured with guilt after a school bus is stolen. The robbery was a prank, committed as a reaction to the judge's ruling that selected black students must be Read More

Freedom Road

Synopsis: Muhammad Ali made his TV-movie dramatic debut in this adaptation of Howard Fast's novel Freedom Road. Though some of the names are changed, the story concerns the true-life efforts of senators Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens to bring political order and racial equality to the post-Civil War Read More

Roots: The Next Generations

Actors: Georg Stanford Brown, Olivia de Havilland, Henry Fonda, Paul Koslo

Synopsis: The phenomenal success of the 1977 ABC miniseries Roots all but demanded a sequel to writer Alex Haley's epic story of his African and African-American forebears. Debuting February 18, 1979, Roots: The Next Generations picked up where its predecessor left off, with Haley's slave ancestors winning Read More

The House of God

Actors: Tim Matheson, Charles Haid, Michael Sacks, Lisa Pelikan, Bess Armstrong

Synopsis: In this abysmal, tasteless farce, the pitfalls of patient and staff life in a big city hospital are supposed to be the brunt of the jokes, but there are no living jokes in this film. In the first several scenes, the obnoxious know-it-all Fats (Charles Haid) introduces new interns to the hospital Read More

Hot Stuff

Actors: Dom DeLuise, Jerry Reed, Suzanne Pleshette, Ossie Davis

Synopsis: In this comedy a trio of undercover government cops in Miami decide that it would be a good idea to open a bogus fencing operation so they can trap criminals. When the crooks find out, trouble ensues and the fun begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Drama: Play, Performance, Perception [Video Series]

Synopsis: This introduction to the theater features a collection of fourteen dramas all combined in four modules. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

King: The Martin Luther King Story

Synopsis: King: The Martin Luther King Story originated as a three-part miniseries, first telecast February 12, 13 and 14, 1978. Paul Winfield is starred as Martin Luther King, with Cicely Tyson as Coretta Scott King. The film covers the years 1954 through 1968, taking Rev. King from his first peaceful Read More

Roots

Actors: LeVar Burton, Louis Gossett, Jr., John Amos, Ben Vereen

Synopsis: This award-winning six-part historical epic was one of the first examples of the miniseries format and one of the highest-rated television programs in broadcasting history. Based on the best-selling novel by author Alex Haley, Roots chronicles the progress of Haley's own family across many Read More

Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid

Actors: LeVar Burton, Ossie Davis, Roxie Roker

Synopsis: Twenty-year-old LeVar Burton followed up his spectacular television debut in Roots with the made-for-TV film Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid. As can be gathered by the title, Billy (Burton) is a ghetto youth with little chance for a bright future. He gets his chance to escape his dead-end Read More

American Documents [Video Series]

Synopsis: A patriotic series of historical documentaries, each program makes extensive use of archive photos, rare newsreel footage and excerpts from Hollywood films. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide Read More

Countdown at Kusini

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Greg Morris, Tom Aldredge

Synopsis: This drama, financed by DST Communications, a subsidiary of Delta Sigma Theta, the world's largest black sorority, centers around the revolutionary leader of a fictionalized African nation, Fahari. He is being hunted by a mercenary hired by a big corporation disgruntled by the rebel's policies Read More

American Documents, Vol. 2: Black Shadows on the Silver Screen

Synopsis: This program is part two in the 13-volume American Documents series and features historic contributions of black Americans. Narrated by Ossie Davis, this program highlights early black films and filmmakers through the use of rare archival footage and interviews. Many memorable entertainment Read More

Let's Do It Again

Actors: Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Calvin Lockhart, John Amos, Jimmie "J.J." Walker

Synopsis: A pair of blue-collar buddies use hypnosis to turn a wimpy boxer into a champ in this crime comedy, which reunites actor/director Sidney Poitier and comedian Bill Cosby, stars of the similarly themed Uptown Saturday Night. Clyde Williams (Poitier) and Billy Foster (Cosby) want to help raise funds Read More

Gordon's War

Crew: Director

Actors: Nathan C. Heard

Synopsis: In this incredibly violent actioner, a soldier returns from the war in Vietnam and finds that his Harlem neighborhood has become a drug-filled war zone of its own. The final straw comes when his wife overdoses. The grief-stricken vet quickly assembles a group of vigilantes to clean up the streets Read More

Black Girl

Crew: Director

Synopsis: In this melodrama a mother tries to compensate for her feelings of inadequacy and failure as a parent to her own children by taking in a troubled foster child. As she struggles to make up for her past mistakes, her jealous daughters mistreat the girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Malcolm X: His Own Story as it Really Happened

Synopsis: This 1972 documentary tribute to the life and work of the assassinated Black Muslim leader Malcolm X was poorly received at the time of its release. However, it has grown in importance as Malcolm's place in African American history has grown. The backbone of the documentary is based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X Read More

Kongi's Harvest

Crew: Director

Synopsis: The dictator of a Third-World African country endeavors to bring his people into the 20th century in this drama based on a play by one of Africa's premier writers. The dictator came to power after deposing the king. His greatest challenge will be in uniting his nation which is largely comprised of Read More

The Sheriff

Actors: Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee

Synopsis: The made-for-TV The Sheriff borrows a bit from the premise of the theatrical feature film Tick Tick Tick (71). Ossie Davis plays an African-American county sheriff, stationed in a small California mountain village; his wife is played by Davis' real-life spouse Ruby Dee. Kaz Garas portrays the Read More

Cotton Comes to Harlem

Crew: Director, Screenwriter, Songwriter

Actors: Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin Lockhart, Judy Pace, Redd Foxx

Synopsis: Ossie Davis makes his directorial debut a smashing success in the trend-setting action crime comedy Cotton Comes To Harlem. Coffin Ed (Raymond St. Jacques) and Grave Digger Jones (Godfrey Cambridge), two plainclothesmen on the Harlem detail, are assigned to investigate the goings-on of suspicious Read More

Teacher, Teacher

Actors: David McCallum, Ossie Davis

Synopsis: Teacher, Teacher was originally presented February 5, 1969, as a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV special. David McCallum plays a former schoolteacher, who has wrecked his career through alcoholism and is hoping to make a fresh start as a private tutor. Ossie Davis plays a black handyman with rage to Read More

Bonanza: The Wish

Actors: Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Ossie Davis, George Spell

Synopsis: Written and directed by Michael Landon, "The Wish" would remain Landon's favorite Bonanza episode long after its original airing on March 9, 1969. Preparing for a two-month fishing trip, Hoss Cartwright meets Sam Davis (Ossie Davis), an ex-slave trying to make a go of a drought-plague farm. Though Read More

The Third Choice

Synopsis: In this drama, publisher Glenn Howard heads to Africa to find one of his missing editors. The story is taken from the "Name of the Game" television series. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Slaves

Actors: Ossie Davis, Nancy Coleman, Oscar Paul Jones, Robert Kya-Hill, Barbara Ann Teer

Synopsis: Luke (Ossie Davis) is the loyal slave of a Kentucky horse breeder who is sold to the cruel Mississippi plantation owner MacKay (Stephen Boyd). The evil slave owner has the black beauty Cassie (Dionne Warwick) as his mistress, who longs to escape the clutches of her lecherous master. With the Read More

Sam Whiskey

Actors: Burt Reynolds, Clint Walker, Ossie Davis, Angie Dickinson, Rick Davis

Synopsis: This light western comedy finds the lovely widow Laura Breckenridge (Angie Dickenson) offering a $20,000 reward for the return of some gold her late husband had stolen from the Denver mint. She seduces the virginal Sam (Burt Reynolds) into leading a team to retrieve the gold, now lying at the Read More

Night Gallery [TV Series]

Actors: Tom Bosley, Joan Crawford, Richard Kiley

Synopsis: In the two-hour pilot film for the subsequent TV "occult" anthology, series creator Rod Serling hosts three macabre short stories, introducing each with a framed portrait in a nocturnal art gallery. The first story stars Roddy MacDowall as a covetous nephew who murders his uncle, suffering the Read More

The Scalphunters

Actors: Burt Lancaster, Shelley Winters, Telly Savalas, Ossie Davis, Armando Silvestre

Synopsis: For his third feature outing, director Sydney Pollack helmed this comedic western starring (Burt Lancaster) as fur trapper Joe Bass. While heading for the trading post for his pay after a successful hunting season, Bass runs into a band of Kiowa Indians, who offer to trade the educated slave Read More

The Outsider

Synopsis: The Outsider is a refreshingly cynical TV detective drama, starring master cynic Darren McGavin. McGavin plays David Ross, a John MacDonaldesque private eye who virtually lives in his beat-up car and who spends most of his time eluding creditors. An ex-convict, Ross is prohibited from carrying a Read More

The Fugitive: Death Is the Door Prize

Synopsis: Now posing as "Ed Sanders", Kimble (David Janssen) shows up at an electronics demonstration being held in a shopping mall, where he witnesses security guard Pete Dawes (Howard Da Silva) gunning down a teenage thief. Now Kimble must save an innocent man from being accused of the shooting--but he Read More

A Man Called Adam

Actors: Sammy Davis, Jr., Louis Armstrong, Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Peter Lawford

Synopsis: A star-studded cast invigorates this film of a jazz trumpeter (Sammy Davis Jr.) who experiences both the prejudices of the music industry and terrible guilt following the traffic accident that killed his family, a tragedy he feels personally responsible for. Co-stars include several giants of jazz Read More

The Hill

Actors: Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Alfred Lynch, Ossie Davis

Synopsis: The Hill was unfairly subjected to ridicule by the more obtuse "critics" of 1965 who harped on the fact that it starred Sean Connery and, unlike Connery's Bond pictures, had no women in it. Bypassing these cretinous comments, it must be noted that The Hill is an above-the-norm entry in the Read More

Shock Treatment

Actors: Stuart Whitman, Carol Lynley, Lauren Bacall, Roddy McDowall, Olive Deering

Synopsis: In this offbeat melodrama, a crazed gardener is relegated to a mental hospital after he goes berserk and beheads his wealthy boss. The scuttlebutt in the courtroom is that the killer has stolen over a million dollars from his former employer and has hidden it on the estate. A professional actor Read More

The Cardinal

Actors: Tom Tryon, Carol Lynley, Dorothy Gish, Romy Schneider, Maggie McNamara, John Huston, Raf Vallone

Synopsis: Tom Tryon plays the title role in this Otto Preminger version of the Henry Morton Robinson novel. In his matriculation from Monsignor to the College of Cardinals, Stephen Fermoyle (Tom Tryon) must undergo several grueling life experiences: standing up to bigots in Georgia, defying Nazis in Read More

Purlie Victorious

Crew: Play Author, Screenwriter

Actors: Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Sorrell Booke, Godfrey Cambridge, Hilda Haynes

Synopsis: This film version of the successful stage play was written by and stars Ossie Davis as Purlie Victorious, a flamboyant, self ordained minister. Along with wife Lutibelle (Ruby Dee), he returns to Georgia to buy an old barn and convert it into a church. He seeks out Captain Cotchipec (Sorrel Read More

The Joe Louis Story

Actors: Coley Wallace, Paul Stewart, Hilda Simms, James Edwards, John Marley

Synopsis: Coley Wallace plays the title role in The Joe Louis Story. Told in flashback, the film recounts the pugilistic career of "the Brown Bomber" from the early 1930s to his misguided comeback attempt opposite Rocky Marciano in 1951. The film's high point is Louis' defeat of Germany's Max Schmeling; its Read More

Fourteen Hours

Actors: Richard Basehart, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Agnes Moorehead, Debra Paget, Robert Keith

Synopsis: Henry Hathaway directed this high-tension drama about a man teetering on the verge of self-destruction and how his dilemma affects those around him. Robert Cosick (Richard Basehart) is a desperate and despondent young man who has never gotten along with his parents (Robert Keith and Agnes Moorehead Read More

No Way Out

Actors: Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Stephen McNally, Sidney Poitier, Mildred Joanne Smith

Synopsis: A pioneering film about racial tensions, No Way Out stars Richard Widmark as a criminal named Ray Biddle, who despises African-Americans. Sidney Poitier (in his screen debut) is the black doctor, Luther Brooks, assigned to take care of the wounded Ray. Dr. Brooks, hired by the police hospital as Read More

Jacob Lawrence: The Glory of Expression

Freedom Man