4 Little Girls (1997)

A documentary of the notorious racial terrorist bombing of an African American church during the Civil Rights Movement.

Director:

Spike Lee

Stars:

Maxine McNair, Walter Cronkite, Chris McNair

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maxine McNair	...	Herself - Mother of Denise McNair
Chris McNair	...	Himself - Father of Denise McNair
Helen Pegues	...	Herself - Denise's Aunt
Queen Nunn	...	Herself - Neighbor of Denise McNair
Arthur Hanes Jr.	...	Himself - Defense Attorney for Bob Chambliss
Howell Raines	...	Himself - New York Times Editor
Harold McNair	...	Himself - Denise's Uncle
Carole C. Smitherman	...	Herself - Denise's Childhood Friend (as Carole C. Smitherman Esq.)
Wamo Reed Robertson	...	Herself - Carole's Aunt
Dianne Braddock	...	Herself - Carole's Sister
Carolyn Lee Brown	...	Herself - Carole's Childhood Friend
Alpha Robertson	...	Herself - Mother of Carole Robertson
Wyatt Tee Walker	...	Himself - Former Executive Director of SCLC
Fred Lee Shuttlesworth	...	Himself - Pres. of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights
Florence Terrell	...	Herself - School Teacher

Storyline

This film recounts the people and events leading up to the one of the most despicable hate-crimes during the height of the civil-rights movement, the bombing of the 16th Street Church in Birmingham, Alabama. In that attack, four little African-American girls lost their lives and a nation was simultaneously revolted, angered and galvanized to push the fight for equality and justice on.

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | civil rights | civil rights movement | bombing | church | 

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Taglines:

The story of four young girls who paid the price for a nation's ignorance.

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 July 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

4 маленькие девочки

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,528, 13 July 1997, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$130,146, 28 September 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks,Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Denise McNair was a friend and classmate of future Secretary of State 'Condoleeza Rice'.

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Quotes

Wyatt Tee Walker: So we made the decision based on several things. Fred Shuttlesworth was fearless and courageous to the point of being almost insane; miraculously surviving a bombing of his home. Had taking his wife and two children trying to integrate a school with a mob of five or six hundred folks with chains and stuff like that; just an incredible human being in my view.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Sphere/The Borrowers/The Wedding Singer (1998)

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Soundtracks

4 Little Girls
Written by Pantera Saint-Montaigne
Performed by Pantera Saint-Montaigne

User Reviews

Heartbreaking

Spike Lee did an excellent job with this documentary. I too, was extremely shocked that it did not win the Oscar the year it was nominated. One of the victims was my cousin, my fathers favorite niece at that. Growing up and learning about this tragedy first hand was very enlightening and yet tragic all at the same time. This film definitely captures the pain and suffering of my family and of the entire black community that lived through such racially biased times in Birmingham, Alabama. I think that this film should be seen by all, and not just during Black History month. In my opinion, there is no justification for the actions of those involved and it took some time and patience but they too had to pay for their crimes.