Rafer Johnson

This documentary pays tribute to the great African-American Olympians who have brought honor to themselves, their race, and their country throughout the years. Several notable athletes of the 20th century are profiled here, including Carl Lewis, Cassius Clay, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Jesse Owens, whose victory in 1932 humiliated the Nazi Olympic hosts in Munich. ~ Karla Baker, All Movie Guide

Timothy Dalton is better in Licence to Kill than in his first James Bond endeavor (The Living Daylights), but he still seems uncomfortable on the right side of the law. This time around, Bond is working on his own rather than on behalf of the British Secret Service. His American friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison), an agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration, has been seriously injured by drug dealer Robert Davi, and 007 is out for blood. There is precious little time for the usual Bondian quippery and directorial campiness, resulting in a marked increase in bloodletting (including the "implosion" of secondary villain Anthony Zerbe). A climactic highway chase involving an oil tanker and a helicopter is stretched slightly beyond its value, but is still one of the best action setpieces in any Bond film. Licence to Kill was a refreshingly serious change of pace for the series, albeit one that tended to lessen Bond's box-office value. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The phenomenal success of the 1977 ABC miniseries Roots all but demanded a sequel to writer Alex Haley's epic story of his African and African-American forebears. Debuting February 18, 1979, Roots: The Next Generations picked up where its predecessor left off, with Haley's slave ancestors winning their freedom in the aftermath of the Civil War. Even so, life for black Americans was wrought with hardship and oppression thanks to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, the staunch refusal of the white power structure to pass anti-lynching laws, and the formation of the dreaded Jim Crow laws which legalized racial segregation in the South (and much of the North). Covering the period from 1882 to the mid-1970s, the miniseries first focuses on blacksmith Tom Harvey (Georg Stanford Brown), great-grandson of Kunta Kinte (the protagonist of the original Roots), and his family. Meanwhile, reacting to the marriage of his son to a black woman, anal-retentive Southern colonel Warner (Henry Fonda) begins setting the legal wheels in motion to deny blacks like Tom the right to vote and to hold "white" jobs. A few decades later, Tom's son-in-law encourages his fellow blacks to stand firm against the KKK's reign of terror. His labors on behalf of his race are rewarded when his daughter Bertha (Irene Cara) becomes the first descendant of Kunta Kinte to receive a college education. It is Bertha Palmer who weds the equally ambitious Simon Haley (Dorian Harewood), who goes on to serve in WWI and to organize farmers and sharecroppers during the Depression. Simon's son Alex (played at various ages by Kristoff St. John, Damon Evans, and finally James Earl Jones) is just as determined to succeed in a white man's world as his father, and to that end becomes a professional writer after his own service stint in the Coast Guard during WWII. At the height of his professional success (largely due to his having ghost-written the autobiography of Muslim activist Malcolm X), Alex Haley pays a visit to his boyhood hometown -- where, almost by accident, he receives the first clue to his heritage, a clue that will lead him on an odyssey of self-discovery, arriving full circle at Kunta Kinte's birthplace in Africa. Although the miniseries' "money scene" was Haley's nervous interview with American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell (Marlon Brando in a superb cameo turn), the climactic episode, in which Haley tearfully embraces the living African descendants of Kunta Kinte, is one of the most unforgettable moments in the history of network television. Running 12 episodes and 14 hours, Roots: The Next Generations concluded on February 25, 1979, playing to huge ratings all along the way and ultimately garnering several Emmy nominations (and one win). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Football fans should enjoy this low-budget biker movie starring several of the 1970s' greatest gridiron stars. "Mean" Joe Greene, Carl Eller, Gene Washington, Willie Lanier, and Mercury Morris are among the familiar faces as a gang of Vietnam veterans fights white racists in a Southern town to avenge their dead friend. Rosalind Miles, Mikel Angel, and the Raiders' Ben Davidson (an avid biker in real life) co-star. It's not any better than most of director Matt Cimber's films, but the nostalgia factor compensates for its clumsier moments. Cimber, whose real name is Matteo Ottaviano, went on to direct Pia Zadora in Butterfly. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

A US Army Colonel (Cesar Romero) and his wife (Barbara Hale) relate their stories about the all black 10th cavalry unit formed after the Civil War. Eli (Robert Do'Qui) is one the new recruits being trained by two veteran troopers (Rafer Johnson & Isaac Fields). Julie (Janee Michelle) is the young beauty who tries to tame Eli's wild romantic heart. Eli befriends a local Indian chief (Robert Dix), but is unable to save him and the tribe from military cruelties. Lincoln Kilpatrick and Isabel Sandford also appear in this period film that is the directorial debut for John Cardos. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The fate of a Middle Eastern nation hangs in the balance as terrorist Ismet El Kabir (Michael Tolan) is scheduled to be pardoned from prison. The IMF must prevent Kabir's release, thereby forcing him into an escape attempt that will cost him his life. The plan involves the infiltration of Kabir's terrorist organization--and yet another of the IMF's patented "prison break-ins". Written by Laurence Heath, "Terror" made its network broadcast debut on February 15, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A joint U.S.-Swiss production in the waning days of the 35-year-old Tarzan series, this film stars Mike Henry in the second of his three film appearances as the jungle king. The film is set in South America, where one of Tarzan's friends is murdered at Tarzan's favorite zoo. The culprits are the Leopard Men, a group of tribal humans dressed and behaving like jungle animals. They are headed by Chief Barcuna (Rafer Johnson). Tarzan recruits Captain Sam Bishop (Jan Murray) and some animal friends to help defeat Barcuna, who is planning on leading a revolt of his Leopard Men against peaceful tribal leaders. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

College football star Skip Baxter (Michael Parks) is in danger of expulsion because of his heavy drinking. Hoping to cure Skip of his booze habit, his prankish roommate, Doc Carroll (Joby Baker), cooks up an elaborate hoax. "Borrowing" a female cadaver from a medical classroom, Doc plants the corpse next to the sleeping Skip -- and when Skip awakens with his usual hangover, he is told that he has murdered a local waitress named Ruby (Jennifer West). The trick backfires when a panicky Skip sets about to dispose of the body, an act which not only ruins his life, but also claims another life in the process. This episode was originally slated to air on November 29, 1963, but was pre-empted for a special about the JFK assassination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Something of a variant on the American western where colonialists face off with Native Americans, The Fiercest Heart by George Sherman is set in 1837 and focuses on a group of Boers (Dutch colonialists in South Africa) and their enemies, the Zulus. Similar to the former portrayals of Native Americans, the Zulus are the bad guys. Bates (Stuart Whitman) has escaped from a British prison and joins a group of Boers migrating to farming lands further north. Francina (Juliet Prowse) is the most sought-after woman in the group, and Bates cannot help but notice her. As the band of farmers continue in their journey, the ragged, rugged, untamed Bates starts to learn how to behave and leads his newfound friends in their defensive battles against the aggressive Zulus. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this high-seas adventure set in the 1600s, a British sea captain must go undercover, join a pirate band, and capture the notorious Captain Henry Morgan. But Morgan is on to the ruse and is well prepared when the sea captain makes his move. As the two engage in mortal combat, they are knocked unconscious and dragged to the governor of Tortuga who prepares to hang them both as pirates. Fortunately, a stowaway aboard the pirate vessel steps forward and reveals the hero's true identity and saves him. Morgan is not so lucky. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide