Black in Period Films

Actress Yaani King will be playing Kessie in Lifetime’s upcoming TV movie Deliverance Creek. Yaani is listed sixth on the film’s IMDb page. I feel like this may turn out to be another Hannah's Law .  Which means that while I am excited I am extremely reserved in my expectations. I want Kessiah to shine ... but doubt she will.  Oh yeah and Nicolas Spark is the writer. 

August King was an interesting film. There were some things that gave me pause. The main thing being all of the animal killings during the two character's journey. I'm not sure if the writer included these deaths to symbolize the importance of human life over animal life or just that sacrifices must be made for the greater good. Annalees (Thandie Newton) is a runaway slave looking for help. He was the only slave owner in the area.  The main character is a white man named August King. He helps a runaway slave escape to the North. Watching this film it is very clear that the journey this film takes us on is for August King's benefit not Annalees'. Her characterization is low but I will include everything I could pick up about Annalees. She offers August a silver watch for his help.  Other name less Black folks in the film. All belonged to th...

The film is currently in post-production and stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Sharon Leal as his wife.  William Sadler is also a part of the cast.  A quick summary: Set in 1850, the story centers on a man named Samuel (Gooding), who attempts to free his family from the brutality of institutionalized slavery, intent on escaping from the tobacco plantation they have been forced to call their home for two generations. Heading north towards Canada, via  the  Underground Railroad , they are tracked by a group of ruthless hired slave hunters, who constantly threaten Samuel and his family's survival.   Peter Cousens  was listed as director. The script is written by  Tim Chey . 

Band of Angels (1957) In the roles of Amanda Starr and Rau-Ru we have Yvonne De Carlo and Sidney Poitier respectivaly. This film also features the famous Clark Gable.  BEWARE : Spoilers Lay Below!!  Amanda Starr is suppose to be a bi-racial woman. The actress that portrays her is however a white woman. This was a very common thing during the time the film was made. It was also done in Pinky and Imitation of Life. I have decided to write about the character even though she isn't portrayed by a person of color, the character is still a character of color.  Amanda Starr lives in antebellum Kentucky as a free woman. She returns home from a Cincinnati finighing school after her slave owning father has died. During the funeral Amanda is told she herself is a slave, as her mother was actually one of her father's slaves. She is to be sold to pay her father's debt.  This is terrible on so ma...

I haven't really done any updates on this film (for my own reasons) so here you go a photo update. PLOT:  With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner. This is a film directed and written by Quentin Tarantino. The cast includes Jaime Foxx as the title character Django. Kerry Washington plays his wife Broomhilda. Samuel L Jackson also stars in this film as a character named Stephen.  Almost every review I've seen of this film has been positive. Two actors have already been nominated for Golden Globes for their work.