All Films on Friday Nights at 7:30 PM, Suggested Donation $5.00
Friday, September 26 at 7:30 PM: No Way Out (1950)
A pioneering film about racial tensions, “No Way Out” stars Richard Widmark as a criminal named Ray Biddle, who despises African-Americans. Sidney Poitier (in his screen debut) is the black doctor, Luther Brooks, assigned to take care of the wounded Ray…. See the full review on the NY Times.
Friday, October 3 at 7:30 PM: Lilies of the Field (1963)
Sidney Poitier plays Homer Smith, an aimless ex-GI who takes a temporary handyman job at a Southwestern farm maintained by five German nuns. It is the cherished dream of the Mother Superior (Lilia Skala) to build a chapel (or, as she says, a “shapel”). She is convinced that the personable Homer has been sent from Above to help her realize her dream. He protests loudly… See the full review on the NY Times.
Friday, October 17 at 7:30 PM: In The Heat of the Night (1967)
The winner of the 1967 Oscar for Best Picture (as well as four other Oscars), “In the Heat of the Night” is set in a small Mississippi town where an unusual murder has been committed. Rod Steiger plays Sheriff Bill Gillespie, a good lawman despite his racial prejudices. When Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a well-dressed northern African-American, comes to town… See the full review on the NY Times.
Friday, October 24 at 7:30 PM: Let’s Do It Again (1975)
In extending the success of their hit comedy “Uptown Saturday Night,” director/star Sidney Poitier and co-star Bill Cosby took the unusual step of throwing continuity to the wind. Adopting new characters for both of the film’s thematic sequels, they were able to keep the material fresh while still capitalizing on their established screen chemistry. Skewering underworld clichés, Blaxploitation flashiness, and middle-class African-American values, “Let’s Do It Again” updates the earlier film’s playful underworld milieu … See the full review here.
