Margaret Avery Movies

The world of provincial British theatre is given a gentle going over in Curtain Up. Short of funds, a small-town repertory troupe is forced to bow to the whims of wealthy Catherine (Margaret Rutherford), the aunt of the theatre's manager. When Catherine writes a perfectly dreadful play, the actors are compelled to stage the "masterpiece," with hilarious results. Matching Margaret Rutherford scowl for scowl and double-take for double-take is Robert Morley as the troupe's pompous director. The delectable Kay Kendall provides a few sublime moments as the velvet-voiced leading lady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is a remake of The Asphalt Jungle with an all black cast. In it a paroled convict plans to steal $3 million work of jewels, sell them, and use the bread to start a bank to back black businesses. He is assisted by two pals, his half-brother, and a preacher who also works as a thief. The operation is ultimately backed by a man who cheats on his wheelchair-bound wife with a sexy woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Much against the wishes of Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr), Mark (Don Mitchell) goes undercover to smash an extortion ring preying on ghetto dwellers. It's a personal crusade for Mark: one of the ring's victims is his friend Gilbert, who is forced to pay huge sums of money each week lest harm befall his mother. This episode was cowritten by frequent Ironside guest star Felton Perry, who also appears as Gilbert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This hastily assembled sequel to the blaxploitation hit Black Caesar downplays the gritty drama of that film to create a pure action tale with a comic book flavor. The story begins with badly wounded crimelord Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson) escaping an assassination attempt masterminded by corrupt District Attorney DiAngelo (Gerald Gordon) with the help of his estranged father, Papa Gibbs (Julius Harris). When DiAngelo's thugs attempt to kill him, Papa fights back and joins his son's criminal organization, a move that angers Gibb's top henchman Zach (Tony King). As Tommy and Papa build up their criminal empire, Zach secretly plots against them with DiAngelo. Zach also murders Helen (Gloria Hendry), Tommy's traitorous ex-wife, and pins in it on Papa to drive a wedge between them. Tommy gives up his New York crime operation and runs off to California. Papa takes over the operation, only to get killed by Zach during a fistfight. Angered by his father's death, Tommy returns to settle the score with Zach and DiAngelo. Hell up in Harlem delivers plenty of action set pieces and did fairly well at the box office, but lacks the consistency and the dramatic punch that made Black Caesar so memorable. As a result, it is considered to be one of Larry Cohen's lesser efforts. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide

Cult director Larry Cohen (It's Alive) directed this violent blaxploitation film. Nasty racist John McKinney cripples a black shoeshine boy, who grows up to be Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson), the Godfather of Harlem. The crimelord now has his tormentor McKinney (Art Lund) in his pocket, based on the cop's mob ties. Tommy's traitorous girlfriend Helen (Gloria Hendry) hands over the evidence, and McKinney moves in for the kill. But he may have underestimated the violent Tommy, who makes him shine his shoes in blackface while singing "Mammy." Rick Baker provided makeup effects, and James Brown did the music for this bloody oddity, followed the same year by Hell Up in Harlem. Cohen and Williamson got together 23 years later for an interesting (if unsuccessful) attempt at reviving the genre, Original Gangstas. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

In his TV dramatic debut, Ben Vereen stars as legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong. The teleplay dramatizes a single incident in 1931, when Armstrong, still struggling for recognition, was playing a small Chicago bistro. Local gangsters catch Louis' act and offer him a huge salary increase to move to their nightspot, but our hero doesn't want to get anywhere near organized crime. Alas, Louis' white manager Red Cleveland (Red Buttons) is not above taking a bribe to frame Armstrong on a phony marijuana charge, thereby forcing the trumpeter into the hands of the Mob. But Louis emerges triumphant through the simple expedient of retreating to Europe, where superstardom is at last bestowed upon him. Louis Armstrong-Chicago Style originally aired January 25, 1976, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Billy Dee Williams stars as legendary ragtime pianist/composer Scott Joplin in this 1977 biopic. Despite his brilliance, Joplin (1868-1917) was confined by the color of his skin to the dregs of show business in the late 19th century. While competing in a musical contest, Joplin introduces his most famous composition, "The Maple Leaf Rag", thereby commanding the attention of a white music publisher. Offered a ridiculously low price for the song, Joplin nevertheless agrees to sell his composition, figuring that he has a better chance at fame and fortune once he's published. Before long, Ragtime music has become a national craze, and Joplin is rich beyond his wildest dreams. But the composer realizes that his brand of music is not considered respectable, and yearns to write something of more lasting value--a concerto, perhaps, or even an opera. Alas, Joplin's talents begin failing him, and by age 49 he is on the brink of death, a victim of syphilis. Originally made for television by Motown Films, Scott Joplin was released theatrically by Universal Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "fish" in the title of this picture refers to the astrological sign Pisces. Not all of Pittsburgh is due to be saved, but the members of a third-rate NBA basketball team could sure use some salvation. When all the team members except for Moses Guthrie (Julius Erving) quit, astrologer Mona Mondieu (Stockard Channing) and streetwise Tyrone Millman (James Bond III) come to the rescue. The supporting cast includes Jonathan Winters in a dual role, as well as real-life basketball champs Meadowlark Lemon and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ernest J. Gaines' short story The Sky is Gray was adapted for television by Charles Fuller. James Bond III plays the son of black sharecropper Olivia Cole in this haunting period piece. Young Bond takes a trip to the city with his mother, where he experiences at close quarters the hatred and prejudice that his mother has tried to shield him from. Both mother and son manage to emerge from the experience with strengthened pride. The 46-minute The Sky is Gray was first telecast April 7, 1980 on PBS' American Short Stories anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

A first-rate jazz score dominates the coming-of-age drama Blueberry Hill. Jennifer Rubin plays a small town girl of the 1950s whose musician father dies suddenly. Rubin's grief is not assuaged by her mother Carrie Snodgrass, who is having enough trouble coping with the tragedy on her own. The young girl must turn to jazz singer Margaret Avery for comfort and advice. Along the way, Rubin discovers that she's inherited her father's piano-playing prowess-and has also learned a few unsettling family secrets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a psychotherapist takes a long, hard look at her life when she joins a support group for women involved with married men. She does this after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide