USA,
1984, 96 min
Shown in 1985
CREDITS
- dir
-
Stan Lathan
- scr
-
Gus Edwards, Leslie Lee
- cast
-
Rosalind Cash, Paul Winfield, Alfre Woodard, Olivia Cole
- gga award
-
Television: Television Feature
-
COMMENTS
Paul Winfield in person.
OTHER
Director Stan Lathan (who often works in the Bay Area) adds to his fine body of work on black subjects (Beat Street; Booker; The Sky is Gray; the documentary The Cotton Club) with this sensitive adaptation of James Baldwin’s first novel, centering on an urban family haunted by tragic memories of the rural South. A stern, domineering preacher (Paul Winfield) and his gifted young stepson come into conflict over the boy’s preference for school over church and the “worldly” writing talent that draws the attention of white educators. As the preacher’s heartbreaking past unfolds in flashbacks, however, we come to understand the roots of his religious rigidity. Rosalind Cash lends a touch of humor with her vivid performance as his witty no-nonsense sister; the lovely Olivia Cole is his gentle wife, while Alfre Woodard brings a burning intensity to the role of a small-town siren.
—Naomi Wise
FACTOID #361
John Huston, director of classics The Maltese Falcon and The Misfits, was honored with a Festival tribute in 1968. His daughter Anjelica received the Peter J. Owens Award in 1991; The Dead, one of the father-daughter duo’s collaborations, screened at her onstage interview.
