Brownie McGhee Movies
Old-time bluesman and long-time partner of harp-player Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee (he also went by the names Blind Boy Williams, Spider Sam, or Big Tom Collins) had a loose affiliation with films that began in 1972 when he wrote and performed a few tunes for Buck and the Preacher. In 1979, he played one of Steve Martin's adoptive family in The Jerk and had a small role as Toots Sweet in Angel Heart (1987). McGhee also appeared on an episode of the '80s sitcom Family Ties. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
This poignant and carefully researched documentary takes a stark look at the harsh realities behind the oft-romanticized view of the train-hopping Depression-era hobo. Of those habitual rail riders, 250,000 thousand were children and adolescents, many of whom were forced to hit the road not for fun and adventure, but out of brutal necessity. The filmmakers got their stories from the reminiscences of 10 former vagabonds (including a female, an African American, and one 72-year-old who continues hopping trains) and archival government and newsreel footage to create an accurate, at times wrenching, view of the wanderers's struggle to survive. The soundtrack includes period folk music from such artists as Woody Guthrie. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1997
- Add Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry: Red River Blues - Rare Performances 1948-1974 to QueueAdd Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry: Red River Blues - Rare Performances 1948-1974 to top of Queue
Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry were one of the greatest and most influential country blues acts to ever grace a stage, and this collection of rare performance footage captures the duo at their best. Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry: Red River Blues (1948-1974) begins with Library of Congress archival film of McGhee and Terry playing traditional blues numbers (Woody Guthrie sits in for one song), and closes with a set the pair recorded for British television in 1973, with a handful of other rare appearances in between. Selections include "John Henry," "Red River Blues," "Whoopin' the Blues," "Crow Jane," "Burnt Child (Afraid of Fire)," and many more. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1994
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Some of America's greatest acoustic blues players perform the songs that made them famous in this video, which collects performances filmed for television in the early '60s. Legends of Country Blues Guitar features rare appearances by Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, Reverend Gary Davis, Big Bill Broonzy, and others. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
The time is the 1950s: seedy Brooklyn private eye Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) is hired by shady Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro) to locate a pop singer who reneged on a debt. Harry ventures into Harlem, the first step of a Heart of Darkness-inspired odyssey. Each time Harry makes contact with someone who might know the singer's whereabouts, he or she is killed in a horrible, ritualistic fashion; a Satanic cult seems to be at the bottom of all the carnage. Harry solves the mystery, all right. He just didn't know that he had the answer all along -- even before Louis entered his office. Also available in the "unrated" video version, Angel Heart is best known as the film that nearly got an X-rating due to a no-holds-barred sex scene involving Mickey Rourke and Lisa Bonet. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, (more)
Raymond St. Jacques both directs and stars in The Book of Numbers. St. Jacques and Philip Thomas play depression-era African Americans, barely making out an existence as waiters in a deep-south community. Both men decide that there's more money to be had on the shadier side of the law, so they set up a successful rural numbers racket. All goes well until the operation attracts the attention of white crime boss Gilbert Greene. Though no one is particularly admirable in The Book of Numbers, the audience remains firmly on the side of the black characters, if only by default. The film was based on a novel by Robert Dean Phaar. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
Recorded and aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Company in 1966, this collection features performances by blues titans including Muddy Waters, doing "Got My Mojo Workin'" with James Cotton, and Otis Spann performing "Blues Don't Like Nobody." Other tracks include "Cornbread and Peas" by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, "Tin Pan Alley" by Sunnyland Slim, "How Long This Train Been Gone" by Mable Hillary, and "Crazy for My Baby" by Willie Dixon. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi
- Starring:
- Colin James
