Author Archive: Retro

Rise and fall of a railroad poerter whose exploits take him from a life sentence on a chain gang to self-declared Emperor of Haiti.

In this made-for-television drama, a doctor feverishly works to save a city from a potentially devastating epidemic.

Biography of Jackie Robinson, first black man to play major league baseball. he U.C.L.A. athlete who became the “Most Valuable Player” in the National League. Good Documentary.

All-black burlesque feature starting the great Pigmeat Markham and a bevy of stripper, dancers and music from the great old days of Harlem.

The man called Obam (Sidney Poitier) struggles with the increasingly hostile forces facing each other in a colonial African country. The African natives want their land and lives back from the British colonists. Obam’s motives are questioned by his own people, in particular his brother Kanda (Clifton Macklin). With the help of his wife Renee (Eartha Kitt) and missionary Bruce Craig (John McIntire), will he be able to get things under control before the country self-destructs?

Topnotch variety show with a superior all-star cast. Dir. Lewis D. Collins.

Fortune hunter Patrick O’Brien has left his daughter Kathy and guide Umbopa to trek across the desert in hopes of finding the fabled diamond mines of Solomon. This first version of H. Rider Haggard’s 1884 novel has a wonderful cast (Paul Robeson, Cedric Hardwicke, Anna Lee, Roland Young and John Loder) and excellent production values.

A profile of Paul Robeson (1898-1976), the controversial actor, singer, athlete and author who was as well-known for his politics as he was for his performances.

Lonely ape-man kidnaps a woman in an attempt to find love. Dir. G.M. Anderson and Jesse J. Robbins.