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Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960)
Mean Streets
Based on African-American novelist Willard Motley's book (1958) of the same name (title from 19th century Irish Patriot Robert Emmet's famous execution speech, see below). This story takes up the plight of two of the original characters from "Knock" and illustrates the frustrations of a group of residents living on "lower class" East Madison Street in Chicago, circa late 1950's.
Nellie Romano (Shelly Winters) is a single Mother bringing up her only son Nick (James Darren), a promising young piano virtuoso. Unfortunately, they and their neighborhood friends are each burdened with the sad fate that "for the wrong turn sometime earlier" they must endure their chosen lot in life. But this tale is not a sappy string-together story of separate woes; rather (in the beginning) an optimistic hope for the future if the pieces of the puzzle fall just right.
Of course, our 'extended family' realize early that the chances of the puzzle's success are remote, as they only have their personal disasters to judge success. There is Nellie's sad story, a past the whole neighborhood knows of, save Nick and the "defrocked" Judge (Burl Ives) who has commuted his own sentence to the bottom of a bottle rather than a court of law. Also a prostitute (Jeanne Cooper), an ex-prizefighter (Bernie Hamilton), the smack addict (Fitzgerald) and a paraplegic (Walter Burke) who in their own way try their best to make each other happy.
Along the way they careen into the lower tiers of an immoral society of disreputable scum-bags, including racketeer Louie Ramponi (Montalban). What transpires next is the 'family' banding together for survival; but the question is, are they strong enough to escape a 'bottomless pit' without even a knotted rope for escape? Maybe the apple of everyone's eyes, young Nick can.
Johnny Cash! The Man, His World, His Music (1969)
Johnny Cash making it real
TV documentary of Johnny Cash in the late 60s. It shows Johnny and family and friends, hunting at home, performing in concerts, on his bus, after concerts, in the studio (at one time recording with Bob Dylan), performing at prisons,visiting old friends & relatives, and at his home, relaxing. Features June Carter Cash, Momma Maybelle Carter, The Carter Sisters, Carl Perkins, Bob Dylan, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Carl Perkins, W.S. Holland, Bob Wooten, Marshal Grant and many more.
Performances: Ring of Fire, Folsom Prison Blues, Two Feet High & Risin', Foggy Mountain Top, (The Carter Family), Blue Suede Shoes, (Carl Perkins), Remember the Alamo, Great Speckled Bird, You Are All I Need, Jackson, Orange Blossom Special, 1000 Miles Behind, (w/ Bob Dylan) Ballad of Ira Hayes, Ballad of Big Foot, Were You There, Cisco's Fillin' Station, Busted, The Walls of a Prison, (Tune of Laredo), (You Know) That Was the Last Thing On My Mind, (Carter Family), Big River, Long Black Veil, Devil To Pay. (w/Carl Perkins) A MUST SEE!
Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy (1983)
History Entertainment
"Amos 'n Andy - Anatomy Of A Controversy"
"In 1966, the NAACP won a 6 year battle and a double-edged victory against CBS television in their move to have the re-running episodes of 'Amos n' Andy' taken off the air forever.
The consensus by the black advocate organization at the time was that the series promoted a stereo-typical image of blacks that couldn't possibly incur positive 'role models' to the public at large.
In retrospect, little did the NAACP realize, that their efforts ended a landmark entertainment institution, which by it's very existence, 'smashed the doors of 'white only' television shows and may have kept black TV shows from returning to the major networks for years.
Amos 'n Andy was the first all-black cast television series. Amos 'n Andy was the first recurring episodic venue on TV which portrayed numerous characters in a myriad of roles (regular and guest starring) which for the most part were played by black actors.
It's true that the original creators of the characters Amos and Andy were white voices mimicking blacks and that they portrayed their original persona's on the radio for decades in parody as much as tribute, or so it was interpreted. But this fact just happens to be the genesis of an enduring group of unforgettable characters who brought laughter to the multitudes, from radio, to television and even a feature film starring the aforementioned white creators in black face (which, admittedly, was a disastrous misfire in any interpretation)! But when you consider the television series, it's break-through, at a time when TV itself didn't even have an identity (Amos 'n Andy debuted in 1951), this experiment was unique, bold, and had an 'edge' that may be compared to the power of Medgar Evans, Rosa Parks and other pioneers who stood their ground to advance their purpose. For the fact remains, TV's "Amos 'n Andy" once and forever opened the doors for all people of color to follow into the medium that had the most impact on America's mores at that time- television.
Redd Foxx, Bill Cosby, "Julia's" Diahann Carroll and "Mannix's" Gail Fisher right down to "everyday normality" through the 1960's into the '70's, '80's and to today forever changed the label from "black actors" into simply Actors! Had the NAACP overstepped it's power? Watch this special and you be the judge. This wonderful tribute show has clips, interviews and the complete history of the Amos and Andy Story from it's 'stumbled on' premise in the early 1920's to the lasting impact that it has burgeoned upon the industry and the memory of all who had the luck to witness it.
Oh, lest I forget, the show was also damn funny! Isn't it interesting how talent always endures; at least to the self-confidant.
Hosted by comedian George Kirby, this 1986 TV special features hilarious clips from the "Amos 'n Andy" Radio and TV series, comments by the late Redd Foxx, Marla ("The Jeffersons") Gibbs, Reverend Jesse Jackson (when he made sense) and interviews with '1986' surviving original cast members! Also- portions of a rare vintage "Amos 'n Andy" b/w cartoon and a clip from the famous 'one time only' feature film!!! In Color and B&W. Approx. 60 Minutes.
In the Line of Duty: The F.B.I. Murders (1988)
Edge of seat viewing
The true 1985/86 Dade County, Florida account of two ex-Army buddies, William Russell Matix and Michael Lee Platt and their twisted "my way or the highway" attitudes against the local FBI Bureau (Miami Division). Matix and Platt discover there is more than one way to 'play Army' and become the most aggressive bank / armored car robbers that ever packed heat since Bonnie Parker psychologically nailed Clyde Barrow's manhood to a Thompson drum magazine! The Bureau, after an exhaustive investigation, finally I-D the pair and make plans to apprehend them 'by the book'. Unfortunately the 'book' hasn't been updated since J. Edgar Hoover got fitted for his burial culottes!
What transpires is the most intense TV movie crime drama ever put to film. Some claim this is the "greatest TV movie ever made". The steady, 100% believable build-up to the final 'shock and awe' shootout will have you transfixed in the knowledge that this actually went down and there wasn't a darn thing that could have stopped it, at the time. The FBI suffered the most devastating losses in the bureaus' history with only two dead scum-bags to show for it. The case has been a textbook study guide within the bureau ever since.
Michael (Family Ties) Gross and David (Starky & Hutch) Soul as the suburban-psycho-punks go totally against type casting to deliver mesmerizing Emmy winning caliber roles (they didn't). If you consider the helicopter scene in Goodfellas brilliant this film's climax is simply a must see.
Rapture (1965)
Unsung Masterpiece
From her stark novel of loneliness, "Rapture In My Rags" by PHILLIS HASTINGS.
Patricia Gozzi, giving a 'bravura' performance that is nothing short of amazing, plays 15 year old disturbed Agnes (Fr. pronunciation: 'Anya'), a child-like waif who lives with her widowed Father in a ancient château on the jagged coastline of Brittany, France in conditions that are outwardly normal but with more psychological twists than a Freudian barber pole!
Melvyn Douglas plays an ex-judge with what he seemingly believes is the key to the ageless paradox, "justice vs crime: egalitarian or barbarous?" His long suffering writings on his revelations are hamstrung by his quilt-ridden widower hood which continually stands between either world-fame or solitary madness.
Agnes' latest trifle is to create a homemade scarecrow that gives her more succor than any human ever could. Suddenly, as a bolt from the sky, an escaped fugitive appears, (Dean Stockwell) who is befriended by the family. Guilt and innocence become more confusing than a Fallujah road-map!
Recently previewing this Tour-De-Force again I am truly amazed why this Masterpiece isn't considered one of the greatest of it's time period. Although admittedly I haven't read the book, from which it is adapted, this film must certainly be considered a brilliant interpretation of a totally original story.