The Long Walk Home (1990)

Two women, black and white, in 1955 Montgomery Alabama, must decide what they are going to do in response to the famous bus boycott lead by Martin Luther King.

Director:

Richard Pearce

Writer:

John Cork

Stars:

Sissy Spacek, Whoopi Goldberg, Dwight Schultz

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sissy Spacek	...	Miriam Thompson
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Odessa Cotter
Dwight Schultz	...	Norman Thompson
Ving Rhames	...	Herbert Cotter
Dylan Baker	...	Tunker Thompson
Erika Alexander	...	Selma Cotter
Lexi Randall	...	Mary Catherine (as Lexi Faith Randall)
Richard Habersham	...	Theodore Cotter
Jason Weaver	...	Franklin Cotter
Crystal Robbins	...	Sara Thompson
Cherene Snow	...	Claudia
Chelcie Ross	...	Martin
Dan Butler	...	Charlie
Philip Sterling	...	Winston
Schuyler Fisk	...	Judy (Girl at Oak Park)

Storyline

Dramatizes the events in 1955-1956 in Montgomery, Alabama, when blacks boycotted public transport becuase they were forced to sit at the back. Odessa works as a maid for the Thompsons, and as well as she is treated, she feels it is her duty to walk to work, even if it means she is exhaused, and gets to work late.

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Plot Keywords:

alabama | montgomery alabama | maid | bus | boycott | 

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Taglines:

Their forbidden friendship changed a nation.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1991 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Der lange Weg

Filming Locations:

Alabama, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$4,803,039

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dave Bell Associates, New Visions Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In order to avoid the heavy competition of the holiday season, the film was withdrawn from distribution by Miramax following its December 1990 limited release and re-released March 22, 1991.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the story, the narrator (the adult Mary Katherine) says that she was 7 years old at the time of the story. Later, when Mrs. Thompson is angrily calling the police, she says "Tell Clyde Sellers that one of his policeman threw my 9-year-old daughter out of Oak Park" when talking to the secretary.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Narrator: 50,000 boycotted the buses in Montgomery. I knew one. Her name was Odessa Cotter.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Oscar Nomination Surprises for 1990 (1991)

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Soundtracks

PICNIC
Written by George Duning and Steve Allen
Performed by The McGuire Sisters
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

A hidden gem.

I saw this film by chance, was flipping through the movie channels one day and the description of it appealed to me. Goldberg is absolutely superb in this powerful film showing what it was like for black people at that time in Montgomery, Alabama. A good lesson to young people, or any person that does not fully know what black people had to put up with.