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The River Niger

  • 19761976
  • RR
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
276
YOUR RATING
James Earl Jones, Louis Gossett Jr., Cicely Tyson, Jonelle Allen, and Glynn Turman in The River Niger (1976)
Drama
An intimate look at life in the ghetto: Johnny Williams is a house painter who moonlights as a poet, struggling to financially and emotionally support his cancer-ridden wife Mattie. But time... Read allAn intimate look at life in the ghetto: Johnny Williams is a house painter who moonlights as a poet, struggling to financially and emotionally support his cancer-ridden wife Mattie. But times are tough and the poverty-troubled streets are even tougher, and it takes every ounce of... Read allAn intimate look at life in the ghetto: Johnny Williams is a house painter who moonlights as a poet, struggling to financially and emotionally support his cancer-ridden wife Mattie. But times are tough and the poverty-troubled streets are even tougher, and it takes every ounce of Johnny's love and courage for the couple to make it through their strife, finding redempt... Read all
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
276
YOUR RATING
    • Krishna Shah
    • Joseph A. Walker(play)
  • Stars
    • Cicely Tyson
    • James Earl Jones
    • Louis Gossett Jr.
    • Krishna Shah
    • Joseph A. Walker(play)
  • Stars
    • Cicely Tyson
    • James Earl Jones
    • Louis Gossett Jr.
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 12User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Photos13

    James Earl Jones, Louis Gossett Jr., Cicely Tyson, Jonelle Allen, and Glynn Turman in The River Niger (1976)
    James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson in The River Niger (1976)
    James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson in The River Niger (1976)
    James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson in The River Niger (1976)
    The River Niger (1976)
    The River Niger (1976)
    James Earl Jones in The River Niger (1976)
    The River Niger (1976)
    James Earl Jones in The River Niger (1976)
    James Earl Jones, Louis Gossett Jr., and Cicely Tyson in The River Niger (1976)
    The River Niger (1976)
    James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson in The River Niger (1976)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Cicely Tyson
    Cicely Tyson
    • Mattie Williams
    James Earl Jones
    James Earl Jones
    • Johnny Williams
    Louis Gossett Jr.
    Louis Gossett Jr.
    • Dr. Dudley Stanton
    • (as Lou Gossett)
    Glynn Turman
    Glynn Turman
    • Jeff Williams
    Jonelle Allen
    Jonelle Allen
    • Ann Vanderguild
    Roger E. Mosley
    Roger E. Mosley
    • Big Moe Hayes
    Ralph Wilcox
    Ralph Wilcox
    • Al
    Teddy Wilson
    Teddy Wilson
    • Chips
    Charles Weldon
    Charles Weldon
    • Skeeter
    Shirley Jo Finney
    Shirley Jo Finney
    • Gail
    Hilda Haynes
    • Wilhelmina Geneva Brown
    Zakes Mokae
    Zakes Mokae
    • Dutch
    Ed Crick
    • White Police Lieutenant
    Tony Burton
    Tony Burton
    • Black Policeman
      • Krishna Shah
      • Joseph A. Walker(play) (screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson worked together again on Broadway in The Gin Game from 2015 to 2016.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Call Me Angel, Sir (1976)

    User reviews12

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    I Wanted To See Jones and Tyson
    This movie starred some heavy-hitter actors, Black or otherwise: James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Louis Gossett Jr., Glynn Turman, and a couple of other familiar faces. There is a lot going on in the movie without there being a clear direction toward any one thing.

    Johnny Williams (James Earl Jones) was a hopeless alcoholic whose sole source of pride was his military son, Jeff (Glynn Turman).

    Jeff was like many young Black men in the 70's, he wanted more than what the world was willing to give him, but most of all he wanted to be his own man.

    The movie had some erudite moments from both Johnny and Jeff, but at other times it seems to wander hoping to survive on poignant rhetoric. Unfortunately, I was watching a bad dub because the sound would drag and the picture quality was bad even for 1975--and this was an Amazon Prime video!

    But, I'd never hold video or sound quality against a low budget drama. The overall product wasn't that great, but it had its moments and considering the budget was probably barely enough to cover bus fare to and from shoots, I'll give it a pass.
    helpful•1
    0
    • view_and_review
    • Dec 10, 2019

    Details

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    • Release date
      • April 14, 1976 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • River Niger Company
      • Asanti Productions Inc.
      • Gossett Enterprises
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 45 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby

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