Bill Cain Movies
- 2006
A big-city reporter returns to his quiet hometown in hopes of penning the story that will win him a Pulitzer, only to discover that his old nemesis, a McCarthyite thug, rules the town with an iron fist. The year is 1952: paranoia is sweeping the nation, and Roland Lu is heading back to Millville. The last time Roland came home someone was murdered, and it's beginning to look like history may repeat itself. Roland's family and friends live in constant fear for their lives, and it's all due to one man: Frank Dugan. Under Dugan's rule, the Chinese population of Millville is experiencing the same kind of persecution that the Jewish population of Germany experienced in the 1930s. Roland is a self-loathing Asian, and his girlfriend, Liz, fears that he will soon sell out in order to claim his literary award and finally be accepted into white society. But Roland knows that in order to get back on top, he'll have to take down Dugan first. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Moon
Based on a novel by William H. Armstrong, the made-for-TV Sounder was a remake of director Gordon Parks' 1972 theatrical feature of the same name. This is the story of 11-year-old black youngster David Daniel Lee Robertson III, known throughout the film as "Boy." When his sharecropper father is arrested and sentenced to five years at hard labor after stealing food to feed his family, Boy embarks upon a journey to find out where his father has being imprisoned. Accompanied by his dog Sounder, Boy also makes the arduous crossover from boyhood to manhood with the help (and sometimes hindrance) of various people along the road. Kevin Hooks, who played Boy in the original film, directed the remake, while Paul Winfield, the original Father, is here cast as Teacher. Sounder first aired January 19, 2003, as a component of the ABC anthology The Wonderful World of Disney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carl Lumbly, Suzzanne Douglas, (more)
- 2003
Flight 323 has crashed in the Colorado Rockies, killing everyone on board. Was the disaster the result of carelessness, incompetence, malfunctioning equipment--or terrorism? To answer these question, a team of experts from the National Transportation Safety Board, headed by Al Cummings (Mandy Patinkin) painstakingly recreate the events leading up to the tragedy, and also trace the movements of the various passengers in the last hours on earth. As the impatient media and the victims' grieving families demand answers immediately, Cummings and company do their best to remain calm and detached while using a flight simulator and other such devices to try out innumerable scenarios, in the manner of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (and before that, Rashomon). A compelling example of "procedural" drama, with a logical if not altogether satisfying outcome, the made-for-TV NTSB: The Crash of Flight 323 was originally telecast March 22, 2004, by ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
The lingering illness and death of his beloved wife has left young Appalachian farmer Grins Jenkins (Scott Bakula) a melancholy shell of his ebullient former self. As Christmas approaches, Jenkins can find no discernable reason for going on with his own life. But Grins' four spunky and resourceful children not about to let their father wither and die of a broken heartt. Based on a novel by Collin Wilcox Patton and Gary Carden, and filmed on location in Alberta, Papa's Angel was broadcast by CBS on December 3 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Sarny (Allison Jones) is born into slavery and separated from her mother at an early age. She's raised by Dealey (Lorraine Toussaint), who promises early on that "nuthin' too bad" will happen to her young charge. Clel Waller (Beau Bridges), who owns the plantation, is a cruel man, who sees the slaves only in terms of their monetary value. Life on the plantation changes when Clel buys Nightjohn (Carl Lumbly), a hulk of a man, with scars across his back from the whip. Branded as a troublemaker, Nightjohn has trouble earning the trust of the other slaves. But one night when their work is done, he offers to make a trade with Sarny to get some tobacco. In exchange, he begins to teach her the alphabet. Sarny is fascinated and takes to learning with passion, but when the other slaves find out, they are afraid. Old Man (Bill Cobbs) shows Nightjohn how he's been punished for his own literacy; his thumb and forefinger have been chopped off. But Nightjohn explains that he gave up a chance to escape to the North so that he could teach. "Words are freedom, Old Man," he explains. "That's all slavery is: words." Sarny reads the love letters that she delivers from Clel's wife (Kathleen York) to an educated doctor who lives nearby, and she reads Clel's ledger, in which he lists the monetary value of all the slaves. She soon learns that knowledge, for all its dangers, brings a certain power. Nightjohn was directed by venerated independent filmmaker Charles Burnett (To Sleep With Anger) for the Disney Channel. It's based on the young adult novel by Gary Paulsen. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carl Lumbly, Beau Bridges, (more)
