Andraé Crouch Movies

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple spans the years 1909 to 1949, relating the life of Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), a Southern black woman virtually sold into a life of servitude to her brutal husband, sharecropper Albert (Danny Glover). Celie pours out her innermost thoughts in letter form to her sister Nettie (Akousa Busia), but Albert has been hiding the letters Nettie writes back, allowing Celie to assume that Nettie is dead. Finally, Celie finds a champion in the don't-take-no-guff Sofia (Oprah Winfrey), the wife of Glover's son from a previous marriage. Alas, Sofia is "humbled" when she is beaten into submission by angry whites. Later, Celie is able to forge a strong friendship with Albert's mistress Shug (Margaret Avery). Emboldened by this, Celie begins rifling through her husband's belongings and finds Nettie's letters. Able at last to stand up to her husband, Celie leaves him to search for a new life on her own. A major box-office hit, The Color Purple was nominated for eleven Oscars. The film was co-produced by Quincy Jones, who also wrote the score. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Hallelujah Gospel features performances of over a dozen songs by a variety of performers including Ray Charles, Andrae Crouch, Deniece Williams, and Glen Campbell. The setlist includes "Coming Home," "I Believe in Miracles," "God Is Amazing," and "A Few Good Men." ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Johnny LaRue (John Candy) has his camera crane taken away again, the first significant crisis in Johnny's own very special version of "The Christmas Carol." Former SCTV regular Catherine O'Hara guest stars as singing sensation Lola Heatherton, showing clips from her dysfunctional 1965 Christmas special. In one of his first TV appearances, über-nerd Ed Grimley (Martin Short) stars in the Yuletide classic "The Fella Who Couldn't Wait for Christmas." Count Floyd (Joe Flaherty) welcomes Lucille Ball (O'Hara), Ed Garvey (Eugene Levy), and the kid from Deliverance to his "Scary Little Christmas" special. "Happy Wanderers" Stan and Yon Schmenge (Levy, John Candy) explain such beloved Leutonian Christmas rituals as putting the hat on the tree and the exchanging of the socks. Musical guest Andrae Crouch performs at the Melonville Men's Mission. And via the magic of satellite technology, Bobby Bittman (Levy) and Jackie Rogers Jr. (Short) co-host "The SCTV SuperSpecial Christmas: That's All." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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 African-Americans from the Majors. Paige's prowess as a pitcher is so famous that he becomes the highest-paid player in the Negro leagues -- but as for joining the mainstream teams, the answer is always the same: "If only you were white." When Jackie Robinson is signed by the Dodgers in 1946, the doors open for other black ballplayers; thus it is that in 1948, Satchel Paige becomes the first black pitcher in the American leagues...at the tender age of 42. Don't Look Back down-pedals Satchel Paige's tempestuous private life (his two marriages are combined into one, for example), and tends to shortchange the viewer in the crucial ball-playing scenes. Its saving grace is the towering performance by star Louis Gossett Jr., who struggles manfully to overcome the script's shortcomings. When the film was first telecast on May 31, 1981, the real Satchel Paige appeared in the prologue; one year later, Paige was dead at the (reported) age of 76. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi