The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974)

Story of a black woman in the South who was born into slavery in the 1850s and lives to become a part of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

Director:

John Korty

Writers:

Tracy Keenan Wynn (screenplay), Ernest J. Gaines (novel)

Stars:

Cicely Tyson, Eric Brown, Richard Dysart

Won 9 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cicely Tyson	...	Jane Pittman
Eric Brown	...	Jimmy Age 7
Richard Dysart	...	Master Bryant (as Richard A. Dysart)
Joel Fluellen	...	Unc Isom
Will Hare	...	Elbert Cluveau
Katherine Helmond	...	Lady at House
David Hooks	...	Colonel Dye
Elinora B. Johnson	...	Mary
Warren Kenner	...	Job
Dudley Knight	...	Trooper Brown
Derrick Mills	...	Little Ned at age 5
Michael Murphy	...	Quentin Lerner
Valerie Odell	...	Ticey (as Valeria Odell)
Odetta	...	Big Laura
Rod Perry	...	Joe Pittman

Storyline

Beginning during the racial turmoil of 1960s Louisiana, 110-year-old ex-slave Jane Pittman grants an interview to a persistent journalist and relates the remarkable story of her life. Orphaned early, she toils on a plantation until a chance meeting with a white Union soldier named Brown changes her outlook. Jane's emancipation marks only the beginning of an arduous and heartbreaking odyssey, framed by the horrors of slavery and the justice of the civil rights movement.

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Plot Keywords:

civil rights | slavery | interview | journalist | deep south | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 January 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Autobiografia di Miss Jane Pittman

Filming Locations:

Ashland-Belle Helene Plantation - State Highway 75, Geismer, Louisiana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tomorrow Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally shown on US TV with only one commercial break.

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Quotes

Ned Age 42: I want my children to be black and proud of it.

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Connections

Featured in The 30th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1978)

User Reviews

One time was enough!

I saw this monumental film when it originally aired and I was all of nine/ten years old. I have NEVER forgotten this film, even though I have not seen it since. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MISS JANE PITTMAN is such a phenomenal movie that I only had to see it ONCE to receive the full impact of what this tour de force was made for! I have not forgotten any of the moving scenes, the emotion, the fear, the hope, the determination, or the ability with which Ms. Cicely Tyson portrayed this woman. Being an impressionable little black girl, I was in awe of how that little girl, all by herself, took on the world and survived, without a momma or daddy. It goes to show that many of us are born with an inherent sense of raw courage, if only motivated by sheer guts. All I know is after seeing her strut her 110 year old body up to that water fountain and take a simple sip of water, that I was just as good as ANYBODY else in this world and NOBODY was going to make me think or feel differently. Cicely Tyson was put on this earth to play this role, to teach the children, to educate the masses and to demonstrate through the scuttle nuances of sheer acting ability, what DIGNITY really is!