The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

TV Movie
19741974
AAAA
1h 50m

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.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.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.

7.9/10

2.1K

Director
- John Korty
Writers
- Tracy Keenan Wynn(screenplay)
- Ernest J. Gaines(novel)
Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Won 9 Primetime Emmys
- 11 wins & 6 nominations total

Photos

Cicely Tyson and Rod Perry in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974)

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. —Jwelch5742

civil rights slavery interview journalist deep south 33 more

Trivia
Originally shown on US TV with only one commercial break.

Goofs
According to the opening credits, the movie takes place in February 1962. The reporter, Quentin, emerges from the airport and climbs into a 1963 Ford. That vehicle didn't yet exist.

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

Connections
Featured in The 26th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1974)

Top review

A NEVER-TO-BE-FORGOTTEN JOURNEY THROUGH A LIFE

Over thirty years have passed since I first watched 'Jane Pittman' on a small, black & white TV. There have been but a handful of viewing experiences that have stayed with me this strongly and vividly (and always will, I guess). Cicely Tyson's performance is strongly, clearly, heartfully drawn, ranking, in my opinion, in the very exclusive company of performances like Meryl Streep's Sophie in "Sophie's Choice". It's far easier for a mammoth mini-series to impart a permanent impression: this performance, and this artfully crafted story, did so in a scant two hours, introducing me to a character who became real and moving for me - - to this day.

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