King Kong is a 1933 American pre-Code adventure horror monster film directed and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, with special effects by Willis H. O'Brien. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, it is the first film in the King Kong franchise. The film stars Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot. In the film, a giant ape dubbed King Kong captured from Skull Island attempts to possess a beautiful young woman.
Jennifer Jones, also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental-health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned more than five decades, she was nominated for the Oscar five times, including one win for Best Actress, and a Golden Globe Award win for Best Actress in a Drama.
The Blood of Jesus is a 1941 American independent fantasy drama race film written, directed by and starring Spencer Williams. The plot concerns a Baptist woman who, after being accidentally shot by her atheist husband, is sent to a crossroads, where Satan tries to lead her astray.
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.
One Froggy Evening is a 1955 American Technicolor animated musical short film written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones, with musical direction by Milt Franklyn. The short, partly inspired by a 1944 Cary Grant film entitled Once Upon a Time involving a dancing caterpillar in a small box, marks the debut of Michigan J. Frog: an anthropomorphic frog with a talent for singing and dancing that he demonstrates for no one except whoever possesses the box wherein he resides. This popular short contained a wide variety of musical entertainment, with songs ranging from "Hello! Ma Baby" and "I'm Just Wild About Harry", two Tin Pan Alley classics, to "Largo al Factotum", Figaro's aria from the opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia. The short was released on December 31, 1955, as part of Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.
Robert Francis Vaughn was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theatre spanned nearly six decades. He was a Primetime Emmy Award winner, a four-time Golden Globe Award, an Academy Award, and a BAFTA Award nominee.
Adam Michael Rodriguez is an American actor, screenwriter and director. He became known for his role as Eric Delko on CSI: Miami. He also portrayed Task Force Agent Luke Alvez in Criminal Minds.
Dorothy Malone was an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting role in The Big Sleep (1946). After a decade, she changed her image, particularly after her role in Written on the Wind (1956), for which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Richard Brooks was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and film producer. Nominated for eight Academy Awards in his career, he was best known for Blackboard Jungle (1955), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Elmer Gantry, In Cold Blood (1967) and Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977).
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atlanta, Georgia.
Arthur "Dooley" Wilson was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film Casablanca. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme song "As Time Goes By".
The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory is a 1987 American Western television miniseries later edited into a feature film about the 1836 Battle of the Alamo written and directed by Burt Kennedy, starring James Arness as James Bowie, Brian Keith as Davy Crockett, Alec Baldwin as William Barrett Travis, Raul Julia as Antonio López de Santa Anna, and featuring a single scene cameo by Lorne Greene as Sam Houston. Unlike most other films about the Alamo — the most prominent other exception being the 1955 film The Last Command — it focuses on Bowie as the main character rather than Crockett.
Spencer Williams was an American actor and filmmaker. He portrayed Andy on TV's The Amos 'n' Andy Show and directed films including the 1941 race film The Blood of Jesus. Williams was a pioneering African-American film producer and director.
Bernard Terry Casey was an American actor, poet, visual artist and professional American football player.
Artie A. Ortego was an American actor. He appeared in more than 240 films between 1912 and 1955. Ortego portrayed cowboys, henchmen and American Indians in a large number of westerns and performed horse riding stunts. He was also a stunt double for Ramón Novarro in The Barbarian (1933), which is set in Cairo and also stars Myrna Loy.
Juke Joint is a 1947 race film directed by and starring Spencer Williams and produced and released by Sack Amusement Enterprises. The film was considered lost until being rediscovered.
Safe in Hell is a 1931 American pre-Code melodrama directed by William A. Wellman and starring Dorothy Mackaill and Donald Cook, with featured performances by Morgan Wallace, Ralf Harolde, Nina Mae McKinney, Clarence Muse, and Noble Johnson. The screenplay by Joseph Jackson and Maude Fulton is based on a play by Houston Branch.
Alamo: The Price of Freedom is a 1988 American IMAX film depicting the Battle of the Alamo directed and written by Kieth Merrill and starring Merrill Connally, Casey Biggs, Enrique Sandino, Steve Sandor, Don Swayze, and Derek Caballero. It was distributed by Macgillivray Freeman Films. It is based on the George A. McAlister book of the same name. It is shown at San Antonio's IMAX Theater in Rivercenter.
African American cinema is loosely classified as films made by, for, or about Black Americans. Historically, African American films have been made with African-American casts and marketed to African-American audiences. The production team and director were sometimes also African American. More recently, Black films featuring multicultural casts aimed at multicultural audiences have also included American Blackness as an essential aspect of the storyline.
Sidney Easton was an African-American actor, stage performer, playwright, composer, vocalist, and pianist. He worked as a performer in minstrel shows, carnivals, burlesque, and vaudeville. Starting in the 1930s he appeared in films.
