Brock Peters Movies
African American actor Brock Peters was a stage performer as early as 1943, long before he was old enough to attend CCNY. Peters made his film bow as Sgt. Brown in Otto Preminger's Carmen Jones (1954). Five years later, he appeared in another Preminger-directed musical film, playing the menacing Crown in Porgy and Bess (1959); coincidentally, he'd made his earliest stage appearance in that same Gershwin opera. Specializing in roles of unquestioned authority, Peters was at home with the villainous Rodriguez in The Pawnbroker (1965) as he was with the kindly Reverend Kumalko in Lost in the Stars (1974). Conversely, one of Peters' most impressive screen performances was as a victim; in 1962's To Kill a Mockingbird, he played accused rapist Tom Robinson. His more recent movie assignments have included Admiral Cartwright in two of the Star Trek theatrical features (numbers IV and VI), and a brace of roles previously associated with white actors: reclusive Mr. Pendergast in Polly, the 1988 musical adaptation of Pollyanna, and the fatuous Reverend Chasuble in the all-black 1992 remake of The Importance of Being Earnest. Peters also produced the 1973 film Five on the Black Hand Side, and has from time to time pursued a nightclub singing career. On television, Peters was briefly a regular on the daytime drama Young and the Restless, and supplied the voice of Lucius Fox on 1992's Batman: The Animated Series. The recipient of numerous industry awards and honors, Brock Peters was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1988
Erika Eleniak is the "broken angel" in this made-for-TV domestic drama. The troubled daughter of William Shatner and Susan Blakely, Erika drops out of sight after a shooting incident at her high school prom. Deducing that his daughter has become involved in drug dealing, Shatner goes on a nightmarish odyssey through the gang-controlled streets of LA. Every so often, Roxann Biggs, playing a social worker, delivers the Author's Message in spell-it-all-out terms. More praiseworthy for its intentions than its execution, Broken Angel first aired March 14, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
To Heal a Nation is the true story of Jan Scruggs (Eric Roberts), a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. In 1979, Scruggs, employed by the US Department of Labor, becomes obsessed with the dream of erecting a monument to those who died in Vietnam. In pursuit of this dream, Scruggs and his fellow fundraisers run up against bureaucratic indifference and public hostility-not to mention the reservations of certain veterans who disapprove of the monument's "radical" design. On November 13, 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is erected in Washington DC-an intensely emotional moment, vividly recreated by combining dramatizations with actual news footage. Originally presented as GE Theater TV production, To Heal a Nation debuted May 29, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is appointed foreman of the jury in an apparently "open and shut" murder trial. The accused claims that he killed the victim in self-defense, when said victim found the accused in bed with his wife. Half of the jury is for conviction, half for acquittal; as for Jessica, she is convinced that there is more to the case than meets the eye. Indeed, she believes that more than one murder is in play here--and as usual, she's right! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) concludes the story arc begun with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and continued in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), but on a wholly new, different, and upbeat note. As the movie opens, months have elapsed since the events in Star Trek III; Admiral Kirk (William Shatner), McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Scott (James Doohan), Sulu (George Takei), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), and Chekhov (Walter Koenig) are marooned in self-imposed exile on Vulcan, along with the resurrected and regenerated Spock (Leonard Nimoy, who also directed). While Spock tries to sort out the Vulcan and human halves of his resurrected psyche, the others prepare to return to Earth to face a brace of charges by the Klingon Empire and Star Fleet over events on Genesis. Taking off in their commandeered, jerry-rigged Klingon ship, they head to Earth, not knowing that a new crisis could destroy their home world -- a huge, immensely powerful alien probe has entered the galaxy and established a position near Earth, disabling every vehicle and installation in its path with its energy and communication output, and has ionized the entire atmosphere and started vaporizing the oceans, leaving the planet only hours to survive.
Spock determines that the probe is sending out signals to another intelligent terrestrial life form, humpbacked whales, which no longer exist. Using the gravity slingshot time-warp effect (established early in the original series) to travel back into Earth's 20th century, Kirk and company land in 1980s San Francisco to try and bring humpbacked whales to the 23rd century, to respond to the probe. Thus starts a surprisingly breezy, light-hearted, yet serious odyssey through the past (comparable to the best work of the original series), as the crew learns to deal with exact-change buses, angry drivers, punk-rock enthusiasts and other elements of '80s life, and Kirk tries to persuade a scientist (Catherine Hicks) of his good intentions for two whales in captivity. The screenplay, co-authored by Steve Meerson, Peter Krikes, Nicholas Meyer, and Harve Bennett (from a story by Nimoy and Bennett), is the cleverest and most sophisticated of all the Star Trek movie screenplays, recalling some of the elements of Meyer's earlier time-travel movie Time After Time and also anticipating the feel and tone of the series Star Trek: The Next Generation (which would be on the air not quite a year later). Nimoy's direction offers a combination of brisk pacing and a deep love of the characters and the actors, as well as a serious appreciation of the humorous aspects of the script, and Shatner gives his best performance of any of the movies. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Spock determines that the probe is sending out signals to another intelligent terrestrial life form, humpbacked whales, which no longer exist. Using the gravity slingshot time-warp effect (established early in the original series) to travel back into Earth's 20th century, Kirk and company land in 1980s San Francisco to try and bring humpbacked whales to the 23rd century, to respond to the probe. Thus starts a surprisingly breezy, light-hearted, yet serious odyssey through the past (comparable to the best work of the original series), as the crew learns to deal with exact-change buses, angry drivers, punk-rock enthusiasts and other elements of '80s life, and Kirk tries to persuade a scientist (Catherine Hicks) of his good intentions for two whales in captivity. The screenplay, co-authored by Steve Meerson, Peter Krikes, Nicholas Meyer, and Harve Bennett (from a story by Nimoy and Bennett), is the cleverest and most sophisticated of all the Star Trek movie screenplays, recalling some of the elements of Meyer's earlier time-travel movie Time After Time and also anticipating the feel and tone of the series Star Trek: The Next Generation (which would be on the air not quite a year later). Nimoy's direction offers a combination of brisk pacing and a deep love of the characters and the actors, as well as a serious appreciation of the humorous aspects of the script, and Shatner gives his best performance of any of the movies. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, (more)
- 1985
Magnum (Tom Selleck) and T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) are reunited with their high school classmate Goldie Morris (Lee Purcell), who is still the same zany, impulsive political activist she'd been back in the good old days when she was Magnum's tutor. Goldie wants the detective to help her locate a kidnapped dolphin, which has been outfitted with explosives. At the same time, Magnum is kept busy protecting a visiting dignitary, third-world despot President Kole (Brock Peters). Care to place bets over how quickly Magnum discerns a link between Goldie, the dolphin and the President. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Ben Vereen stars as the clever title character in this delightful episode of Shelley Duvall's made for cable series Faerie Tale Theatre. A quick-witted talking cat dons boots, a cloak, and a hat in order to carry out his plan to turn his master -- a poor peasant played by Gregory Hines -- into a nobleman. In the process, the cat and his master must defeat an angry ogre and win the heart of a beautiful princess Alfre Woodard. ~ Carrie Downes, All Movie Guide
- 1984
This excellent documentary on the American boxing champion
Joe Louis reveals little-publicized facts about the end of his extraordinary career. Using still photos and newsreels, director Peter Tatum recalls the many fights won by the "Brown Bomber" against fighters like Primo Carnera and one of his three losses, in a comeback fight against Rocky Marciano. Marciano wept when he knocked out Louis, someone he idolized (Marciano was 28 at the time of the fight, and Louis 37). Joe Louis himself won the heavyweight championship at the age of 23 and defended it a record 25 times, yet his most politically celebrated victory was the 1938 rematch fight against Max Schmelling, who represented Nazi Germany in the ring. Louis donated his winnings from two championship fights at the beginning of World War II to the Navy and Army relief funds -- yet this money was still taxed by the IRS -- a new piece of information that director Tatum and scripter Budd Schulberg argue is one indication of IRS discrimination against the black fighter. After working to recruit soldiers and raise the morale of U.S. troops with speeches, Louis ended the war period owing $1,000,000 to the IRS, and had to sign up for fights he should not have taken to pay off the debt. He also became a wrestler for awhile, out of financial necessity. He ended up as a host at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The first black heavyweight champion (68 victories, 3 defeats) to hold the title for as long as 12 years, the youngest to gain the title, Louis had earned over $4 million in his career but had little to show for it at the end of his life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Joe Louis reveals little-publicized facts about the end of his extraordinary career. Using still photos and newsreels, director Peter Tatum recalls the many fights won by the "Brown Bomber" against fighters like Primo Carnera and one of his three losses, in a comeback fight against Rocky Marciano. Marciano wept when he knocked out Louis, someone he idolized (Marciano was 28 at the time of the fight, and Louis 37). Joe Louis himself won the heavyweight championship at the age of 23 and defended it a record 25 times, yet his most politically celebrated victory was the 1938 rematch fight against Max Schmelling, who represented Nazi Germany in the ring. Louis donated his winnings from two championship fights at the beginning of World War II to the Navy and Army relief funds -- yet this money was still taxed by the IRS -- a new piece of information that director Tatum and scripter Budd Schulberg argue is one indication of IRS discrimination against the black fighter. After working to recruit soldiers and raise the morale of U.S. troops with speeches, Louis ended the war period owing $1,000,000 to the IRS, and had to sign up for fights he should not have taken to pay off the debt. He also became a wrestler for awhile, out of financial necessity. He ended up as a host at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The first black heavyweight champion (68 victories, 3 defeats) to hold the title for as long as 12 years, the youngest to gain the title, Louis had earned over $4 million in his career but had little to show for it at the end of his life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Helen Hayes plays Agatha Christie's amateur sleuth Miss Jane Marple in A Caribbean Mystery. Recuperating from an illness at a resort in the Bahamas, Miss Marple makes the acquaintance of a genial British major (Maurice Evans). When her new friend is murdered, Miss M takes on the case herself. She certainly has a carload of suspects this time, ranging from the near-bankrupt owners of the resort to a secretive hotel doctor. Originally titled Agatha Christie's The Caribbean Mystery, this TV movie first aired October 22, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Huckleberry Finn joins Tom Sawyer and Jim, a runaway slave, as they escape down the Mississippi River on a raft. ~ 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
- Starring:
- Georg Stanford Brown, Olivia de Havilland, (more)
- 1979
This made-for-TV effort stars Lindsay Wagner as Meg Laurel, an orphan who graduates Harvard Medical School and returns to treat the sick in her Appalachian hometown in the 1930s. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) is charged with the murder of rival Viper pilot Ortega (Frank Ashmore). With the full weight of evidence against him, Starbuck finds few that are willing to believe his protestations of innocence. One of those few, however, is his best friend Apollo (Richard Hatch), who doggedly sets about to prove that the authorities have arrested the wrong man--and in the process, Apollo uncovers an unusually vicious blackmail scheme. "Murder on the Rising Star" was later combined with the Battlestar Galactica episode "The Young Lords" and reissued as the two-hour "TV movie" Murder in Space. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, (more)
- 1978
An affirmative-action program at a major metropolitan hospital is threatened when a young African American resident, who owes his job to the program, is suspected of causing a patient's death through negligence (to use the old cliché, the operation was successful but the patient died). The young man's mentor, Dr. Frank Matthews (Brock Peters), takes the blame for the tragedy, arousing the suspicions of Matthews' longtime friend Quincy (Jack Klugman). Racing against time, Quincy must determine the actual cause of the patient's death--and, hopefully, save the affirmative-action program from being eliminated by a disgruntled hospital official. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
This is a 1978 version of the Mark Twain classic with Huck dodging the drudgery of an eastern boys school (which he's doomed to attend) by faking his own drowning. Unfortunately his shenanigans result in his good friend Jim getting blamed for his apparent earthly exit. So the two of them set off rafting the Mississippi in search of adventure and to get away from their troubles. They meet up with two con men who add to the intrigue. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1978
Lincoln's early days are the focus of this historical biography as the young "Mr. Lincoln" is molded by the people and events he encounters. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1977
Death Flight was originally known as SST: Death Flight when it was first telecast February 25, 1977. Though fairly expensive so far as TV movies go, the film is brought down to earth by its standard B-flick plot. On its maiden flight, America's first supersonic transport runs into deadly danger high in the sky-and may never get to land. In true Airport fashion, the plane is populated with celebrities (at least by TV standards): Barbara Anderson, Bert Convy, Peter Graves, Lorne Greene, Tina Louise, George Maharis, Burgess Meredith, Doug McClure, Martin Milner, Robert Reed, Susan Strasberg, Billy Crystal, and even Regis Philbin. The film's working title was Death of the Maiden, but this was too close to Death and the Maiden, the 90-minute pilot episode of the 1973 Jimmy Stewart TV series Hawkins. Death Flight was later syndicated as SST: Disaster in the Sky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Five Yankee children held hostage by Confederates, nurse a black Union Army soldier back to health and convince him to help them. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1976
Malcolm McDowell plays a World War I air ace, in charge of an elite squadron. Outwardly a bastion of courage, McDowell dies a little every time one of his boys is killed. To steel his nerves, he takes to drink, which has an adverse effect on his abilities. Christopher Plummer staunchly portrays McDowell's commanding officer. Aces High is a remake of Journey's End (1930), which in turn was based on a play by R.C. Sheriff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm McDowell, Christopher Plummer, (more)
Larry Peerce directed this tired disaster movie about a mad sniper loose in a football stadium. At the beginning, the sniper picks off a cyclist for practice and then takes roost in the top tower of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Sent in to stop the terror is Captain Peter Holly (Charlton Heston), who wants to get his hands on the sniper without endangering the lives of the people in the stadium. Unfortunately, there is a second group of law enforcement officers, a tactical commando group, who want to go into the stadium and rush the sniper -- regardless of the danger such an action would cause to the crowd watching the game. The sniper plans to start blasting at the two-minute warning signal of the football game. Holly has to find the sniper before the two-minute warning is given -- not merely to prevent the killings threatened by the sniper but to head off the tactical force before any other unnecessary deaths are incurred by the force's bulldog techniques. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, John Cassavetes, (more)
- 1975
When a retired cop falls off the roof of a building, his death is ruled as accidental, brought about by excessive drinking. But the cop's grandson doesn't buy this verdict, insisting that the old man was murdered. It is up to undercover detective Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) -- and a hitherto hidden witness -- to solve the mystery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Edward Grover, (more)
Director Phil Karlson harks back to the no-nonsense, no-thrills directness of his 1950s "B" pictures in Framed. Joe Don Baker, Karlson's star in Walking Tall, plays Ron, a high-rolling gambler with a streak of integrity. Framed by the film's villains--including a cartel of corrupt cops--Ron is carted off to prison. Upon his release, he embarks upon a carefully calculated campaign of revenge. The film's stylistic ties to the enormously successful Walking Tall include the screenwriting contributions of Mort Briskin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Don Baker, Conny van Dyke, (more)
- 1975
According to police records, paroled female convict Virginia Marriott (Ann Coleman) has committed suicide. Thus, when Virginia's parole officer sees the girl, very much alive, wandering near the harbor, he is amazed. But not for long: The officer is promptly murdered, bringing maverick undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) into the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Dana Elcar, (more)
- 1974
Brock Peters plays the central figure in this story, a man charged by Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) with a murder that he didn't commit. Unfortunately, once he surrenders his fingerprints to the authorities, he will be exposed as the same person who ran away from a homicide investigation 25 years earlier. Also in the cast are a pre-stardom Dabney Coleman) and onetime Bonanza regular Mitch Vogel, here playing father and son, and future Lou Grant regular Robert Walden. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Lost in the Stars was an American Film Theatre adaptation of the musical play by Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weill--which in turn was based on the Alain Paton novel Cry the Beloved Country. Brock Peters portrays a South African minister who goes to the Big City to locate his son Raymond St. Jacques, who is now a criminal in the eyes of the white rulers. The minister forges a curious, foredoomed friendship with a white farmer (Paul Rogers). Lost in the Stars has sometimes been accused of blunting the edge of Paton's angry study of the cruelties of Apartheid; fans of musical theatre will be more politely inclined to this loving filmization of the Broadway play. On its own, Cry the Beloved Country was previously filmed in 1951, with Canada Lee, Sidney Poitier and Charles Carson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
This mystery is set at a military school where a young cadet goes on a terrifying rampage after he learns that his father, a crime lord, has been killed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
