The Marva Collins Story (TV 1981)

In this touching story, a dedicated African-American teacher in an inner-city school in the midwestern United States facing tough odds helps ghetto children to succeed. Meanwhile, she faces... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Levin

Writer:

Clifford Campion

Stars:

Cicely Tyson, Morgan Freeman, Roderick Wimberly

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cicely Tyson	...	Marva Collins
Morgan Freeman	...	Clarence Collins
Roderick Wimberly	...	Martin Luther Jones
Mashaune Hardy	...	Cindy Collins
Brett Bouldin	...	Patrick Collins
Samuel Muhammad Jr.	...	Eric Collins
Dianne Kirksey	...	Cynthia Rawls
Steven Williams	...	McCloud
Frankie Hill	...	Ida Banbower
Charlie Brown	...	Boland
Marsha Warfield	...	Lela Boland
Ce Ce Thompson	...	Louise Jones
Jimmie F. Skaggs	...	Chester Boland
Mike Genovese	...	Mardesich
Kelly Crosby	...	Tina Boland

Storyline

In this touching story, a dedicated African-American teacher in an inner-city school in the midwestern United States facing tough odds helps ghetto children to succeed. Meanwhile, she faces an adversarial colleague and a principal who disapproves of her teaching methods. To top it off, some naughty youth regularly mess up the classroom after school to tick the teacher off. We watch as Tyson's character, Marva Collins, manages it all and keeps up both a personal life and her looks.

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Plot Keywords:

teacher | african american | chicago illinois | character name in title

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Marva Collins Story (#31.1)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions, NRW Features, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)

User Reviews

I Want the Movie and Love It

I love the movie so much. Mrs. Tyeson play a great role.My favorite part when the girl told Marva I hate you then Marva said I love you. Also how she overcome the teachers and Principal who dislike her and the methods.Marva is my hero.She took the few students she have and made them stars. All teachers, school board members,and people who work with children need to watch this movie. The school system will be whole lot better if they use Marva Collins methods.This movie inspired me to use her teaching method to work with all children especially who has been written off in school system.The college of education needs to teach Marva Collins methods to new teachers.