Tag: Drama

Woodlawn

WoodlawnRelease Date:  10/16/15 (In Theaters)
Genre:  Drama/Based on Actual Events
Rating:  PG
Running Time:  Unknown
Studios:  Crescent City Pictures, Red Sky Studios.
Directors:  Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin.

Cast:  Nic Bishop (Tandy Gerelds), Sean Astin (Hank), Caleb Castille (Tony Nathan), C. Thomas Howell (Shorty White), Jon Voight (Paul Bryant), Sherri Shepherd (Momma Nathan).

Story:  A gifted high school football player must learn to boldly embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field in WOODLAWN, a moving and inspirational new film based on the true story of how love and unity overcame hate and division in early 1970s Birmingham, Ala.

Tony Nathan lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973. The Woodlawn Colonels football team is a microcosm of the problems at the school and in the city, which erupts in cross burnings and riots, and Coach Tandy Gerelds is at a loss to solve these unprecedented challenges with his disciplinarian ways.

It’s only when Hank, an outsider who has been radically affected by the message of hope and love he experienced at a Christian revival meeting, convinces Coach Gerelds to let him speak to the team that something truly remarkable begins to happen. More than 40 players, nearly the entire team, black and white, give their lives over to the “better way” Hank tells them is possible through following Jesus, and the change is so profound in them it affects their coach, their school and their community in ways no one could have imagined. Source: woodlawnmovie.com, official site.

Trailer:

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Carter High

Carter HighRelease Date:  10/30/15 (In Theaters – Limited); 11/7/15 (In Theaters – Nationwide)
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  NR
Running Time:  Unknown
Studio(s):  Sweet Chariot Productions, PlayNow enterprise, Tycor International Film Company.
Director:  Arthur Muhammad
Cast:  Vivica A. Fox (Mrs. James), Charles S. Dutton (Coach James), Pooch Hall (Coach Vonner), David Banner (Royce West), Reginald C. Hayes (Mr. Russeau), Robert Hayes (Gary), Aundre Dean (Derric), Lynn Andrews III (Keith).

Story:  Carter High is the emotional, gripping and ultimately uplifting true story of the powerhouse 1988 Carter High School Football Team from Dallas, Texas. Carter has to overcome tremendous difficulties to reach their ultimate goal of winning a state championship. As parents and community leaders come together to support the youth through their hardships, the team becomes the hero of the community.

The film is being produced by former Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders defensive end Greg Ellis and directed by former Carter player Arthur Muhammad. Source: thecarterhighmovie.com (official site); IMDB.

Trailer:

 

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Nobody’s Children

a/k/a OUR CHRISTIANITY
a/k/a OUR CHRISTIANITY AND NOBODY’S CHILD
a/k/a OUR CHRISTIANITY AND NOBODY’S CHILDREN

Nobody's Children article

Details
Year of Release: 1920
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  N/A
Runtime:  Unknown
Black & White
Silent
Studio:  Maurice Film Co.
Producer:  Richard Maurice
Director:  Richard Maurice

Cast
Richard Maurice
Jacques Farmer
Joe Green
Alex Griffin
Max Johnson
Vivian Maurice
Howard Nelson

Synopsis

A brother and sister are persecuted by their evil stepfather, who kidnaps the girl and imprisons her. A fight between the boy and the stepfather leads to the stepfather’s death.  The boy is arrested and sentenced to death for the crime. His cellmate helps him escape, and he is eventually exonerated, pardoned, and reunited with his sister.

Notes
This film is considered lost.

Photo Source: The Digital Library of Georgia/The University of Georgia Libraries. Source(s): TCM, IMDB

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As The World Rolls On

a/k/a The Heart of Jack Johnson

as the world rolls on

Details
Year of Release: 1921
Genre: Drama
Rating: N/A
Runtime:  Unknown
Black & White
Silent
Studio: Andlauer Production Company
Producer: Unknown
Director: Unknown

Cast
Jack Johnson (Himself)
Blanche Thompson (Molly Moran)
Reed Thomas (Joe Walker)
Walter Simpson (Tom Atkins)

Synopsis

Industrious Joe Walker competes for the hand of Molly Moran. Joe’s rival for Molly’s affection is the vicious bully and gang leader Tom Atkins, who enjoys beating up on the weaker, smaller Joe. One day, as Joe is going home from work, his route takes him through a park where Tom and his gang are waiting. Fortunately, former heavyweight champ, Jack Johnson, is also in the park. Hearing Joe’s cries for help, Johnson goes to his aid. After Jack has finished with them, the rowdies lay stretched out on the ground.

Johnson offers to train Joe, convincing him to give up cigarettes and teaching him “physical and breathing exercises.” Under Johnson’s instructions Joe becomes a healthy man and an athlete.

About this time the National Colored League baseball games are in progress at the ball park. In a game between the Kansas City Monarchs and the Detroit Stars (actual scenes) the captain of the Monarchs, sprains his arm and due to illness and injuries to his pitching staff, is in desperate need of a pitcher.  Knowing Joe’s ability as an amateur pitcher, he appeals to Joe to finish the game. Joe agrees, puts on a uniform, pitches a wonderful game and hits the winning home run in the ninth inning.

A few weeks later at the Clover Leaf Club’s annual masquerade ball, Tom, jealous because of the attention Joe is showing Molly, schemes to get Joe out of the way. He has Joe beaten up, but Molly overhears the plot, denounces Tom and rushes to Joe.

Tom, decides on another scheme, and frames Molly for robbery. His plan is successful and Molly is arrested. At the trial a small boy saves Molly from conviction by identifying Tom as the guilty one. Tom tries to escape from the courtroom, but Joe goes after him. Joe catches up with Tom and as a result of the training he received from Jack Johnson is able to beat Tom to the ground.

Later, Joe and Molly get married and go to Johnson’s home for his blessing. Johnson gives them a check for $1,000 as a nest egg. As the world rolls on, six years later Molly, Joe and their family live happily in a pleasant home.

Notes
The working title was The Heart of Jack Johnson.

A New York Times article reported that the film contained “footage of an all-black Kansas team in the background.”  As the World Rolls On featured footage of actual NNL games involving the Kansas City Monarchs, Detroit Stars, and Chicago American Giants. The games are integrated into the plot, and Negro league players, notably Sam Crawford, Bruce Petway, and Cristóbal Torriente, had roles in the film.

This film is believed to be lost.

Source(s): agatetype.typepad.com; TCM.

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Call Me King

Call Me KingRelease Date:  9/8/15; DVD
Genre:  Drama/Crime
Rating:  Unknown
Running Time: 118 mins.
Studio(s):  Dark Energy Pictures, Shadow Motion Pictures, GVN Releasing.
Director:  R.L. Scott
Cast:  Amin Joseph (Rhyis), Maurice Whitfield (Khalil), Sean A. Riggs (Grimm), Johnathan McDaniel (Zho), Chris Mulkey (Angelo Costa), Bai Ling (Li Soo), Bill Cobbs (Malachi), Gabrielle Dennis (Leena), Shaun Mixon (Knight), Del Zamora (Feris).

Story:  Call Me King is the story of two young heirs, Rhyis (Amin Joseph) and Khalil (Maurice Whitfield) members of an ousted Haitian dictatorship who immigrate to the United States. Now as adults, the brothers are seeking to right the wrongs perpetrated by their father by assembling their own four-member crew of gun runners, “The Strap Set.”

The team is led by the eldest brother Rhyis. His goal is to earn enough capital and power in America to return to Haiti and reclaim his birth rite. Khalil, the younger brother, handles the lion’s share of sales and distribution to foreign buyers. Grimm (Sean A. Riggs) handles heavy artillery and deals with local distributors and Zho (Johnathan McDaniel) is a lethal sharp shooter.

Rhyis answers to only one man… Angelo Costa (Chris Mulkey) head of the Italian syndicate. Angelo utilizes “The Strap Set” as his key enforcers. When the rules of the underworld are broken, these four men inflict punishment to the letter. Heavily armed with automatic weapons, lethal fighting skills, and the strategies of war… “The Strap Set” are locked, loaded, and intent on returning victorious to the docks of Port-Au-Prince Haiti. Source(s): Callmekingmovie (official site); IMDB.

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Chapter & Verse

Release Date:  9/23/15 – 9/27/15 (Urbanworld Film Festival); 2014
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  NR
Running Time:  62 mins.
Studio:  Harlem Film Company
Director: Jamal Joseph
Cast:  Daniel Beaty (Lance), Loretta Devine (Miss Maddy), Omari Hardwick (Jomo),
Selenis Leyva (Yolanda), Marc John Jefferies (B-Rock), Khadim Diop (Ty), Justin Martin
(G-Rod).

Story:  Upon his return from serving a ten-year sentence in prison, reformed gang leader, S. Lance Ingram, struggles to adapt to a changed Harlem. Unable to use the technological skills he acquired in jail, Lance is forced to accept a position delivering meals for a local food bank. It is here that he befriends Ms. Maddy, a past beauty with an irreverent and hardened shell to whom he delivers dinners. Through her, Lance finds hope, relearning the joys of life and living despite the outwardly bedeviled society in which they find themselves. Source: IMDB.

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