4 Little Girls (1997)

Director:

Spike Lee

Release Date:

9 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Civil Rights Movement | Church | Civil Rights | Bombing | Hate Crime

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

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 Shuttlesworth	...	Himself (Pres. of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights) (also archive footage)
Florence Terrell	...	Herself (School Teacher)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Company:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Trivia:

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

Quotes:

Chris McNair: You must understand that a Bull Connor can not exist without the nods of the status quo people. You know, the big boys in any town. He can't exist without them. He may be the person who actually does the talking; but believe me the Bull Connors have the blessings of someone else.

Movie Connections:

References "60 Minutes" (1968)

Soundtrack:

Birmingham Sunday

a great documentary

The bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963 was sort of the 9/11 of its day. Its interesting this bombing was on September 15 only four days later. It was a crime that shook the nation and the world. Its still in the news! There was a man who only recently was convicted for his role in it. Spike Lee does an amazing job in bringing this tragedy back to us. In interviews with the families of these girls and various others. The one that got me is the one with George Wallace. I thought it was really pathetic the way he kept bringing his butler into the picture and saying that he had a black friend. If anyone symbolized the bigotry and violence in the South during this period, its Wallace and I think to show him in this was wrong. By the way, the song at the opening when they show these poor little girl's graves will haunt you for a long time.