Lou Potter Movies
- 2003
This 60-minute entry in the PBS American Experience anthology chronicles the unorthodox medical partnership between Alfred Blalock, chief of surgery at Johns Hopkins, and Vivien Thomas, a black man with little more than a high school education. When Thomas applied for a janitorial post at Johns Hopkins in the early '40s, Blalock was impressed by the man's medical knowledge and took him on as a technician. Ultimately, it was Thomas who, in 1944, designed the surgical procedure to correct what was then known as "blue baby syndrome." But racial barriers being what they were at the time, his contributions went ignored, and Blalock reluctantly accepted all the credit. It was not until 1976 that the medical profession formally recognized Thomas with an honorary doctorate. Partners of the Heart combines straight newsreel footage and still pictures with dramatized recreations of the events. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau James, Chris Haley, (more)
- 2001
- Add Half Past Autumn: The Life and Art of Gordon Parks to QueueAdd Half Past Autumn: The Life and Art of Gordon Parks to top of Queue
In this video, viewers consider the work and life of Gordon Parks. Perhaps best known as a photojournalist, Parks was also a novelist, poet, musician, and filmmaker. This video offers commentary on every facet of this man's remarkable career, concentrating on the motivation and techniques he used in creating his best-known work, his portraits of American poverty and racial tension. Along with his photography, Parks is well remembered for the essays that accompanied his photos, essays that influenced the way people approached the subjects he documented. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 1999
The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords is a documentary about the largely-forgotten history of African-American newspapers. In 1827, a group of black writers and journalists in New York who were tired of the way racial issues were depicted in the press created America's first black-owned and operated newspaper, "Freedom's Journal." Over the next 150 years, dozens of similar newspapers appeared across America, giving African-Americans a voice they never had in the mainstream news media. On of the largest black newspapers, "The Chicago Defender," helped promote the "Great Migration" by advising Southern blacks to move North, where they would be treated with greater tolerance. As a result, the paper was banned in many Southern states, but it still trickled into the South thanks to black train porters, who brought copies with them on journeys from the North. Another black paper, "The Pittsburgh Courier," attracted the attention of the FBI when during World War II they launched what they called the "Double V Campaign," which argued the battle against fascism in Europe should be extended to fighting segregation in the United States, in the process incurring the wrath of J. Edgar Hoover. However, when the Civil Rights movement the black press helped to organize took hold, the mainstream press began presenting more and better coverage of issues in the black community, which led to a declining interest in the African-American papers. Featuring interviews with members of the black press and newsreel footage, The Black Press is narrated by actor Joe Morton and was shown both on PBS and at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Morton
- 1996
Documentarian St. Claire Bourne takes a close-up look at author and historian John Henrik Clarke, who, on camera for much of the film, bounces back and forth between a description of his own personal history, and his views on the history of Africa and of Pan-Africanism. His points are backed up by old newsreel footage, and by images of artwork depicting Africans and their civilization over the centuries. Actor Wesley Snipes executive produced the film and serves as a narrator. John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk was made in 1996, with Clarke suffering from glaucoma, barely able to see as he gives his sweeping account. He talks about his own upbringing, and his growing interest in Pan-Africanism, the failures of the civil rights movement and the Black Power movement, his close friendship with Malcolm X, and his critical assessment of Louis Farrakhan's Million Man March. He also gives a primer on the history of African civilization, and argues that no conquering or colonizing power ever "brought civilization" to Africa, but rather these nations destroyed what civilization they didn't understand, and brought many of Africa's ideas back to their bases in ancient Greece and Rome. He also describes how Black Africans were methodically removed from the history of the civilization of the Nile. He details how leaders like Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Ghanaian Kwame Nkrumah spread the ideas of Pan-Africanism throughout the U.S. and the world. John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk was shown at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and won the Best Documentary award at the 1997 UrbanWorld Film Festival. Clarke died of a heart attack in 1998. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 1987
This documentary biography focuses on the life and career of Madame C.J. Walker. Born three years after the Civil War to former slaves, she parlays two dollars and a home-remedy hair product into a multi-million dollar business. Walker was an orphan at age 6, a mother at 14, and widowed by the time she was 20. She rose to become the world's first self-made millionairess. After her death, she left a third of her money to her daughter A'Lelia and the rest to charity. A'Lelia became a patron of the arts and was known as "the joy goddess of Harlem." ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In Motion: Amiri Baraka is a fascinating portrait of the poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, activist, and champion of black rights Amiri Baraka. Born Leroi Jones in Newark, NJ, in 1934, the documentary explores his early days as a poet in New York's Greenwich Village and traces his life story to his literary and political activities in the 1990s. Excerpts from Baraka's plays, including The Dutchman, one of the archetypal pieces of the 1960s, are interwoven into the in-depth account of Baraka's artistic development and social activism.
~ Sally Barber, All Movie Guide
~ Sally Barber, All Movie Guide
Half Slave, Half Free is the reissue title for African-American director Gordon Parks' TV movie Solomon Northup's Odyssey. Based on the autobiography Twelve Years a Slave, the film relates the story of Solomon Northup, a black freedman who, in 1841, was kidnapped in Washington D.C. and sold into slavery. Avery Brooks stars as Northup, having spent a dozen years' servitude in Louisiana before managing his escape. Northup's own written words bespeak a rebellious spirit not far removed from the firebrand freedom fighters of the '60s. Curiously, director Parks downplays this in favor of sentimentality. Under its original title, Half Slave, Half Free was originally telecast December 10, 1984, on PBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Produced by Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner, Grambling's White Tiger stars Jenner as real-life quarterback Jim Gregory. The film recounts Gregory's efforts to become the first white player on Grambling College's all-black football team. Harry Belafonte made his TV-movie debut as legendary Grambling coach Eddie Robinson. The script was adapted from My Little Brother is Coming Tomorrow, a book by Bruce Behrenberg. Filmed on location in Louisiana, Grambling's White Tiger originally aired October 4, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
