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

Was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry on December 13, 2017, the day after Doug Jones, the US Attorney who prosecuted the trial, was elected to the Senate.

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Quotes

Howell Raines: A day in 1957, in the afternoon, the evening newscast, there's a piece of film of a gang of white men beating Fred Shuttlesworth, in the street outside of Phillips high school where he'd taken his children. With chains they beat him to the ground. And the reason it was riveting for me, I was fourteen years old, was that the police said they couldn't find the men who did it. And I recognized one of the men. I knew who he was. I'd seen him at Jack Cash's barbecue and I knew the police hung out at...

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Contact/This World, Then the Fireworks/A Simple Wish/4 Little Girls/The Big Sleep/Shall We Dance? (1997)

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Soundtracks

Birmingham Sunday
Written by Richard Farina
Performed by Joan Baez

User Reviews

4 Little Girls (1997)

Spike Lee's documentary about the horrible 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church that claimed the lives of four young girls. As a documentary, it achieves everything it should: it informs us, it moves us, and it reminds us of the evil that we Americans have in our past, and still have today. "Never forget", indeed. It goes without saying that this was an awful act of hatred and bigotry, its impact still sharply felt by friends and family of the victims. There is one amusing moment: a clip of George Wallace, years after the fact, trotting out his black "best friend" for the world to see, and the man clearly has contempt for Wallace. Speaking of trotting out, however, I question the need for Bill Cosby to chime in, or Jesse Jackson for that matter. There are plenty of articulate and interesting interviewees already involved without pulling in a couple of celebrity pals. It pulled me out of the film for a moment. Other than that, however, a strong and memorable film.