4 Little Girls (1997)

A documentary of the notorious racial terrorist bombing of an African American church during the Civil Rights Movement.

Director:

Spike Lee

Stars:

Maxine McNair, Chris McNair, Fred Lee Shuttlesworth

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maxine McNair	...	Herself - Mother of Denise McNair
Chris McNair	...	Himself - Father of Denise McNair
Helen Pegues	...	Herself - Denise's Aunt
Queen Nunn	...	Herself - Neighbor of Denise McNair
Arthur Hanes Jr.	...	Himself - Defense Attorney for Bob Chambliss
Howell Raines	...	Himself - New York Times Editor
Harold McNair	...	Himself - Denise's Uncle
Carole C. Smitherman	...	Herself - Denise's Childhood Friend (as Carole C. Smitherman Esq.)
Wamo Reed Robertson	...	Herself - Carole's Aunt
Dianne Braddock	...	Herself - Carole's Sister
Carolyn Lee Brown	...	Herself - Carole's Childhood Friend
Alpha Robertson	...	Herself - Mother of Carole Robertson
Wyatt Tee Walker	...	Himself - Former Executive Director of SCLC
Fred Lee Shuttlesworth	...	Himself - Pres. of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights
Florence Terrell	...	Herself - School Teacher

Storyline

This film recounts the people and events leading up to the one of the most despicable hate-crimes during the height of the civil-rights movement, the bombing of the 16th Street Church in Birmingham, Alabama. In that attack, four little African-American girls lost their lives and a nation was simultaneously revolted, angered and galvanized to push the fight for equality and justice on.

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Plot Keywords:

civil rights | church | civil rights movement | bombing | birmingham alabama | 

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Taglines:

Birmingham, 1963. A single explosion rocked a community and awakened a sleeping nation.

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 July 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Neljä pientä tyttöä

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$13,528 (USA) (11 July 1997)

Gross:

$130,146 (USA) (26 September 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the victims, Denise McNair, was a friend and classmate of future Secretary of State 'Condoleeza Rice'.

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Quotes

Wyatt Tee Walker: So we made the decision based on several things. Fred Shuttlesworth was fearless and courageous to the point of being almost insane; miraculously surviving a bombing of his home. Had taking his wife and two children trying to integrate a school with a mob of five or six hundred folks with chains and stuff like that; just an incredible human being in my view.

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Connections

References 60 Minutes (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Birmingham Sunday"
Joan Baez

User Reviews

A thouroughly moving, tour de force and the best thing Spike Lee has done to date

This is an incredible documentary! How it failed to win the Oscar puzzles me, although I must confess that I haven't seen the winner. Be that as it may, Spike Lee put together a moving ad compelling tribute to four innocents. The incident covered here, ironically, probably gave much needed impetus to the civil-rights movement, particularly with people in the North, a bittersweet point not lost on many of the interviewees. See this documentary! Most highly recommended!