Adam Clayton Powell (1989)

Director:

Richard Kilberg

Writers:

Richard Kilberg (writer)
Phyllis Garland (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Julian Bond	...	Narrator (voice)
John Brademus	...	Himself
Calvin O. Butts III	...	Himself (as Rev. Calvin O. Butts III)
Stokely Carmichael	...	Himself (archive footage)
Shirley Chisholm	...	Herself
John Henrik Clarke	...	Himself (as Dr. John Henrik Clarke)
John Aubrey Davis	...	Himself
Hattie Dodson	...	Herself
James Farmer	...	Himself
Lenworth Gunther	...	Herself
Charles Hamilton	...	Himself
Lyndon Johnson	...	Himself (archive footage)
J. Raymond Jones	...	Himself
Martin Luther King	...	Himself (archive footage)
Julius Lester	...	Himself
Marian Logan	...	Herself
Adam Clayton Powell Jr.	...	Himself
Hazel Scott	...	Herself (archive footage)
Wyatt Tee Walker	...	Himself (as Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker)
Isabel Washington	...	Herself
Albert W. Watson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Roger Wilkins	...	Himself

Directed by
Richard Kilberg

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Phyllis Garland		writer
Richard Kilberg		writer

Produced by
Gary R. George	....	co-producer
Richard Kilberg	....	producer
Barbara Margolis	....	co-producer
Yvonne Smith	....	producer

Cinematography by
John Hazard
John Heller
Paul Koestner
Allen Moore
Bill Sheehy
Buddy Squires

Sound Department
Paul Alvarez	....	sound
Jeffrey Kenton	....	sound
Mathew Price	....	sound mixer
Roger Sherman	....	sound
Rob Silverthorne	....	sound
Douglas Tourtelot	....	sound

Editorial Department
Victor Kanefsky	....	supervising editor
Rob Kuhns	....	editor
Barbara Margolis	....	archival research
Yvonne Smith	....	archival research

Music Department
Michael Sahl	....	music editor

Thanks
Ramsey Clark	....	special thanks
Joyce Compton	....	special thanks
Nancy Crumley	....	special thanks
Arthur Kinoy	....	special thanks
David Licorish	....	special thanks (as Rev. David Licorish)
Queen Mother Moore	....	special thanks
Warren Moorman	....	special thanks (as Dr. Warren Moorman)

Runtime:

54 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 62nd Annual Academy Awards (1990) (TV)

A look at an early and controversial civil rights leader

This documentary employs mostly talking heads and old still pictures to relay its message about the life and work of Harlem preacher and Congressman Adam Clayton Powell. As one of the first black Congressmen, Powell deserves a lot of credit for helping ignite the civil rights movement. He helped blacks get into the navy, obtain government jobs, and boycott racist businesses. However, after the rise of Martin Luther King, Powell faded, as a man who was only looking out for himself. He was no longer THE black leader so he retreated to the Bahamas to live in luxury. I admit that I was not alive during the Civil Rights Movement, but I find most of what Mr. Powell did to be only for Mr. Powell. I don't think he is or was ever a good symbol for black strive, and the movie fails because it tries to view his life through rose tinted glasses. It is not a balanced piece. The whole story is not accurately represented. In fact, out of all the people who gave insight about this man, only one was white, and everybody put a positive spin on anything he did. This was an interesting man in life, but a poor movie about it. 4/10