Johnnie Mae Gibson: FBI (1986) (TV)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Bill Duke

Writer:

James G. Hirsch (writer)

Release Date:

21 October 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Acronym In Title | FBI | Character Name In Title

Cast

Howard E. Rollins Jr.	...	T.C. Russell (as Howard Rollins)
Richard Lawson	...	Adam Prentice
William Allen Young	...	Marvin Gibson
John Lehne	...	Billy Whelan
Marta DuBois	...	Ginny Talbot
Lynn Whitfield	...	Johnnie Mae Gibson
Hugh Gillin	...	Phil Barnes
Henry G. Sanders	...	Al Melden
Veronica Redd	...	Momma Melden
Eb Lottimer	...	Neal Visser
Brian Degan Scott	...	Randy Abel
Johnny Weissmuller Jr.	...	Agent Ed King
Robert Ford	...	Ed Brukoff
Abigail Van Alyn	...	Paulette Branzlik
Mia Simon	...	Tiffany Gibson

Also Known As:

Agent Gibson: Undercover FBI (USA) (working title)
Johnnie Gibson F.B.I.
The Johnnie Gibson Story (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Berkeley, California, USA

Company:

Foolscap Productions

Lynn Whitfield before her dynamic performance as Josephine Baker

Johnnie Mae Gibson: F.B.I., is a 1986 CBS television fact based movie that starred accomplished, diversified film, stage and television actress Lynn Whitfield. Whitfield plays the title role of Johnnie Mae Gibson, who become the first African American female F.B.I. agent. In this film we see her trials, tribulations, and eventual triumphs. This movie was my introduction into the extraordinary talents of Ms. Whitfield, who later starred in such classics as Josephine Baker and Eve's Bayou.

Johnnie Mae Gibson: F.B.I. also starred Howard Rollins Jr., William Allen Young. They both had appeared in the blockbuster movie A Soldier's Story a couple years before. This movie also starred Richard Lawson who would later appear in Dynasty and All My Children. When t.v. movies of the week dominated television in the 70's and 80's, networks like CBS would seek out character film actors and cast them in routine movies of the week.

I feel this was a balancing process by the networks, accomplished actors + routine stories= good melodramas. I give this movie ***1/2, above average. It is on video. Watch it.