Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
IMDbPro

Paul Robeson

  • TV Movie
  • 19791979
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
51
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
49,855
6,040
Paul Robeson (1979)
BiographyDrama
Major events in the life of Robeson are recounted in this one-man performance.Major events in the life of Robeson are recounted in this one-man performance.Major events in the life of Robeson are recounted in this one-man performance.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
51
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
49,855
6,040
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Lloyd Richards
    • Writer
      • Phillip Hayes Dean(play)
    • Stars
      • James Earl Jones
      • Burt Wallace
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Lloyd Richards
    • Writer
      • Phillip Hayes Dean(play)
    • Stars
      • James Earl Jones
      • Burt Wallace
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos

    Paul Robeson (1979)
    Paul Robeson (1979)
    Paul Robeson (1979)
    Paul Robeson (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Earl Jones
    James Earl Jones
    • Paul Robeson
    Burt Wallace
    • Lawrence Brown
    • Director
      • Lloyd Richards
    • Writer
      • Phillip Hayes Dean(play)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    End of the Road
    6.5
    End of the Road
    The Man
    6.9
    The Man
    The Great White Hope
    6.9
    The Great White Hope
    Deadly Hero
    5.7
    Deadly Hero
    Matewan
    7.9
    Matewan
    The Greatest
    5.8
    The Greatest
    The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened
    6.4
    The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened
    The Last Remake of Beau Geste
    6.0
    The Last Remake of Beau Geste
    My Little Girl
    4.8
    My Little Girl
    Convicts
    5.8
    Convicts
    Undercover Angel
    6.4
    Undercover Angel
    Scorchers
    5.6
    Scorchers

    Storyline

    Edit

    User reviews4

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Paul Robeson 1898-1976
    3 years after Paul Robeson died and many years after illness imposed a forced retirement on him, James Earl Jones gives a mesmerizing and all encompassing one man show about the singer and civil rights pioneer. In fact with that deep voice which has made a considerable number of appearances as well as Jones in the flesh I can't think of another actor who could have brought justice to the part save the late William Marshall.

    If they were looking for a singer perhaps William Warfield or Caleb Peterson who sang Ol' Man River on the big screen might have done the job. But Jones does relatively little singing in a show about a singer. It's the iconoclastic civil rights activist that is concentrated on.

    Athlete, scholar, concert singer, are enough careers for any man in one lifetime. They're all part and parcel of what was Paul Robeson. Also part of him was an inability to compromise about anything.

    It worked well for him when he refused servile movie roles or would not perform for an audience that did not include people that looked like him. That's something I never could fathom. His objections were more than justified. The famous Cotton Club in Harlem which showcased so many black performers of more popular music did not have black people in the audience. Racism with one of the more unbelievable twists.

    Who knows what might have happened had FDR lived and a more radical successor with the same global views had succeeded him in 1948. The presidency devolved upon Harry Truman who saw a prostrate Europe open to Soviet hegemony and acted accordingly.

    Robeson was lionized and well received in the Soviet Union. So much so he was self imposed blind to the horrible excesses of that state. Joseph Stalin was for him the man who saved the world from Nazism and its racist ideology. No turning back for him and the right wing yahoos who created the post war Red Scare had a field day with him. His treatment was not unlike civil rights pioneer W.E.B. DuBois only DuBois was in newly independent Ghana looking in and Robeson with his passport issue was on the inside looking out.

    Robeson was a voice sadly silenced, but what a voice.
    helpful•3
    0
    • bkoganbing
    • Sep 24, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 8, 1979 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Production company
      • An International Cinegraph Creative Production
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 58 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View image
    Photos
    These Stars Are on the Rise
    See the gallery
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Double Take: Celebrity Twins
    See the full list
    Back to top

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.