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The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings

  • 19761976
  • PGPG
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
Tired of the slave-like treatment of his team's owner, charismatic star Negro League pitcher Bingo Long takes to the road with his band of barnstormers through the small towns of the Midwest in the 1930's.
Play trailer2:49
1 Video
87 Photos
  • Comedy
  • Sport

Tired of the slave-like treatment of his team's owner, charismatic star Negro League pitcher Bingo Long takes to the road with his band of barnstormers through the small towns of the Midwest... Read allTired of the slave-like treatment of his team's owner, charismatic star Negro League pitcher Bingo Long takes to the road with his band of barnstormers through the small towns of the Midwest in the 1930's.Tired of the slave-like treatment of his team's owner, charismatic star Negro League pitcher Bingo Long takes to the road with his band of barnstormers through the small towns of the Midwest in the 1930's.

IMDb RATING
6.8/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • John Badham
  • Writers
    • William Brashler(based on the novel by)
    • Hal Barwood(screenplay)
    • Matthew Robbins(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Billy Dee Williams
    • James Earl Jones
    • Richard Pryor
Top credits
  • Director
    • John Badham
  • Writers
    • William Brashler(based on the novel by)
    • Hal Barwood(screenplay)
    • Matthew Robbins(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Billy Dee Williams
    • James Earl Jones
    • Richard Pryor
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 16User reviews
    • 15Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:49
    Official Trailer

    Photos87

    Richard Pryor in The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
    "The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings" James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams 1976 Universal
    "The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings" Billy Dee Williams 1976 Universal
    The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
    The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
    The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
    The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
    The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
    The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
    The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
    The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
    The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Billy Dee Williams
    Billy Dee Williams
    • Bingo Long (P)as Bingo Long (P)
    James Earl Jones
    James Earl Jones
    • Leon Carter, All-Star (C)as Leon Carter, All-Star (C)
    Richard Pryor
    Richard Pryor
    • Charlie Snow, All-Star (RF)as Charlie Snow, All-Star (RF)
    Rico Dawson
    • Willie Lee Shively, All-Star (RF)as Willie Lee Shively, All-Star (RF)
    Sam 'Birmingham' Brison
    • Louis Keystone - All-Star - SSas Louis Keystone - All-Star - SS
    • (as 'Birmingham' Sam Brison)
    Jophery C. Brown
    Jophery C. Brown
    • Emory 'Champ' Chambers, All-Star (3B)as Emory 'Champ' Chambers, All-Star (3B)
    • (as Jophery Brown)
    Leon Wagner
    • Fat Sam Popper, All-Star (1B)as Fat Sam Popper, All-Star (1B)
    Tony Burton
    Tony Burton
    • Issac, All-Star (CF)(C)as Issac, All-Star (CF)(C)
    John McCurry
    • Walter Murchman, All-Star (LF)as Walter Murchman, All-Star (LF)
    Stan Shaw
    Stan Shaw
    • Esquire Joe Callaway, All-Star (CF)as Esquire Joe Callaway, All-Star (CF)
    Otis Day
    Otis Day
    • Rainbow, All-Star (bat boy)as Rainbow, All-Star (bat boy)
    • (as DeWayne Jessie)
    Ted Ross
    Ted Ross
    • Sallison 'Sallie' Potter, Owner of Ebony Acesas Sallison 'Sallie' Potter, Owner of Ebony Aces
    Mabel King
    Mabel King
    • Bertha Dewitt, Owner of Charcoal Kingsas Bertha Dewitt, Owner of Charcoal Kings
    Sam Laws
    Sam Laws
    • Henry Dunbar, Owner of Baltimore Elite Giantsas Henry Dunbar, Owner of Baltimore Elite Giants
    Alvin Childress
    • Horace Quigley, Owner of Atlanta Black Crackersas Horace Quigley, Owner of Atlanta Black Crackers
    Ken Foree
    Ken Foree
    • Honey, Potter's Goonas Honey, Potter's Goon
    Carl Gordon
    Carl Gordon
    • Mack, Potter's Goonas Mack, Potter's Goon
    Ahna Capri
    • The Prostituteas The Prostitute
    • Director
      • John Badham
    • Writers
      • William Brashler(based on the novel by)
      • Hal Barwood(screenplay)
      • Matthew Robbins(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Tired of being treated like a slave by team owner Sallison Potter (Ted Ross), charismatic star pitcher Bingo Long (Billy Dee Williams) steals a bunch of Negro League players away from their teams, including catcher/slugger Leon Carter (James Earl Jones) and Charlie Snow (Richard Pryor), a player forever scheming to break into the segregated Major League Baseball of the 1930s by masquerading as first a Cuban ("Carlos Nevada"), then a Native American ("Chief Takahoma"). They take to the road, barnstorming through small Midwestern towns, playing the local teams to make ends meet. One of the opposing players, 'Esquire' Joe Calloway (Stan Shaw), is so good that they recruit him. Bingo's team becomes so outlandishly entertaining and successful, it begins to cut into the attendance of the established Negro League teams. Finally, Bingo's nemesis Potter is forced to propose a winner-take-all game: if Bingo's team can beat a bunch of all-stars, it can join the league, but if it loses, the players will return to their old teams. Potter has two of his goons kidnap Leon prior to the game as insurance, but he escapes and is key to his side's victory. As it turns out, there is a major league scout in the audience. After the game, he offers Esquire Joe the chance to break the color barrier; with Bingo's blessing, he accepts. Leon glumly foresees the decline of the Negro League as more players follow Esquire Joe's lead, but Bingo, ever the optimist, cheers him up by describing the wild promotional stunts he intends to stage to bring in the paying customers. —SL
    • prologue
    • archive footage
    • begins with a fake newsreel
    • timeframe 1930s
    • baseball sport
    • 6 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • They put the ball in baseball.
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • Sport
    • Certificate
      • PG
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Steven Spielberg was initially very interested in directing. However the success of Jaws (1975) meant he could get any project of his own off the ground, so he decided to make Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
    • Goofs
      When Leon breaks through the lid of the casket, you can see that is made of Styrofoam, and clearly not of wood or metal.
    • Quotes

      Leon Carter, All-Star: [after Esquire Joe bowls him over with a slide at the plate] Say, boy - does you do this constantly?

      Esquire Joe Callaway, All-Star: No, suh. I does it all the time.

    • Crazy credits
      The movie begins with an older version of the Universal Studios logo, as part of the opening news reel.
    • Connections
      Edited into Afro Promo (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      The Bingo Long Song (Steal On Home)
      Written by Berry Gordy and Ronald Miller

      Performed by Thelma Houston

    User reviews16

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Who...gonna...hit my...INVITE PITCH?
    This spry baseball comedy, inspired by some actual history, is great fun, especially when seen as a vehicle for its talented stars. Billy Dee Williams plays Bingo Long (based on the real-life Satchel Paige), a charismatic pitcher for the Negro League in 1939, who gets VERY tired of having to deal with sleazy team owners such as Sallie Potter (Ted Ross). So he recruits fellow baseball player Leon Carter (James Earl Jones) (based on Josh Gibson), and various others, to join him in a quest to start their OWN flashy, barnstorming baseball team. Naturally, they will have many roadblocks in their path to success

    Charming, irresistible entertainment, and you don't have to necessarily be a baseball fan in order to enjoy it. Granted, it gets nasty at one point (for a PG rated film), and gets somewhat serious as well, but it never becomes so ugly that you can't still stick with it. It gets most of its juice from the dazzling performances of its stars, Williams and Jones. Jones appears to be having a grand old time, and co-star Richard Pryor unsurprisingly steals many of his scenes as a ballplayer who thinks that his key to success is passing himself off as Cuban and joining the white league. (There's a hilarious payoff for him near the end.) There's some more than respectable recreations of the period, a jaunty score (by William Goldstein), and wonderful old-time songs (belted out by Thelma Houston). The fair amount of familiar faces in the cast also includes stuntman Jophery C. Brown, Tony Burton of the "Rocky" franchise, Stan Shaw ("Snake Eyes"), DeWayne "Otis Day" Jessie ("National Lampoon's Animal House"), Mabel King ('What's Happening!!'), Sam Laws ("Hit Man"), Ahna Capri ("Enter the Dragon"), Joel Fluellen ("Porgy and Bess"), and Jester Hairston (John Wayne's version of "The Alamo").

    Although it has a rather lengthy running time (at 111 minutes), this movie never feels that long, due to an entertaining narrative and characters, and many scenes that hold ones' attention. It's intelligent, making some points about race relations and the way that athletes are treated, but never gets heavy-handed about it, while remaining engrossing both comedically and dramatically. It doesn't seem to be remembered by many nowadays, which is just too bad.

    Ken Foree of future "Dawn of the Dead" fame makes his film debut as a muscle man.

    Eight out of 10.
    helpful•4
    0
    • Hey_Sweden
    • Feb 21, 2018

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 13, 1977 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Bingo Long Traveling All Stars & Motor Kings
    • Filming locations
      • Monticello, Georgia, USA
    • Production companies
      • Motown Productions
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 50 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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