The Harlem Globetrotters / Bright Road
This program is presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Part of the UCLA Film & Television Archive screening series Dorothy Dandridge. Learn more at cinema.ucla.edu.
The Harlem Globetrotters (1951)
A promising chemistry student (played by professional basketball player Billy Brown) drops out of college to play on the Harlem Globetrotters. After an injury received while secretly marrying his girlfriend (Dorothy Dandridge) plus an arrogant attitude lose him a place on the Globetrotters, he takes a teaching job and considers playing for another team. His wife reminds him, though, how important the Globetrotters are to Black sports fans. This fun and uplifting sports film came out at a fascinating time between the “race movies” (made for Black audiences) of the 1940s and the “problem pictures” (issue films about race) of the 1950s.
Directors: Phil Brown, Will Jason. Screenwriter: Alfred Palca. With: Harlem Globetrotters, Thomas Gomez, Dorothy Dandridge.
Bright Road (1953)
A new fourth-grade teacher at an all-Black school tries to understand the internal and external struggles of a failing young student who shows promise. Harry Belafonte plays the school principal in the first of three collaborations between himself and Dandridge. The film was radical for its subtlety and internal focus, with Dandridge giving one of her most sensitive and nuanced performances.
Director: Gerald Mayer. Screenwriter: Emmet Lavery. With: Dorothy Dandridge, Philip Hepburn, Harry Belafonte.
The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a division of UCLA Library, and presents its public programs in the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer, among other venues. For more information about the Archive, visit cinema.ucla.edu.
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