Mykelti Williamson Movies

Frank Military and Susan Rhinehart scripted this western, a look back at the post-Civil War Black cavalry troops known as the Buffalo Soldiers, the fierce fighting unit previously covered in a PBS four-parter (1970) and an NBC pilot (1979). In the New Mexico Territory, ex-slave Sgt. Wyatt (Danny Glover) and the Buffalo soldiers arrest Captain Draper (Robert Knott) and other Texas Rangers, but politics mean the Rangers are quietly freed later. Back at Fort Craig, Wyatt reports to anti-black General Pike (Tom Bower) and Col. Grierson (Bob Gunton), a white responsible for assembling and supporting the black regiment. A search is underway for Indian chief Victorio (Harrison Lowe). Indian prophet Nana (Chesley Wilson) is tortured in an effort to get him to reveal Victorio's whereabouts. Determining that Victorio is at Rattlesnake Springs, the Buffalo Soldiers head in that direction for a confrontation. Filmed in the desert of Arizona's Cochise County, Buffalo Soldiers premiered December 7, 1997 on TNT. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This original HBO production documents, in dramatic form, the rivalry between Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson to see who would be the first African-American to play Major League Baseball. Paige (played by Delroy Lindo) and Gibson (Mykelti Williamson) are more aggressive about seizing the opportunity that arose in the mid-'40s with the death of baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who had publicly avowed that the color line in baseball would never be broken. Branch Rickey (Edward Herrmann), the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is the first to seize that opportunity, sending his scouts to check out all the stars of the Negro Leagues. He narrows his choice down to Robinson, in part because of Paige's age (he was around 40) and Gibson's health (he behaved erratically in public, though it rarely affected his game). Rickey was looking for a player with the talent to compete in the big leagues and the character not to allow the inevitable harassment that would come his way to get to him. Robinson was signed in October 1945 and made his big-league debut in April 1947. Paige made it to the big leagues in 1948; Gibson died at the age of 36 in 1947 of a brain tumor. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

Two unlikely friends -- a boy and a killer whale -- are reunited under potentially dangerous circumstances in this sequel to the successful family adventure Free Willy. Jesse (Jason James Richter) has finally found stability and contentment with his foster parents Glen and Annie Greenwood (Michael Madsen and Jayne Atkinson), but he is confronted with a new emotional challenge when his birth mother (a drug addict who abandoned him when he was young) dies, and his troubled half brother Elvis (Francis Capra) comes to live with the Greenwoods. Jesse also deals with new feelings when he develops a serious crush on Nadine (Mary Kate Schellhardt), the goddaughter of Randolph (August Schellenberg), an animal trainer at the theme park where Jesse helps out. But a much bigger problem is on the horizon when the safety of Willy, the killer whale he befriended and helped return to the wild, is threatened. An oil spill spoils the ocean environment where Willy and his family now live, and an unscrupulous owner of an oceanarium, Wilcox (M. Emmet Walsh), attempts to capture Willie and put him back into captivity as a performing attraction. While Free Willy featured Keiko, a trained whale who (ironically) was living in captivity when the film was shot, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home instead utilized mechanical models and digital animation to bring "Willy" to life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young woman at a crossroads in her life finds herself receiving plenty of advice from her older and wiser counterparts in this drama. Finn Dodd (Winona Ryder) is a graduate student trying to finish up her doctoral thesis on women's folk art while deciding if she should marry her fiancé Sam (Dermot Mulroney); she's not sure if she's ready to settle down, and suspects that Sam is unfaithful to her. Needing time to sort things out, Finn chooses to spend the summer with her grandmother Hy (Ellen Burstyn) and great aunt Gladys Jo (Anne Bancroft). Hy and Gladys Jo are avid quilters, and with a group of their friends, they work on a special quilt for Finn's wedding; as the women work together, they share stories of their lives, and Finn finds herself learning as much from hearing them talk as she does from her schoolwork. Finn also receives a visit from her free-spirited mom Sally (Kate Capshaw) and finds herself infatuated with a good looking young man who lives nearby. Maya Angelou plays one of the quilters, as do Kate Nelligan, Jean Simmons, and Alfre Woodard. How to Make an American Quilt was the directorial debut of Jocelyn Moorhouse, and was based on a novel by Whitney Otto that itself began as a doctoral thesis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The touching story of a boy and his killer whale made this family drama a surprise box office hit. Jesse (Jason James Richter) is a kid without parents who has bounced from one foster home to another and is living on the streets. One night, he's caught spraying graffiti with his friend Perry (Michael Bacall) in a theme park. Jesse and Perry are caught red handed by Dwight (Mykel T. Williamson), a policeman who thinks that Jesse needs a more stable and disciplined environment. Dwight arranges for Jesse to stay with a new foster family, Glen and Annie Greenwood (Michael Madsen and Jayne Atkinson), with whom Jesse has an initially stormy relationship. Part of Jesse's punishment involves cleaning up the damage he caused at the park, where the new attraction is Willy, a killer whale who is being trained to do tricks. However, Willy was traumatized when he was stolen from his family by mercenary fisherman and does not respond well to the genuine concern of his trainers, Rae (Lori Petty) and Randolph (August Schellenberg). Jesse and Willy, both stranded without families in a place where they don't fit in, develop a close emotional bond, and with Jesse's help, Willy begins to display aptitude as a performer. Thanks to his friendship with Willy, Jesse develops a new sense of responsibility and a healthier relationship with the Greenwoods. However, Dial (Michael Ironside), the owner of the park, doesn't much care for animals and isn't happy with the slower-than-expected progress of Willy's training; having insured the whale for $1 million dollars, he figures that Willy is worth more dead than alive, and Jesse, Rae, and Randolph have to rescue their aquatic friend and return him to the ocean when Dial seems ready to live up to his threats. Free Willy, which featured a star performance by a killer whale named Keiko (who is doubled in some scenes by animatronic models) included the theme song "Will You Be There," a top-ten hit for Michael Jackson, and spawned two sequels. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Miracle Mile starts conventionally enough, with bashful musician Anthony Edwards going ga-ga over waitress Mare Winningham. After a pleasant if somewhat quirky day together, Edwards and Winningham plan a tete-a-tete at the all-night restaurant where the girl works. While preparing to call her on a pay phone, Edwards intercepts a frantic call from a soldier stationed at a Midwestern missile silo. The message: nuclear warheads have been launched, and it's only 70 minutes to Armageddon! This unsettling news casts severe doubts over the future of Edwards' and Winningham's relationship. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not really a TV movie, Monster Manor was a two-hour installment of the brief 1988 revival of the old Police Story anthology series. The titular manor is an allegedly haunted mansion in the center of a large city. It is inhabited by a group of police officers who use the mansion as a "rave" site, where they can drink, smoke and party in their off-hours. Since the presence of these revelling cops is an open secret to the Underworld, a team of vice squad officers decide that Monster Manor would be an excellent "cover". Posing as another bunch of fun-loving cops, the vice operatives use the Manor as their headquarters while attempting to break up a thriving call-girl ring. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this film, an aspiring young actor moves to Los Angeles from his New York home, hoping to make it big in show business. Idolizing actor Robert De Niro, the young man must learn to cope with the rejection and despair he experiences in his career struggle. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

When NBC head honcho Brandon Tartikoff demanded a flashy weekly series with "MTV Cops," executive producer Michael Mann responded with Miami Vice. The stars were Don Johnson as Sonny Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, members of Miami's Organized Crime Bureau. In the Miami Vice two-hour pilot, telecast September 16, 1984, Florida native Crockett and New York transplant Tubbs team for the first time; their mutual target is a nasty drug lord who has killed two people who were near and dear to the detectives. Gregory Sierra (replaced in the series by Edward James Olmos) costars as Crockett and Tubbs' superior. A triumph of style over substance, Miami Vice was for many years the most popular action series on network TV; it ran until July of 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alice returned from a two-month hiatus (and back to its original Sunday-night timeslot) with this episode, originally scheduled for November 10, 1982. Mel's mom Carrie (Martha Raye) is back, and she's wallowing in the depths of a depression. Having divested herself of her new hubby in a quickie divorce, Carrie is in dire need of male companionship--and the pickings are mighty lean in Phoenix. Look for a very young Mykelti Williamson in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An innocent man must fight to survive when he's wrongfully imprisoned in this gritty urban drama. Martel Gordone (Leon Isaac Kennedy), called Too Sweet by his friends because he loves candy, is hitchhiking through the California desert when he's picked up by Linda (Hazel Spears), a prostitute. When Too Sweet and Linda stop at a roadside diner, they're harassed by a pack of bikers; a fist-fight breaks out, and one of the bikers winds up dead. Too Sweet is charged with murder, and convicted despite his innocence; he's shipped off to a run-down prison where Jesse Amos (Donovan Womack), one of the prisoners, lords it over the other inmates. Too Sweet ends up sharing a cell with Half Dead (Badja Djola), a violent lunatic who is one of Jesse's musclemen. Too Sweet refuses to buckle under to the intimidation dished out by Half Dead and his cronies, even after seeing how they've "turned out" Eugene (Thommy Pollard), another new fish who has become Jesse's sexual slave. Forced to defend himself even though he hates violence, Too Sweet displays a genuine talent for fighting, and is persuaded to take part in the prison boxing tournament, where he could win a night with a woman or even his freedom. However, Too Sweet sees the deck may be stacked against him when he finds out his opponent is the monstrous Half Dead. Shot when writer and director Jamaa Fanaka was still a student at UCLA, Penitentiary was the first starring vehicle for former disc jockey and future evangelist Leon Isaac Kennedy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

One of the most popular kung fu films ever, and perhaps the peak of the famed Bruce Lee's career, Enter the Dragon achieved success by presenting a series of superbly staged fighting sequences with a minimum of distractions. The story finds Lee as a martial-arts expert determined to help capture the narcotics dealer whose gang was responsible for his sister's death. This evil villain operates from a fortified island manned by a team of crack martial artists, who also host a kung fu competition. Lee uses his skills to enter the contest and then tries to chop, kick, and otherwise fight his way into the dealer's headquarter. The story is, of course, merely an excuse for showdown after showdown, featuring masterly fighting by Lee in a wide variety of martial arts styles. Essential viewing for martial arts fans, the film was also embraced by a larger audience, thanks to a fast pace and higher-than-usual production values. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide