Cornbread, Earl and Me

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American International presents Cornbread, Earl and Me. The story of a young man with a talent
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"Wow, what a shot! Two for ‘Bread" and a dream
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"Come on mama, look at it because it's gonna take us off this street"
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He was cool
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What's happening, One-Eye?
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When you gonna start running numbers for me?
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Soon as I get out of college, we'll have him put it in my pro contract
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Cornbread runs for One-Eye in the off-season.
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He was smart
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What did you do with those pills, man?
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I flushed it down with toilet
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Man, your time is coming
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Look, I ain’t got time for this
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Oh
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He was special
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Hold it high and let it fly
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He’s the first boy from this neighborhood to make something out of himself
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Cornbread Earl and me like Sounder
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It's a story of people who never lose their dignity or their pride
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Like Claudine, it's a story of family life full of love and laughter
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Hold on
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Bro, what are you pretty good at?
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He fouled me, did you see him foul me?
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Like no other movie, Cornbread, Earl and me will touch you
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Shut up!
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I will not shut up
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And move you
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Ah, they're not native, they're savages
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Halt! Police!
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Oh my God!
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And perhaps even shatter you
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I'm not gonna give more to you
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Cornbread, Earl and Me
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We're not talking about actors, we mean a real monster
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I brought her back
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She'll live and I'll get her another body
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I’m know they're gonna catch me but don't let anyone see me like that! Please, doctor, help me!
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Biologically speaking, it's of primary importance that man should want to mate
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Hey, that's right! You don't get all your kicks from surfing do you?
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We want to be free to ride our machines without being hassled by the man
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And we want to get loaded
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You think you're gonna make a slave of the world?
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I'll see you in Hell first
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The American International Podcast
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Are you ready?
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This is the American International Podcast, I'm Jeff Markin
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I'm Cheryl Lightfoot
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And we’re serving up Cornbread, Earl and Me from 1975
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Cornbread, Earl and Me was directed by Joe Manduk, written by Leonard Lamenstorf
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Based on the book Hog Butcher by Ronald L. Fair
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It was produced by Joseph Manduke and Leonard Lamensdorf
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Cornbread, Earl and Me stars Moses Gunn as Benjamin Blackwell
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Rosalind Cash as Sarah Robinson
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Bernie Casey as Officer Larry Atkins
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Madge Sinclair as Leona Hamilton
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Laurence Fishburne III as Wilford Robinson
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Thalmus Rasulala as Charlie
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Antonio Fargas as "One Eye"
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It also stars Logan Ramsey as Deputy Coroner
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Vince Martorano as Officer John Golich
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Charles Lampkin as Fred Jenkins
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Stefan Gierasch as Sergeant Danaher
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Stack Pierce as Sam Hamilton
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Tierre Turner as Earl Carter
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Keith Wilkes as Nathaniel "Cornbread" Hamilton
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Hal Baylor as Mr. Wilson
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Randy Martin as Shifty
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William Upton as Stud and Eric Kilpatrick as Ace
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The movie opens with credits of course
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The music it's Cornbread's theme
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And Cornbread is dribbling a basketball while he gets ready for school
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His parents Sam and Leona are bantering over breakfast
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Leona asks Sam if there's anything in the sports page about Nathaniel
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But not today
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As for Nathaniel “Cornbread" Hamilton
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He looks in the mirror in his room and strokes his chin
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And calls himself beautiful
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We see he has a lot of trophies
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He's been featured in a number of newspaper articles
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that are pinned to the wall
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And then we hear Leona, Cornbread's mom, saying she's going to miss Cornbread when he goes off to college in two weeks
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But she won't miss that incisal dribbling noise coming from his room
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Yeah it seems that Cornbread might have an obsession ear
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He's always got that basketball and he's always dribbling or bouncing it off the wall
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Giving himself a play by play narration for everything that he does
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As if he were in an actual basketball game
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Leona calls out for Cornbread to get dressed
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And he does stop dribbling long enough to throw on his shirt
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Now he visited Downstairs apartment
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Where Sarah Robinson is commenting to her still asleep boyfriend Charlie
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That Cornbread is pounding around upstairs
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She's not complaining she's just stating a fact
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This is just something they deal with
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Bluing in his neighborhood I guess because he's always dribbling that basketball
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Charlie might be into doing some pounding himself
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But Sarah is afraid her son Wilford
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Who is 12
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We'll find out just what it is that she and Charlie do when they're alone in her room
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She wants him to go upstairs to his apartment where he lives
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And he's very grumpy because well let's face it he's horny
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So back upstairs in the Hamilton apartment
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Leona asks Sam if he's going to be attending the neighborhood meeting tonight
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But he's going to leave that to her
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He says he'll go to work and bring him a paycheck
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And she can take care of all the rest
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Leona reminds him that she works too
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And they share a loving kiss
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Sam goes to leave for work but is blocked by Cornbread
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Who is trying to start a one-on-one pick up game in the dining room
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Leona is not thrilled about this or about Sarah participating
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She wants Sam and Cornbread to take that game outside
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A basketball doesn't belong in the dining room
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It's not food
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And happy music begins to play on the soundtrack
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As Cornbread corrects his mother
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He says "Mama I love you but you're wrong
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This is food and more it's food and clothes for you and pop
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And a house as big as a barn
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See this thing mama? Look at it
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Because it's going to take us off the street
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Ain't that right Pop
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That is so annoying
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That is so elaborate
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I didn't write any of that down
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Cornbread says goodbye to his mom
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And he and his father leave the apartment to go outside
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Leona asks Cornbread as he's going out
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If he's going to eat something
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He says he's not hungry and follows his father out
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She calls out that he can't live on orange soda
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As Cornbread and Sam head downstairs
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Cornbread is bouncing the ball against the wall as he goes
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And Sam mentions that in only two weeks
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The Daniel will be leaving for college
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I think the neighbors are probably more thrilled about that than the Daniel
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I think the neighbors are probably more thrilled about that than anybody else
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Out on the street they meet huggy bear
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I mean one eye
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The neighbor would pimp numbers runner etc
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Jack of all trades I'm sure
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One I asked Cornbread if he wants to make some real money
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Running numbers for him
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Sam tells one I to lay off his son
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He's got a future ahead of him
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Cornbread says after he graduates college
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He'll have it put in his contract
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And he can run numbers for one eye in the off season
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Number with officers Larry Atkins and John Goliage
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They're cruising around in their squad car
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Looking for minorities to harass
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Oh yeah that's true
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John points out their old pal Shifty
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Pushing around a baby carriage
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They decide that's suspicious enough to stop him and investigate
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Larry pulls the car over
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And both men get out
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Larry chases after the man walking with Shifty
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And John goes over to Shifty to give him a hard time
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Shifty puts his hands over his head
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John tells him he can put his hands down
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But Shifty says he feels safer this way
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When John goes to take the blanket off the
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Whatever's inside the baby carriage
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Shifty says that's my sisters
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And after they start to arrest him
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Shifty says I told you it was my sisters
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But they don't believe him
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And he says he's taking it to get fixed for her
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At Fred Jenkins Soda Shop
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And General Store
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Cornbread is making up for skipping breakfast
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By buying orange soda
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What he finds himself stuck watching card tricks instead
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And being a participant
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The advantage is that he gets a free soda
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And if he's able to guess the correct card
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In this case the Six of Diamonds
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And he was successful
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So he gets a soda and runs off to the neighborhood basketball court
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To play ball with some pals
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Watching them are Earl and Wilford
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Wilford tells Earl that Cornbread
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And he points to him
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Is his cousin which Earl does not believe
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When Wilford's obnoxious hero-worsher
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Of Cornbread gets too much for Earl
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Earl demands to know why Cornbread is so special
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Earl is kind of a hater
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He's from Mississippi
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Wilford says that Cornbread is the greatest player in the city
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The state maybe you in the country
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And Earl says he's seen better players in the south
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Wilford says that Charlie told him Mississippi is the lynching state
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But Earl tells him that this place has got nothing on Mississippi
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Meanwhile Cornbread keeps playing basketball while his theme song plays
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It is a very specific theme song
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And we'll hear it again
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Wilford and Earl run to the corner store
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Mr. Jenkins store to get Cornbread a drink
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They're sweaty, everybody's sweaty
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They argue about what drink Cornbread wants
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Wilford says that Cornbread sent them for a root beer
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And he's going to buy one for the two of them as well
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But Earl corrects them
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He's seen Cornbread drink orange pop
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Grape and wants to know how to coke
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But never a root beer
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Bread says he can settle this for them
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As he asks Wilford to pick a card
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Then Fred asks Wilford if he remembers the card
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Sure says Wilford two of clubs
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You're not supposed to tell me he says Fred
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Fred takes her money and gives them an orange soda and a root beer
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And tells them that whichever one Cornbread doesn't choose
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Wilford and Earl can split the other one
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Price is solved
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And now we're at the supermarket
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Sarah is buying groceries
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And Leona is checking her out
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We don't know the relationship
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But we do know that Wilford and Cornbread are cousins
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So there is some family relationship there
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They're chatting about Cornbread
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When the star manager marches up with Wilford
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He asks if this is her boy
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He's twisted one of Wilford's arms behind his back
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Sarah admits to being his mother and asks what's wrong
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The manager says he caught him with a candy bar
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Wilford says Mama you said I could have it
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Remember?
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Leona tells her boss that she was just ringing it up with the rest of her stuff
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The manager gives everyone a dirty look
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But then he leaves
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So Wilford gets off scot free until he asks to deal with his mother
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Giving him a dirty guilt trip about his mother
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Sarah is devastated that she's failed in raising her son
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She's in tears
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And it doesn't matter if it was valued at $15
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Or $1 million it's still stealing
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And stealing as we all know
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Is wrong
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Asterix
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And if that wasn't bad enough
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There's a knock at the door
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It's the welfare worker
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She's come to Hassel Sarah for her medical report
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She's got a lot of money
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She's got a lot of money
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Sarah for her medical report
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She's got to prove that she really needs disability for her heart condition
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Wilford goes to wait in the hall
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Where he can be on a site but still listen
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What's really happening here is that the welfare worker is warning Sarah that
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Without this medical report she can pretty much kiss her welfare checks goodbye
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So Sarah does promise to go to the doctor and get something that she can show them
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Then the welfare worker asks about little Wilford
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And from the hallway Wilford sticks his tongue out at her
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Little Wilford's fine
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And the social worker says she understands how difficult it can be to raise a boy with her own father
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And it's Sarah's job to keep him away from evil companions
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So in the next scene Sarah is at a get together with Charlie, Sam and Leona and a few others
262
00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:57,520
And they're all laughing at the phrase evil companions
263
00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,520
And that someone actually used it in conversation
264
00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,520
They break off and Charlie asks Sarah how she's feeling
265
00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:07,520
Sarah says her heart feels a lot better now
266
00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,520
Charlie walks Sarah home and it's clear that they have mismatched expectations of this relationship
267
00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:15,520
Sarah likes to keep things light but Charlie is thinking maybe marriage one day
268
00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:21,520
The problem with marriage is it's a complicated thing because it would affect her welfare checks
269
00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:25,520
So she wants to know who will pay the rent if they would move in together
270
00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,520
He says he will of course he'll just have to get a better job and he's been trying after all
271
00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:31,520
Promises, promises
272
00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:35,520
They return to Sarah's apartment where Earl and Wilford are watching a movie
273
00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:39,520
Charlie is feeling amorous but Sarah wants to maintain decorum in front of the kids
274
00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:41,520
Charlie doesn't like this and he throws a bit of a tantrum
275
00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:43,520
He wants her to make up her mind
276
00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:47,520
It's always Charlie stay, Charlie go, what's he's supposed to do?
277
00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:49,520
Go upstairs to his rotten bed alone?
278
00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:51,520
Charlie angrily storms up the stairs
279
00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,520
I guess he was supposed to go upstairs to his rotten bed alone
280
00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:57,520
The next day, Cornbread and Wilford are hanging out playing basketball
281
00:11:57,520 --> 00:11:59,520
Of course, at the rec center where Cornbread works
282
00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:01,520
Cornbread is trying to teach Wilford how to shoot
283
00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:03,520
When two toughs come in, this is stud and ace
284
00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:05,520
Shoot a basketball
285
00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:09,520
I should guess I should say that because it's going to come up later
286
00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:13,520
They kicked the ball back past Cornbread and Wilford
287
00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:15,520
Wilford shouts, "Hey" and goes to retrieve it
288
00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:19,520
Cornbread tells Wilford that to listen is over for today
289
00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:21,520
And to go wait for him in the locker room
290
00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,520
One of the guys asked Cornbread what he did with the pills that he had found in the locker room
291
00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:27,520
They were worth a lot of money to him
292
00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:29,520
Cornbread tells him to stud that he flushed them down the toilet
293
00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:31,520
He told them he didn't want them bringing that stuff in here
294
00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:33,520
Wrong answer
295
00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:37,520
And they better leave because Mr. Wilson will be back at any moment
296
00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:39,520
But stud doesn't care about Mr. Wilson
297
00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:41,520
If that's the way you feel about it, says Cornbread
298
00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:43,520
Chutney laying down the basketball and readying for a fight
299
00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,520
Stud draws a knife and Cornbread takes up the basketball
300
00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:51,520
He uses it as a shield between him and the knife
301
00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:53,520
And it gets stabbed
302
00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:55,520
And then suddenly Mr. Wilson enters with Wilford running behind him
303
00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:57,520
And are two tough guys leave
304
00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:01,520
Mr. Wilson tells Cornbread that he wouldn't want anything to happen to him
305
00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:05,520
Cornbread jinxes himself by saying, "Ain't nothing gonna happen to me Mr. Wilson
306
00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:07,520
The college needs me too bad"
307
00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:09,520
He turns around and throws his ball through the basket
308
00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:11,520
Is that how you say you made a basket?
309
00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:13,520
So I said
310
00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:15,520
In Jeff's language
311
00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:17,520
He swishes
312
00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:19,520
Nothing but net
313
00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:23,520
Now we're with our friendly neighborhood officers, John and Larry
314
00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:25,520
It is absolutely pouring
315
00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:27,520
You get a call about a gunshot victim
316
00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:29,520
It's nearby so they turn around and head that way
317
00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:33,520
On the playground, Cornbread decides that the rain is too much and offers to buy the kids a soda
318
00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:37,520
Officers John and Larry have arrived at the scene of the alleged crime
319
00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:41,520
Officer John is interviewing a witness while Larry is looking over the victim
320
00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:45,520
Just kind of patting her head as she lies there bleeding
321
00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:47,520
The witness describes the perpetrator as black and very big
322
00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:49,520
Larry says the victim is still breathing
323
00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:51,520
And he will stay with her until the ambulance arrives
324
00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:53,520
While John goes over the perpetrator
325
00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:57,520
At Mr. Jenkins' soda shop, lots of kids are sheltering from the rain
326
00:13:57,520 --> 00:13:59,520
Jenkins chases off all the ones without money though
327
00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:03,520
Only Cornbread, Earl and Wilford remain
328
00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,520
Up on the roof of the apartment building
329
00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:09,520
Officer John bursts out of the doorway and gets drenched by the rain as he patrols the rooftop
330
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:11,520
Looking forward, the assailant
331
00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:15,520
He has a gun drawn and he's searching for a man of whom he has only the biggest description
332
00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:17,520
That will be important
333
00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:19,520
Back down in the general store, one eye comes in
334
00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:21,520
Cornbread commends him on his threads
335
00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:23,520
And Earl and Wilford are impressed with them as well
336
00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:25,520
His eye patch even matches his pinstripe suit
337
00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:29,520
When I once again suggest that Cornbread should be running numbers for him
338
00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:33,520
When I try to sue nonsensically defend his line of work by saying
339
00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:35,520
If God didn't want him to run numbers, he wouldn't have invented the wheel
340
00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,520
And Fred tells when I'd a Cornbread will be leaving in two weeks
341
00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:41,520
And he's the first one to make it out of this neighborhood and make something of himself
342
00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:45,520
When I as a little offended so Fred corrects himself
343
00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:47,520
Something legal
344
00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:53,520
Stop trying to do rail is promising basketball future with a life of petty crime
345
00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:57,520
Back on the roof chop, Officer John is still searching for the perpetrator
346
00:14:57,520 --> 00:14:59,520
He sees a man going down the fire escape and nails for him to stop
347
00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:03,520
This is a tall black man wearing a gray sweatshirt
348
00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:09,520
And we cut back to Mr. Jenkins shop where the boys are speculating about how fast Cornbread could run home in this rain
349
00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:11,520
Could he really run between the raindrops?
350
00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:14,520
The opening bid from Wilford is ten seconds
351
00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:17,520
Cornbread counters with more like 25 seconds
352
00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,520
Cornbread is going to have to prove this though
353
00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:22,520
When I says that he'll never do in 25 seconds
354
00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:24,520
But Wilford bets that he can
355
00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:28,520
Cornbread says they can bet for a bottle of pop and he gives the money to Fred to cover the cost of the bet
356
00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:32,520
Back at the apartment building, John spots someone coming out of the side door of the apartment building
357
00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,520
He pulls his gun but it's just Officer Larry
358
00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:39,520
John has Larry if he saw the perpetrator, John said he lost him in the rain
359
00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:43,520
So back at the store, Cornbread has everyone coincide in the rain to watch him run home
360
00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:48,520
Back at the apartment building, the cops finally spot the gray sweatshirt guy and give chase
361
00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:50,520
Cornbread also wearing a gray sweatshirt
362
00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:55,520
Runs off as the boys count how long he's taking and a one and a two
363
00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:59,520
As this is going on, we see that the cops are getting closer to where Cornbread is
364
00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:03,520
There's a series of quick cuts here, it's cutting back and forth very fast
365
00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:07,520
Cornbread runs across the street, past a part of garbage truck
366
00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,520
He offers a yell from the stop but he keeps running
367
00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:12,520
So naturally they have no other choice but to shoot him in the back
368
00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:17,520
The bottle of orange soda flies into the air and comes crashing down into the street
369
00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:20,520
Mr. Jenkins, Earl and Wilford are horrified
370
00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,520
Oh my god, he yells a shock Mr. Jenkins
371
00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:28,520
Wilford starts screaming Cornbread's name and Earl is stunned into silence
372
00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,520
Wilford takes off running and gets to Cornbread's body just as the cops finally get there
373
00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:36,520
Fred grabs on to Wilford and tries to drag him and Earl back inside
374
00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:38,520
Don't show your face as he says
375
00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,520
Wilford breaks free and runs towards Cornbread
376
00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:45,520
The cops are approaching Cornbread's body and just as they get there, so does Wilford
377
00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,520
John grabs him as Larry examines the body
378
00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:52,520
Also on the scene, the man in the grey sweatshirt that they have been chasing
379
00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:57,520
He's just free to stand around and gap now that somebody else has died for his alleged crimes
380
00:16:57,520 --> 00:16:59,520
Larry declares Cornbread dead
381
00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,520
Wilford shouts out, "No he isn't, but he is"
382
00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:05,520
Then Wilford runs up and down the street shouting to the whole neighborhood
383
00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:09,520
Cornbread's dead, they killed him, he wasn't doing nothing
384
00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:13,520
He successfully riles up the crowd to the point where the officers are in danger
385
00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,520
Because he points them out and says that they are the murderers
386
00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:21,520
Larry is sitting in a squad car to radio in when a brick is hurled through at the windshield of the squad car
387
00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:24,520
The windshield shatters in a way that windshields usually don't
388
00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,520
And Larry finds himself a glass pellets all over his face
389
00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:31,520
By this time the crowd has become a mob and they're overwhelming the two cops
390
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:35,520
Both are subjected to punches, kicks and one person in the crowd draws a bat
391
00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,520
Or at least a big stick
392
00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:41,520
When Sarah appears she's walking down the sidewalk looking for Wilford calling his name
393
00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:45,520
She finds him and tells Wilford that they've got to get out of here, everyone's gone crazy
394
00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:48,520
More cops have arrived and they're also beating the crowd back
395
00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:51,520
Wilford tells her that they killed Cornbread, she says no
396
00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:55,520
Wilford points to the body on the ground and says that's him, mama, that's Cornbread
397
00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:57,520
Sarah doesn't believe Wilford that Cornbread's dead
398
00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:05,520
So Wilford goes to Cornbread's body which had been covered up when officer John had displayed a little decorum grabbing a raincoat from the car and covering up the body
399
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:13,520
But Wilford pulls the raincoat off of Cornbread's face when she sees that her nephew is dead, Sarah is distraught and she wonders why
400
00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:17,520
She asks why do you let them do it to us? I don't know who she's asking, God maybe
401
00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:21,520
Now Sam and Leona have had to go to the morgue to identify the body
402
00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,520
They're shown as an image on a television monitor
403
00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:27,520
They confirm it's Cornbread and sign papers to that effect
404
00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:29,520
Then Sam asks that they can have him now
405
00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:31,520
It's pretty devastating
406
00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:41,520
Now some time has passed, Sarah and Wilford are taking a walk
407
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,520
Wilford comments that the streets are cleaner than ever now
408
00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:48,520
But Sarah says they can't wipe out Cornbread that easily
409
00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:52,520
Wilford says he's never playing basketball again but Sarah says he will one day
410
00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,520
And that the cops will never murder him the way they did Cornbread
411
00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:59,520
Who's going to stop him, Wilford asks? You and me, she says
412
00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:03,520
They got Cornbread but they're not going to get you, we're going to get you out of here
413
00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,520
Whatever it takes
414
00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,520
Now in the office of Benjamin Blackwell
415
00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:09,520
Sam and Leona are looking to hire an attorney
416
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:13,520
Blackwell assumes that they want to bring an action against the city for the wrongful death of their son
417
00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,520
But they don't really care about money, they only want to clear their son's name
418
00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:21,520
He wasn't the one who nearly killed that woman, he was just at the store drinking a soda
419
00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,520
They only want the police to admit that they made a mistake
420
00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:29,520
Benjamin says the paper said he assaulted and nearly killed that woman, Sam said that's a lie
421
00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:33,520
Benjamin asks why he was running from the cops then and then they tell him the true story
422
00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,520
He was running home in the rain innocent of all charges
423
00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:39,520
Leona further wants an admission of guilt from the police
424
00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,520
You'd have an easier time collecting the cash Benjamin says
425
00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,520
They're not going to admit anything so they're going to have to go to court
426
00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:48,520
He recommends they think it over but first there's going to be an inquest
427
00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:52,520
And then they can file a civil suit and that it's going to be expensive
428
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,520
Benjamin says the city has received a lot of bad publicity from the shooting
429
00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,520
Though they can expect everyone to close ranks to protect each other
430
00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:01,520
They'll need witnesses and Sam says they have them
431
00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:07,520
But Benjamin says that they'd be surprised how differently people act when they have to testify in a legal matter
432
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:12,520
Leona places something on Benjamin's desk then cries into her husband's shoulder
433
00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,520
She tells Benjamin that that is a plane ticket
434
00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:18,520
They were supposed to drive cornbread to the airport that morning so he could fly to school
435
00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:22,520
She says they'll cash in as part of Benjamin's payment
436
00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:26,520
Benjamin says that is necessary and Leona says that this is the way they want it
437
00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:29,520
Now we're with Sarah and Wilford. They're on a Ferris wheel
438
00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,520
She's trying to cheer him up and maybe it's starting to work
439
00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:36,520
She points out the street where they live as if she could see it from the top of the Ferris wheel
440
00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,520
Wilford doesn't seem to into this though
441
00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:42,520
And now Benjamin Blackwell visits officer Larry who's in the hospital
442
00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:46,520
Larry says Benjamin shouldn't be there but Benjamin reminds him that they grew up together
443
00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:52,520
At least until Benjamin was 10 and Benjamin thought that Larry was a straight cop
444
00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,520
Yes, if Larry is still planning to be a teacher, Larry says yes
445
00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:58,520
But it took six years of night school classes to get there
446
00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:00,520
Then Benjamin gets down to business
447
00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,520
He wants to know about the case
448
00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,520
Larry tells him that the statements have been made and papers have been filed
449
00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:07,520
And if he wants to know more he can read the reports
450
00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:11,520
If there is any discrepancy in those reports, the whole story falls apart
451
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:13,520
So it's better just to leave things alone
452
00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:17,520
Larry says that John might be having a moral crisis over what they did
453
00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:19,520
But Larry knows that they shot the right guy
454
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:26,520
Larry summarizes that John knows he was right but the headlines about good kid and police brutality are affecting his conscience
455
00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:29,520
But that being white, John can afford to have a conscience
456
00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:33,520
Benjamin wonders what color has to do with it, wrong is wrong
457
00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:35,520
But Larry's not swayed by all those scholarship stories
458
00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:37,520
And that cornbread is a local hero
459
00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:41,520
Larry says that that means he was just a bad kid who hadn't been caught yet
460
00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:47,520
Benjamin says he's got witnesses and they say cornbread was in a stored drinking soda pop when the incident occurred
461
00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:50,520
Larry gets defensive so that means I'm lying right?
462
00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:55,520
Benjamin tries to get him to calm down and saying that he's sure to Larry thought he was doing the right thing
463
00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:57,520
He might have even done the same thing himself
464
00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:01,520
But Larry isn't having that coming from a big time lawyer in his fancy suit
465
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:05,520
He doesn't know what it's like having to comb the streets with maniacs on the loose
466
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:09,520
Benjamin reminds Larry of the wound he received on the street when he was 14
467
00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:15,520
Larry says that he healed up real good and the two bicker about how there are two world diverge when Ben got his ass out of the neighborhood
468
00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:17,520
And whether it matters or not
469
00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:21,520
Benjamin accuses Larry of acting this way because the people he wants to educate turned on him
470
00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:25,520
But Larry says that their savages and his job is to keep them penned in their own neighborhood
471
00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:28,520
So they don't escape to kill other people
472
00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:29,520
Good people
473
00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:31,520
Benjamin says he understands why the neighborhood turned on Larry
474
00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:36,520
They see people get gunned down all the time but this time they knew for sure that it wasn't deserved
475
00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:42,520
Is Larry going to tell his future students that they're just savages? Larry says it's Ben and his ilk that tell the neighbors that
476
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,520
Ben thinks that the people have no chance to get fairness when Larry thinks that way
477
00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:52,520
Larry says they all have the same chance that everyone has to get out and then he orders Ben to get out of his room
478
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,520
Now we're back at the carnival and Sarah says she likes the fairest wheel the best
479
00:22:56,520 --> 00:23:00,520
Wilford just wants to talk about cornbread and Sarah is trying desperately to distract him
480
00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,520
She convinces him to ride the cyclone with her
481
00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:11,520
It keeps her young she says so we see them on the cyclone and she's screaming like a maniac and Wilford's holding her hand and looking kind of bored
482
00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:19,520
The two of them find themselves in the funhouse part of the carnival and they look in the mirrors and make their images look ridiculous and finally, Wilford laughs
483
00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:26,520
Now we're back at Fred Jenkins General Store and a couple of cops are questioning Fred on his agreeing to testify
484
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:29,520
It's two new cops and they're from downtown
485
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:35,520
Yeah, they're not uniformed officers but Fred says sure he's going to testify why not after all he saw the whole thing he's a witness
486
00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:40,520
Then one of the cops places a few joints on the counter and ask Fred if he's going to stick with that story
487
00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:44,520
Store owners that keep his apply of marijuana around for the kids aren't always trustworthy
488
00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:47,520
And this reminds Fred that he didn't see anything
489
00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:50,520
He also says the cornbread was one of those wrongdoers
490
00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,520
The cops take their joints back and smuckly promise that they'll be back if necessary
491
00:23:54,520 --> 00:24:00,520
After they go, Mr. Jenkins breaks down calling the cops dirty rotten sons of bitches
492
00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,520
They're railroading cornbread out of a fair hearing
493
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:07,520
We see Wilford is also getting a visit from a couple of plain clothes policemen
494
00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:10,520
This officer calls himself Mr. Johnson
495
00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:15,520
He's interrogating Wilford and even though he's a black cop, that's not going to help Wilford very much here
496
00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:20,520
Also standing by you Sergeant Danner, Wilford asks why he wants him to lie
497
00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:26,520
Mr. Johnson who happens to be the precinct captain says that they're not asking him to lie
498
00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:30,520
They're just asking him not to say what happened and that's not the same as lying
499
00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:32,520
Yes it is, says Wilford
500
00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:38,520
His mama always told him that if you see something bad and you don't say something about it, it's as bad as lying and Sarah nods in agreement
501
00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:40,520
This anger is Johnson
502
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:43,520
He sends up the threat and the little boy and says the whole city is behind them
503
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:47,520
If they want to take on an entire city, they should go for it
504
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,520
And then he says he's going to sick Sergeant Danner, her own Wilford
505
00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:57,520
And he better give the right answers or else then he looks at Sarah and says that she can kiss her Wilford checks goodbye
506
00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:00,520
He tags in Danner, her and then he leaves
507
00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:04,520
So Danner sits down and he too tries to get a state that they can live with
508
00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,520
He asks Wilford what he knows about the incident
509
00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,520
Did he see cornbread the day that he was shot? Wilford said yes
510
00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,520
And Danner tells him that's the wrong answer
511
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:19,520
He pulls Wilford up and starts shaking him and Sarah comes to defender son telling Danner her not to touch him
512
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,520
He smacks her sending her sprawling across the couch
513
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,520
Wilford runs out of the apartment and starts calling up to Charlie
514
00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:27,520
Charlie comes downstairs with a gun in his hand
515
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:30,520
Danner pulls on his badge and tells Charlie he's the police
516
00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:35,520
Wilford is screaming that the man heard his mama and Sarah comes out holding a knife and charging at him
517
00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:38,520
Her eyes are rolled back in her head, she looks insane
518
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,520
Charlie holds her back
519
00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:44,520
Danner heard his eyes it's time for him to leave and Charlie pushes him down the stairs
520
00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:49,520
By this time the commotion is brought up all the neighbors and they advise Charlie to get out of there
521
00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,520
because the cops are going to be back and they're going to beat him bad
522
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:56,520
Charlie gives his gun to one of the neighbors tells him to hide it
523
00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:02,520
Then he tells Wilford that this is all his fault and threatens it with an ass-wobbing if anything happens to Sarah
524
00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,520
Now we're at Sam and Leon is apartment
525
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:07,520
Sam is on the phone with Benjamin
526
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,520
Sarah and Leon are sitting at a table talking
527
00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:17,520
After Sam hangs up the phone, he tells Sarah and Leon that Benjamin will do what he can with this report of police brutality and intimidation
528
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:21,520
Sarah asks where Wilford is and Leon says he's probably out playing
529
00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:25,520
Sarah panics at a time like this he's outside
530
00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:29,520
Sarah peeks out the window for a second then decides that Wilford is run away
531
00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:31,520
despite Leon's reassurance to the contrary
532
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:36,520
Sarah explains that Wilford thinks he's making trouble for her on a kind of a Charlie it's said to him
533
00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:39,520
but Sam and Leon will try to convince her that everything will be fine
534
00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:44,520
Sam incorrectly declares that no cop would be the 12-year-old boy if only
535
00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:51,520
Back with Benjamin in the parking garage of his office he goes to his car and finds Wilford waiting in the front seat
536
00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:56,520
Apparently Wilford did a little bit of slew thing using Benjamin's business car to find his office
537
00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,520
and a garage attendant to find his car
538
00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:03,520
Benjamin is surprised but he quickly realizes who Wilford is
539
00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:07,520
Benjamin tells him that he's headed to police station to straighten this out
540
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:09,520
Wilford starts to run but Benjamin holds him back
541
00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:11,520
They're gonna talk this out
542
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,520
Wilford says that he told Mr. Hamilton what he saw
543
00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:16,520
Benjamin tells Wilford he did the right thing
544
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:21,520
Then Wilford explains how this has caused all sorts of trouble for his mother so he's going to run away
545
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:26,520
That way he went off to lie and they can't take his mama off Wilford
546
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,520
and he wants Benjamin to help him find a safe place to hide
547
00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:33,520
Benjamin says that would make him the liar and he sure Wilford wouldn't want to make a lie around him
548
00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:40,520
Now we're in Sarah's apartment where we see Benjamin depositing a sleepy Wilford onto the exo-fabed
549
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,520
Benjamin tells Sarah that they made a deal with the police
550
00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:48,520
If they don't press charges against Dana her the cops won't press charges against her or Charlie
551
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:50,520
Sarah is very pleased by this
552
00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:52,520
She sends Wilford off to get ready for bed
553
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:55,520
Then Benjamin says that Charlie can come home now
554
00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:59,520
She tells him Charlie doesn't live here and they get a little bit flirty
555
00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:04,520
She asks him if he wants a coffee and he says no but maybe later and she agrees
556
00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:07,520
Wilford re-enters the room and Benjamin leaves
557
00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:13,520
Wilford correctly notes that she likes Benjamin and that it's okay he does too
558
00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:17,520
Sarah says down next to Wilford and tells him that she knows he was going to run away to protect her
559
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:21,520
But she wants him to know that there's nothing more important to her than him
560
00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,520
She wants him to do whatever he thinks is right, whatever that may be
561
00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:35,520
Now the third act begins with an inquest
562
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:39,520
The deputy coroner is leading the inquest which operates very much like a trial
563
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:44,520
The owner is on the stand and the coroner just wants some basic facts about cornbread
564
00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:47,520
And this consists of his age and occupation
565
00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:51,520
When she answers the student the coroner takes that to mean unemployed
566
00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:55,520
Benjamin stands up and says Nathaniel was scheduled to start college in two weeks
567
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:57,520
Any at a part-time job at the rec center
568
00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:00,520
So unemployed is kind of a slur here and they're not going to settle for it
569
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:02,520
The coroner nods and makes a note
570
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:05,520
So this is all they need for Leo and his statement
571
00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,520
There's a $27 fee but she can sign a waiver instead of paying it
572
00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,520
But she stands up and takes the money out of her purse
573
00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:14,520
A stunned audience member, there's a lot of people watching this comments
574
00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:17,520
You mean they're going to make her pay for them killing her son?
575
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,520
This makes John and Larry who are also there
576
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,520
Look kind of angry and embarrassed
577
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:24,520
John turns around at that comment
578
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:26,520
But Larry holds him back
579
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,520
And someone else says they'll be making them pay for the cops bullets
580
00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:32,520
This time Larry turns around and John holds him back
581
00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:35,520
I've got a bunch of hecklers
582
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,520
The coroner repeats to Leona that she isn't required to pay
583
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:39,520
She can instead sign the waiver
584
00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:43,520
But Leona chooses to sign only complete financial transaction instead
585
00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:48,520
The coroner tries to defend this rule saying that it's just the law, not his personal choice
586
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:50,520
And offers his condolences
587
00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:53,520
But Leona just returns to her seat without acknowledging that
588
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,520
And now it's time for Sergeant Dana her to testify
589
00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:01,520
He says that an informant told him that Nathaniel Cornbread Hamilton was a gang member
590
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:04,520
And then he's robbed many people and committed many acts of violence
591
00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:07,520
The coroner says just describe the incident
592
00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:09,520
He's pretty frustrated already
593
00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,520
And then Dana her tells them what happened from the cops' point of view
594
00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:17,520
He says officers Larry and John responded to an incident and pursued the suspect
595
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:20,520
They chased him down and they saw a shiny object in his hand
596
00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:24,520
They thought to be a gun and the officers ran out into the street to avoid shooting innocent people
597
00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:25,520
Aha
598
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:27,520
Sanleona shake their heads and disgust
599
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:29,520
Yeah, good one
600
00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:31,520
The coroner urges Dana her to continue
601
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:36,520
Dana her says that they yelled at the subject to stop and when he didn't, they shot and killed him
602
00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:39,520
The coroner thanks him and turns the witness over to Benjamin
603
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:43,520
Who makes Dana her confirm that the cops lost sight of the man that they were chasing
604
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:48,520
Only briefly says Dana her when confronted with the idea that they shot the wrong guy
605
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:50,520
Anyway, they said stop and he didn't
606
00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:53,520
And then men asked, well what about the garbage truck?
607
00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:59,520
Wasn't there a garbage truck on the street making so much noise that no one would have been able to hear the shots to stop?
608
00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:02,520
Dana her says he don't know nothing about no garbage truck
609
00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:05,520
So Blackwell changes his line of questioning
610
00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:08,520
He gets Dana her to confirm that it was a dark rainy day
611
00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:12,520
And if they saw a shiny object in the hands of someone running away from them
612
00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:16,520
Then he asks if a weapon was ever found at the scene, none was ever found
613
00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:18,520
Did anyone else see a gun?
614
00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:21,520
Nope, did anyone say what he did have in his hand?
615
00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:25,520
Dana her admits that a kid said that it was just a bottle of pop
616
00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:26,520
Orange pop, right?
617
00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:29,520
Dana her demure and says, well if you say so
618
00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:32,520
Benjamin says it doesn't matter what he says, he's not the one under oath
619
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:35,520
He asked Dana her to check the witness testimony
620
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:39,520
And Dana her most sheepishly admit that they lost the testimony
621
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:42,520
Ben snarks that this is evidence of police incompetence
622
00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:44,520
The corner tells Benjamin to relax
623
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,520
The witness in question is in the room and he can simply give another statement
624
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:50,520
Benjamin says that is all for this witness
625
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:53,520
He doesn't wish to waste the corner's time with a liar
626
00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:56,520
Dana her looks very offended at this accusation
627
00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:57,520
I hope that she fits
628
00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:00,520
Next to understand is Mr. Watkins
629
00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,520
He was the man in the garbage truck at the time of the incident
630
00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:06,520
His story is that he was reading his report and didn't see what happened
631
00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:09,520
And the truck was making so much noise he didn't hear what happened
632
00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,520
And then Ben says, so that means you're going to say nothing
633
00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:15,520
And Watkins agrees
634
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:16,520
That's right
635
00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:19,520
And next Fred Jenkins is on the stand
636
00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:23,520
He lies and says that he saw nothing, he was back working
637
00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,520
This causes Wilford to heckle him that he's a liar
638
00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,520
He also claims that Cornbread wasn't in his store at all that day
639
00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:32,520
From his seat Wilford can't believe what is happening
640
00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:33,520
Another can stand
641
00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:35,520
He stands up and starts in on Jenkins
642
00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:38,520
What did Cornbread ever do to deserve this betrayal?
643
00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:40,520
The corner tells him to be quiet
644
00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:43,520
He threatens to and then sends the marshal over to remove Sam
645
00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:47,520
Sam is still hollering an officer John stands up until Sam to calm down
646
00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:50,520
But John's base is the last one Sam wants to see right now
647
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:52,520
You did it, you killed him
648
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:56,520
The corner asks once again for Sam to be removed but Benjamin steps in
649
00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:02,520
Nathaniel was a son he says, yes that's had to be a lot of stay and the corner concedes
650
00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:05,520
And next Earl is called to the stand
651
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:08,520
His father stands up and tries to beg off on his behalf
652
00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:11,520
But the corner rudely tells him to sit down and shut up
653
00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:15,520
Earl takes the stand and the corner immediately starts in on him
654
00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,520
But Earl is paralyzed into speechlessness
655
00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:21,520
And this makes the corner spitting mad
656
00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:23,520
And once again his dad tries to intervene
657
00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:27,520
Earl frees when he gets scared and besides he doesn't know anything
658
00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:30,520
The corner asks Benjamin where he's found these witnesses
659
00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:34,520
Three people were called up and three people don't know anything about the case
660
00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:36,520
Benjamin says that his witnesses were intimidated
661
00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:38,520
And if they were allowed to testify freely
662
00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,520
They would all say that Nathaniel Hamilton was a good person
663
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,520
And he was at Jenkins' store at the time of the incident
664
00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:47,520
Dana Hurr stands up to object to this assertion
665
00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:50,520
The corner caution says to not make charges he can't prove
666
00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,520
Benjamin was on to say that they don't believe the shooting was done intentionally
667
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:55,520
It was a case of mistaken identity
668
00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:57,520
But the police just won't have it that way
669
00:33:57,520 --> 00:33:59,520
They're afraid of the truth for some reason
670
00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,520
John seems surprised by this idea
671
00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:05,520
The corner is becoming exasperated
672
00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:08,520
"I wish you would stick to the facts," he says
673
00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,520
Benjamin tries to get Earl to admit that he saw the shooting
674
00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:13,520
But Earl is just sobbing on the stand
675
00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:14,520
Ben pats him on the cheek
676
00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:18,520
And in the audience, John says to Larry that they've got no case
677
00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:21,520
Earl is dismissed and Wilford is called to the stand
678
00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:23,520
Someone says they got to him too
679
00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:27,520
Sarah tells Wilford, "Hey, she knows I he will do what he thinks is right
680
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:31,520
And in that moment he would be a man and he would be a man for the rest of his life
681
00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:34,520
Wilford takes the stand and after getting a nod from his mom
682
00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:37,520
Very calmly explains what actually happened on that day
683
00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:42,520
The game, the rain, the pop, one eye, the other pop, the bet
684
00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:45,520
The four of them, Wilford, Earl, Mr. Jenkins and one eye
685
00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:51,520
Watching Cornbread run home, the counting, the cops, the yelling, the garbage truck, the shooting
686
00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:55,520
Wilford says they killed Cornbread and he wasn't doing nothing
687
00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:57,520
He was just running home
688
00:34:57,520 --> 00:34:59,520
The corner says that someone is lying
689
00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:01,520
Larry and John exchange looks
690
00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,520
Larry comments to John that that kid has to be lying
691
00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:08,520
Benjamin asks Wilford if he knew of Cornbread being in a gang
692
00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:10,520
Wilford said he didn't have time for that
693
00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:12,520
He was always playing basketball
694
00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:15,520
He always hear the bam bam bam of the ball against the backboard
695
00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:18,520
Sometimes he'd be laying in bed and he'd hear that bam bam bam
696
00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:21,520
And he knew it was Cornbread and it would put him right to sleep
697
00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,520
The corner of dismisses Wilford
698
00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:25,520
And demands that the two officers testify
699
00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:27,520
Well, just one of them needs to
700
00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:29,520
And so he picks Larry atkins
701
00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:31,520
The corner tries to hurry this along
702
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:34,520
Does Larry agree with the report of the investigating officer
703
00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:36,520
After a little bit of dithering
704
00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:40,520
Larry says that he's starting to believe Wilford's testimony
705
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,520
Danher objects but Larry continues
706
00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:45,520
That he has to conclude God help them
707
00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:47,520
That they shot the wrong man
708
00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:50,520
Danher stands up and says there must be some mistake
709
00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:53,520
Because Larry has signed a statement and they have it on file
710
00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:55,520
But the corner says the hearing is closed
711
00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:57,520
Danher charges at the corner
712
00:35:57,520 --> 00:35:59,520
You don't believe all this crap to you
713
00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:03,520
You've had a sergeant, the next person that are going to be investigating is you
714
00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:06,520
And everyone solently leaves the courtroom
715
00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:08,520
Sobbing, Sam and Leona leave the courtroom
716
00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:11,520
They make a point of snubbing Fred Jenkins as they walk past him
717
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:14,520
Yeah, that can't be too good for business
718
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:16,520
In a hallway outside the courtroom
719
00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:18,520
Danher charges at Larry and John
720
00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:20,520
He's not going to let two lousy cops ruin him
721
00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:22,520
He demands that John do something
722
00:36:22,520 --> 00:36:26,520
So if John does, he groin punches Danher who sinks to the ground
723
00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:29,520
Now it's night and Wilford is shooting baskets on the basketball court
724
00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:32,520
Earl comes over and has surprised that not only is Wilford not angry with him
725
00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:34,520
But that they're still friends
726
00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:36,520
Wilford says of course their blood brothers aren't they?
727
00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:39,520
Earl takes the ball and underhand tosses it at the hoop
728
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:41,520
Wilford says no
729
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:43,520
Cornbread taught him to shoot it like so
730
00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:46,520
And after that demonstration, Earl makes a basket
731
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:51,520
Then we hear the very weird Cornbread theme again as credits roll and that's the end
732
00:36:51,520 --> 00:37:01,520
You are listening to the American International Podcast
733
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:05,520
Where we're discussing Cornbread Earl and me from 1975
734
00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:09,520
According to an article published in the Chicago Tribune in December of 1987
735
00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:12,520
That gave us a story of how Cornbread Earl and me was made
736
00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:19,520
Financial advisor Melvin Pearl was working as a tax attorney for real estate developer Leonard Lamenstorf in 1972
737
00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:22,520
When Lamenstorf told Pearl about his novel hit the open man
738
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:24,520
Which would make a great film he thought
739
00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:27,520
Pearl contacted a former classmate who helped him set up a meeting at AIP
740
00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:32,520
AIP liked the story and offered to fund half of the pictures to $800,000 budget
741
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:38,520
Lamenstorf and Pearl raised the remaining $400,000 from Chicago Illinois based investors
742
00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:41,520
Although Lamenstorf perceived executive producer and screenwriting credits
743
00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:43,520
His book is not credited
744
00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:47,520
Instead the credit goes to Ronald L. Ferris-Naval, Hugg Butcher, as source material
745
00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:48,520
Yeah, we don't know why
746
00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:52,520
A Philadelphia Daily News article published in January of 1984
747
00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:57,520
Said that the basketball, playing character and Nathaniel Cornbread Hamilton was partly based on Darrell McCray
748
00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:02,520
A former graffiti artist who had since renounced graffiti and was working with troubled adolescents
749
00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:07,520
Keith Wilkes, who would later go by the name Jamal, was nearly six feet seven inches tall
750
00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:12,520
He was an all-American player on the University of California Los Angeles Bruins basketball team
751
00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:17,520
And as a Golden State Warrior was the NBA's 1974 rookie of the year
752
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:21,520
In an interview in the San Francisco Examiner the night of the film's debut
753
00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:26,520
Wilkes said he got the part because producer Lenny Lamenstorf contacted UCLA Coach John Wooden
754
00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:29,520
about the possibility of him playing the role
755
00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:34,520
Coach Wooden received a script, read it, and since he liked it, he called Wilkes to tell him about it
756
00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:37,520
In the interview, Wilkes said that he liked Cornbread Earl and me
757
00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:41,520
And that he never thought he would make a movie like this which was definitely not trash
758
00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:44,520
And not even necessarily a black film though it was set in a ghetto
759
00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:50,520
Wilkes said that he had seen exactly one black exploitation film Superfly and that was enough
760
00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:55,520
He's quoted as saying, "I think there's more to black people in black neighborhoods than cocaine and pimps
761
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,520
Though Wilkes said in several interviews he would like to keep acting
762
00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:03,520
He only had one acting credit after Cornbread, a guest appearance on the series "Capper John MD"
763
00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:09,520
Cornbread Earl and me marks the film debut of Lawrence Fishburn, credited in the movie as Lawrence Fishburn III
764
00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:13,520
And in promotional materials as Larry Fishburn III
765
00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:19,520
Daily variety announced in March of 1975 that American international pictures had acquired distribution rights to the film
766
00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:22,520
The United Negro College Fund sponsored several benefit premieres
767
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:29,520
With the Los Angeles California benefit set to take place at the screen director's guild on May 15th, 1975
768
00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:33,520
According to an article in the LA Times published in April of 1975
769
00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:39,520
Box Office magazine reported that the film was cited in the Congressional Record by Representative Thomas M. Reese of California
770
00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:45,520
Who urged theater owners to screen the film which portrayed with great human dignity and drama
771
00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:49,520
The hopes, the aspirations, and the warm family values of a black community
772
00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:57,520
In June of 1975, Cornbread Earl and me was honored by the Los Angeles City Council for Excellence in Community Service and Entertainment
773
00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:01,520
AIP's press book advised theater owners to kept the lives on the obvious
774
00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:04,520
Keith Wilkes status as an elite basketball player
775
00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:10,520
They recommended a shooting contest and a dribbling race for kids with a local sporting goods store providing prizes like basketballs
776
00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:18,520
Naturally, he also suggested cooperating with the police, posting a pre-show demonstration where officers could show movie goers how to act when approached by the cops
777
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:20,520
Yikes
778
00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:23,520
Taglines for Cornbread Earl and me include
779
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:29,520
It was a heavy town for someone with a light touch and Cornbread was gonna split out of there the only way he knew
780
00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:35,520
Hold it high and let it fly was his motto but if you cut him you cut yourself some big trouble
781
00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:37,520
We're gonna lick the world
782
00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:38,520
Yuck
783
00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:47,520
That San Francisco Examiner article that we talked about earlier reported that Wilkes girlfriend and future wife Joy Bramlett cried during Cornbread's death scene
784
00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:54,520
But mostly because of how it affected the character of Wilford and the reporter said that Wilkes was seen holding his hand over his mouth during his death scene
785
00:40:54,520 --> 00:41:03,520
A December 1976 LA Times news brief reported that roughly 100 youths rioted at a West LA movie theater which was playing Cornbread Earl and me
786
00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:05,520
Holy high and JD's revenge
787
00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:11,520
The rioters threw projectiles through the screen broke windows destroyed theater seats and the box office
788
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:16,520
They also injured two police officers but the motive for the riot was undetermined at the time of reporting
789
00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:22,520
During the riot older members of the audience got on stage and appealed to the youth to settle down but that didn't work
790
00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:24,520
After the theater was closed
791
00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:28,520
Riders spilled out on Topiko Boulevard where six juveniles were arrested
792
00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:40,520
An item in the May 30th 1975 daily variety reported that Cornbread Earl and me took in 83,512 dollars in box office receipts at New York City's Penthouse Theater in its first week of release
793
00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:45,520
And by its third week of release it had taken in 228,000 from screenings in 12 cities
794
00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:51,520
In 1987 an article in the LA Times called Cornbread Earl and me ultimately a box office success
795
00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:53,520
And at that point the film had taken in over $2 million
796
00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:59,520
According to a book called American Film Distribution the Changing Marketplace by Suzanne Mary Donahue
797
00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:05,520
Kevin Thomas in the LA Times wrote that if Cornbread Earl and me does not live up to its promising beginning
798
00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:10,520
It is redeemed by some powerful performances and some searing insights into what it's like to grow up black
799
00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:15,520
But said it was unfortunate that writer Leonard Lamestorff didn't develop the premise more fully or credibly
800
00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:21,520
But he also wrote Cornbread is strongest in the suggestion of how a boy like Cornbread could become a neighborhood hero
801
00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:23,520
A symbol of hope
802
00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:28,520
The film's chief accomplishment is in showing the impact of his death upon his younger pals
803
00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:34,520
Martin Levine in Newsday wrote Cornbread's message of dinghity and honesty is eviscerated by race baiting or excessive violence
804
00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:40,520
Indeed it marks an unlook for advance for American international pictures, hitherto noted for its profitable sleaze
805
00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:46,520
He finishes reviews saying, "I realized I'm praising Cornbread Earl and me for being the equivalent of a decent TV show
806
00:42:46,520 --> 00:42:50,520
But in the context of B movies, that's still praiseworthy"
807
00:42:50,520 --> 00:42:58,520
Howard Coffin in Affiliate Alphia Inquire wrote, "If you haven't heard about Cornbread Earl and me, blame it on the executive who slothed this one into the theater
808
00:42:58,520 --> 00:43:05,520
As though it were just another hell up in Harlem. It's not, and it deserves to be seen, particularly by kids of all races and by white grownups
809
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:09,520
We have a hard time coming to grips with the humanity of black people."
810
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:19,520
Over at the Philadelphia Daily News, Joe Belltaki called Cornbread Earl and me a "gettosopopra" where emotions are worked over with a heaviness even daytime TV is abandoned
811
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:24,520
Still there are some admirable elements in the new PG-rated family film, mostly in the form of performances
812
00:43:24,520 --> 00:43:28,520
Plus a few incredibly affecting moments in which quiet truths are conveyed
813
00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:43,520
Francis Taylor in the Jersey Journal wrote that Cornbread Earl and me is an unpretentious movie that offers real black people struggling upwards against the odds trying to raise children who respect moral principles and split their daily experience of the lack of morals in society outside their homes
814
00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:48,520
So you concluded by saying that Cornbread Earl and me has no unrealistic happy ending
815
00:43:48,520 --> 00:43:54,520
It shows that people who resist fear in order to do the right thing learn something of enormous value
816
00:43:54,520 --> 00:44:00,520
Lowell Cohen of the peninsula times tribute in called Cornbread Earl and me overdone, saying that was hopelessly naive
817
00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:06,520
It depicts a world where good people are nothing less than angels and the villains are the kind who would beat their own mothers
818
00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:13,520
Coden dinged Wilkes acting, saying that once the specs for now at least, he couldn't tackle the part that called for much more
819
00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:23,520
They destroyed repressed review called Cornbread, a feast of mediocrity, saying it was not a black exploitation film but neither is it a sensitive reflection of part of the black experience
820
00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:32,520
Cornbread avoids some but not all of the black exploitation formula traps but has a more interesting and sophisticated story than most films made for the black market
821
00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:39,520
The reviewer praised Fishburns and Cache's performances but set of Wilkes, he does just fine when he's bouncing a basketball
822
00:44:39,520 --> 00:44:43,520
When he opens his mouth, one becomes thankful he dies early in the picture
823
00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:49,520
The reviewer also said one could believe the soundtrack was headed straight for the New York Discos if only the lyrics weren't so enane
824
00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:57,520
[Music]
825
00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:01,520
So Cheryl, we saw that the reviews for Cornbread Earl and me were very mixed
826
00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:03,520
What are your thoughts on the film?
827
00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:10,520
Well, reading those reviews I kind of found something to agree with and all of them and something to disagree with often too
828
00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:20,520
And my view of the film watching it is that there is the germ of a really good movie in here but unfortunately it's kind of turned into an afterschool special
829
00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:31,520
Well I have to wonder because this is based on a novel if there's just more explanation of what's going on in the actual story that just didn't translate to the screen because I've got a lot of questions
830
00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:35,520
I don't really have questions, I just have issues with how the movie was played out
831
00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:41,520
And I think that maybe if we read the story it was based on that some of these questions I have would be answered
832
00:45:41,520 --> 00:45:42,520
Give me an example
833
00:45:42,520 --> 00:45:44,520
What kind of a nickname is Cornbread?
834
00:45:44,520 --> 00:45:45,520
[Laughter]
835
00:45:45,520 --> 00:45:46,520
Yeah
836
00:45:46,520 --> 00:45:49,520
There has to be an explanation for why he has perceived this name
837
00:45:49,520 --> 00:45:54,520
Well just like Puder and Cruley High, we're never gonna know, we have to accept it
838
00:45:54,520 --> 00:46:00,520
And the character of One Eye, he doesn't really do anything in this but I'm sure he's much more involved in the story, he has to be
839
00:46:00,520 --> 00:46:07,520
Yeah, he just serves as an example of how straight arrow Cornbread is or at least how everyone wants him to be
840
00:46:07,520 --> 00:46:12,520
No, he is, it's kind of annoying how straight arrow Cornbread is
841
00:46:12,520 --> 00:46:17,520
Well that's the problem I have with it, is that Cornbread is too good to be true, number one
842
00:46:17,520 --> 00:46:18,520
He's a cartoon character
843
00:46:18,520 --> 00:46:27,520
He is and number two, it took me reading about it to understand that the neighborhood rioted because they were so invested in Cornbread
844
00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:36,520
Because we're given really nothing showing him interacting with anybody in the neighborhood except for One Eye and Mr. Jenkins
845
00:46:36,520 --> 00:46:37,520
And Wilford
846
00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:43,520
And well obviously Wilford's his cousin but I mean the whole neighborhood decides to beat up cops on Cornbread's behalf
847
00:46:43,520 --> 00:46:48,520
But we don't know what he means to the neighborhood, we see very few people interact with him
848
00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:52,520
And all those interactions seem kind of stilted and stagy
849
00:46:52,520 --> 00:46:58,520
Right, the first sort of the movie we see it all basically through Cornbread's point of view and...
850
00:46:58,520 --> 00:46:59,520
Then he dies
851
00:46:59,520 --> 00:47:03,520
He dies but before that he seems so vain
852
00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:09,520
Yeah, he's got a big head, I mean he's what 18 and he's going to get this big basketball scholarship
853
00:47:09,520 --> 00:47:12,520
He deserves to have a lot of pride in what he's done
854
00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:17,520
Can you imagine if Cochise had that kind of attitude and clearly high? He wouldn't have had any friends
855
00:47:17,520 --> 00:47:18,520
Probably not
856
00:47:18,520 --> 00:47:24,520
And we don't see that Cornbread has friends, we just see him hanging out with Earl and Wilford
857
00:47:24,520 --> 00:47:28,520
They're little kids, he doesn't really have any friends his own age
858
00:47:28,520 --> 00:47:31,520
But he's so... well you said cartoonish
859
00:47:31,520 --> 00:47:39,520
He's just this figurehead, he doesn't really exist as a person, he's just a concept
860
00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:43,520
And the concept is just too good to be true, he's not a human being
861
00:47:43,520 --> 00:47:47,520
And maybe he was flushed out more in the story that this is based on
862
00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:51,520
The hug busher was the book they reprinted with the title Cornbread Earl and me
863
00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:55,520
It just would have been good to see him interact with other people in the neighborhood
864
00:47:55,520 --> 00:47:57,520
We don't really meet a lot of people
865
00:47:57,520 --> 00:48:00,520
Instead we just get these stilted conversations
866
00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:04,520
Mr. Wilson saying, "Oh, we need you so much, we can't let anything happen to you"
867
00:48:04,520 --> 00:48:09,520
Well the story isn't Cornbread's story, it's the story of what happens after he's killed
868
00:48:09,520 --> 00:48:10,520
Right
869
00:48:10,520 --> 00:48:15,520
But it would be helpful to have him be more of a character just as a viewer in the audience
870
00:48:15,520 --> 00:48:22,520
To see why he represents what he does to these characters, rather than just saying, "Yeah, he's a good basketball player"
871
00:48:22,520 --> 00:48:26,520
And he's going places, so that's something we can all strive to do
872
00:48:26,520 --> 00:48:28,520
Good for him
873
00:48:28,520 --> 00:48:32,520
I do see how his parents are affected and Wilfer too
874
00:48:32,520 --> 00:48:37,520
And Wilfer's mom, Sarah, that part rings true
875
00:48:37,520 --> 00:48:40,520
And I think those are the best performances in the movie
876
00:48:40,520 --> 00:48:45,520
Obviously, Rosalind Cash, we've seen her just last week
877
00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:47,520
Yes, she was in Monkey Huzzle
878
00:48:47,520 --> 00:48:54,520
And Madgyson Claire and Stack Pierce as Sam and Leona, Cornbread's parents
879
00:48:54,520 --> 00:48:57,520
I thought their performances were very good
880
00:48:57,520 --> 00:48:59,520
And Lawrence Fishburn was amazing in this movie
881
00:48:59,520 --> 00:49:02,520
Oh, he's very good, what would ever happen to him?
882
00:49:02,520 --> 00:49:04,520
I bet he could have gone places
883
00:49:04,520 --> 00:49:07,520
As child actors go, he's probably one of the best I've ever seen
884
00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:11,520
And the scene where he's running up and down the street saying that Cornbread died
885
00:49:11,520 --> 00:49:14,520
It felt so real, I gasped
886
00:49:14,520 --> 00:49:19,520
I kind of get into a bunch of thinking about how well he played that scene
887
00:49:19,520 --> 00:49:22,520
My least favorite character in this movie is the score
888
00:49:22,520 --> 00:49:23,520
Oh god
889
00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:26,520
The music is awful, it's so smalty
890
00:49:26,520 --> 00:49:27,520
An intrusive
891
00:49:27,520 --> 00:49:31,520
Everything's quiet, it comes up just before a big speech or something
892
00:49:31,520 --> 00:49:33,520
And you can't help but notice it
893
00:49:33,520 --> 00:49:35,520
And you're really not supposed to notice it
894
00:49:35,520 --> 00:49:38,520
It's supposed to subliminally help you feel what you're supposed to feel
895
00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:42,520
But it kind of punches you in the gut when it's telling you to feel this way instead
896
00:49:42,520 --> 00:49:48,520
The speech that I did in the synopsis where he's going, "No, mama, this is food by his basketball."
897
00:49:48,520 --> 00:49:50,520
I mean, that's corny stuff he's saying anyway
898
00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:53,520
But the score going behind it doesn't help
899
00:49:53,520 --> 00:49:58,520
No, and we saw one of the reviews that the music was better suited for a disco
900
00:49:58,520 --> 00:50:00,520
And then the theme song
901
00:50:00,520 --> 00:50:02,520
The theme song's kind of fun, it's catchy
902
00:50:02,520 --> 00:50:04,520
It's catchy but it's kind of silly too
903
00:50:04,520 --> 00:50:06,520
It's very silly, I've got the lyrics here
904
00:50:06,520 --> 00:50:09,520
I don't remember the tune at all so you don't have to hear me sing it
905
00:50:09,520 --> 00:50:16,520
In the heat of the night, you hear the bump of the ball on the floor of the court on the sides of the hall
906
00:50:16,520 --> 00:50:18,520
He's cornbread
907
00:50:18,520 --> 00:50:19,520
Cornbread
908
00:50:19,520 --> 00:50:21,520
He's cornbread
909
00:50:21,520 --> 00:50:22,520
Cornbread
910
00:50:22,520 --> 00:50:24,520
I'm not doing it every single time
911
00:50:24,520 --> 00:50:27,520
He's a man, made of steel
912
00:50:27,520 --> 00:50:30,520
Was no sucker to buy, was a giant in his field
913
00:50:30,520 --> 00:50:32,520
Not a trick for one eye, he's cornbread
914
00:50:32,520 --> 00:50:33,520
Cornbread
915
00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:35,520
He's cornbread
916
00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:37,520
Oh God, get on with it
917
00:50:37,520 --> 00:50:39,520
He's the man with the plan, he's got a basketball on his hand
918
00:50:39,520 --> 00:50:41,520
Well, he's cornbread
919
00:50:41,520 --> 00:50:43,520
Cornbread
920
00:50:43,520 --> 00:50:44,520
He's cornbread
921
00:50:44,520 --> 00:50:47,520
He's the man with the plan, got the whole world in his hand
922
00:50:47,520 --> 00:50:49,520
He's cornbread
923
00:50:49,520 --> 00:50:51,520
Cornbread
924
00:50:51,520 --> 00:50:54,520
He's going to school, now looking to fight
925
00:50:54,520 --> 00:50:58,520
Not an neighborhood fool, got no gun or knife, he's cornbread
926
00:50:58,520 --> 00:51:00,520
Cornbread
927
00:51:00,520 --> 00:51:03,520
He's cornbread
928
00:51:03,520 --> 00:51:04,520
He's a dream to his mom, he's a man to his pop
929
00:51:04,520 --> 00:51:07,520
He's an idol of the kids and he loves soda pop
930
00:51:07,520 --> 00:51:09,520
He's cornbread
931
00:51:09,520 --> 00:51:11,520
Cornbread
932
00:51:11,520 --> 00:51:12,520
He's cornbread
933
00:51:12,520 --> 00:51:14,520
And then it repeats, he's the man with the plan, he's got a basketball on his hand, he's cornbread
934
00:51:14,520 --> 00:51:17,520
I see what I'm saying, it's just so silly
935
00:51:17,520 --> 00:51:21,520
But it's really difficult to get out of your head, but apparently it works because I don't remember the tune
936
00:51:21,520 --> 00:51:25,520
Yeah, so that's, it's annoying, but I understand they have to have it there
937
00:51:25,520 --> 00:51:27,520
The song was better than the score
938
00:51:27,520 --> 00:51:35,520
The soundtrack album has that song twice, it's the first and last track, so I don't know if the lyrics are slightly different when they play it the first time for you to compare it
939
00:51:35,520 --> 00:51:36,520
I don't think it is
940
00:51:36,520 --> 00:51:41,520
But the rest is just the score, so I don't think I'll be trying to track down that soundtrack album
941
00:51:41,520 --> 00:51:43,520
No, it's pretty annoying
942
00:51:43,520 --> 00:51:48,520
And the song does a better job of explaining who Cornbread is than the movie does though
943
00:51:48,520 --> 00:51:51,520
So that's kind of not great
944
00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:56,520
We get more information on Cornbread from the theme song than we do from his interactions with others in the movie
945
00:51:56,520 --> 00:52:05,520
No, I guess it doesn't really matter though, beyond the fact that he's a really good basketball player and he's going to get out of this neighborhood because of that
946
00:52:05,520 --> 00:52:10,520
Well, that's why I say there's a germ of a really good movie here because it's the aftermath that really concerns us
947
00:52:10,520 --> 00:52:13,520
Cornbread is like in the first half hour of the movie
948
00:52:13,520 --> 00:52:20,520
The second half hour of the movie is the police and the police responding and trying to intimidate the witnesses
949
00:52:20,520 --> 00:52:23,520
And then the last half hour is the inquest
950
00:52:23,520 --> 00:52:29,520
And it's the middle part that's pretty interesting where we get real conflict and character growth
951
00:52:29,520 --> 00:52:34,520
And then in the third act when we see the results of that and how it affected different people
952
00:52:34,520 --> 00:52:37,520
All these people aren't speaking at all because they're scared
953
00:52:37,520 --> 00:52:39,520
Right, and that was very realistic
954
00:52:39,520 --> 00:52:44,520
What I thought wasn't realistic was the fact that all Wilford had to do was testify
955
00:52:44,520 --> 00:52:47,520
And the coroner's like, "Oh, okay, I believe you."
956
00:52:47,520 --> 00:52:52,520
And then he's ready to throw the book at Danher for doing the witness intimidation
957
00:52:52,520 --> 00:52:57,520
When he had just been so cruel to Earl who just sat on the stand and sobbed
958
00:52:57,520 --> 00:53:00,520
I mean, he really was, he was mean to Earl
959
00:53:00,520 --> 00:53:03,520
But he listens to Wilford explain everything
960
00:53:03,520 --> 00:53:07,520
And to be fair Lawrence Fishburn did a great job with this scene
961
00:53:07,520 --> 00:53:11,520
He explained it very matter of faculty without emotion, what happened
962
00:53:11,520 --> 00:53:15,520
And even though he didn't get emotional, it was emotional to watch him do this
963
00:53:15,520 --> 00:53:18,520
And speaking of Earl, this is Tier Turner
964
00:53:18,520 --> 00:53:21,520
Is the third character we've seen a play in an AIP movie?
965
00:53:21,520 --> 00:53:22,520
Very different
966
00:53:22,520 --> 00:53:26,520
All from this year, this was the first one, so we watched them in their verse order that they came out
967
00:53:26,520 --> 00:53:29,520
And he looks like he's a year younger
968
00:53:29,520 --> 00:53:31,520
He's a year older actually than Lawrence Fishburn
969
00:53:31,520 --> 00:53:33,520
I mean, he looks like a year younger than we've seen him before
970
00:53:33,520 --> 00:53:36,520
Oh, he does, he looks very much like a little kid here
971
00:53:36,520 --> 00:53:38,520
And he acts like one
972
00:53:38,520 --> 00:53:40,520
He's not the smart act we've seen in the other two films
973
00:53:40,520 --> 00:53:45,520
Yeah, he's not this best operator that he was in Friday Foster and in Bucktown
974
00:53:45,520 --> 00:53:50,520
And as for the character of Earl, I don't understand what he did to Warren and getting his name in the time
975
00:53:50,520 --> 00:53:56,520
He's just sort of the naysayer to everything that Wilford says
976
00:53:56,520 --> 00:53:59,520
I feel this is a lot more than this character deserved
977
00:53:59,520 --> 00:54:02,520
Yeah, the title could have made it a lot more dramatic
978
00:54:02,520 --> 00:54:06,520
It makes it sound like sort of a fun buddy comedy when it's not
979
00:54:06,520 --> 00:54:10,520
And all the players don't deserve equal billing in the title
980
00:54:10,520 --> 00:54:12,520
This is really Wilford's movie
981
00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:16,520
And what's happening to him is the most important part of the movie
982
00:54:16,520 --> 00:54:17,520
Yeah
983
00:54:17,520 --> 00:54:20,520
His relationship with Earl is they argue all the time
984
00:54:20,520 --> 00:54:23,520
They were always bickering their friends but they don't get along that well
985
00:54:23,520 --> 00:54:26,520
The part at the end where Wilford teaches Earl how to shoot
986
00:54:26,520 --> 00:54:28,520
That was a good scene, I like that scene
987
00:54:28,520 --> 00:54:30,520
And that kind of thing could have happened a lot earlier
988
00:54:30,520 --> 00:54:33,520
If Earl was just an easier person to get along with
989
00:54:33,520 --> 00:54:34,520
He's very contrary
990
00:54:34,520 --> 00:54:36,520
He doesn't want to believe anything Wilford says
991
00:54:36,520 --> 00:54:39,520
And it's kind of hard to see how they are friends
992
00:54:39,520 --> 00:54:41,520
Because it sounds like he just got here from Mississippi
993
00:54:41,520 --> 00:54:43,520
Or at least he's always talking about it
994
00:54:43,520 --> 00:54:49,520
Well, when your kids is a lot easier, you make friends with the other kids in the neighborhood and they don't seem to be a lot
995
00:54:49,520 --> 00:54:54,520
No, there aren't a lot of kids play basketball but not a lot of kids actually hang
996
00:54:54,520 --> 00:54:57,520
With either cornbread or Wilford and Earl
997
00:54:57,520 --> 00:54:59,520
Another thing that may have been handled better in the book
998
00:54:59,520 --> 00:55:04,520
I really would kind of like to read this story just to see if they did a better job
999
00:55:04,520 --> 00:55:09,520
Because the way that the story is put together, it's kind of angering
1000
00:55:09,520 --> 00:55:12,520
I mean, the material is supposed to make you angry
1001
00:55:12,520 --> 00:55:16,520
That this kind of thing is happening anyway with the police intimidation and everything that's going on
1002
00:55:16,520 --> 00:55:20,520
But I think the way that the film handles it makes it even worse
1003
00:55:20,520 --> 00:55:21,520
It does
1004
00:55:21,520 --> 00:55:23,520
This is a serious subject
1005
00:55:23,520 --> 00:55:30,520
Extradudicial execution by the police has been in the news constantly in the past 10 years at least
1006
00:55:30,520 --> 00:55:31,520
For good reason
1007
00:55:31,520 --> 00:55:32,520
And it should be
1008
00:55:32,520 --> 00:55:34,520
And the way that it plays out here
1009
00:55:34,520 --> 00:55:36,520
It's just wrapped up
1010
00:55:36,520 --> 00:55:39,520
So neatly and tidily and it shouldn't be
1011
00:55:39,520 --> 00:55:42,520
At least one of the officers is going to have to face consequences
1012
00:55:42,520 --> 00:55:44,520
At least they imply that much
1013
00:55:44,520 --> 00:55:46,520
Yeah, but it's not the shooters
1014
00:55:46,520 --> 00:55:48,520
It's the guy who tried to cover up for the shooters
1015
00:55:48,520 --> 00:55:51,520
And to be honest, I don't believe any of that
1016
00:55:51,520 --> 00:55:54,520
I don't think anything is going to happen to anybody here
1017
00:55:54,520 --> 00:55:55,520
It never does
1018
00:55:55,520 --> 00:55:58,520
This is not a problem that has been solved
1019
00:55:58,520 --> 00:56:01,520
It's a problem that's been exacerbated in the past 50 years
1020
00:56:01,520 --> 00:56:03,520
This is a 50-year-old movie
1021
00:56:03,520 --> 00:56:05,520
And what was interesting
1022
00:56:05,520 --> 00:56:08,520
And I don't know if they were just trying to pull the punches or what
1023
00:56:08,520 --> 00:56:12,520
But it was the white cop that was having doubts about what they did
1024
00:56:12,520 --> 00:56:14,520
Yeah, but I think they explained that pretty well
1025
00:56:14,520 --> 00:56:16,520
When they had Benjamin talk to Larry in the hospital
1026
00:56:16,520 --> 00:56:17,520
Well, they had to
1027
00:56:17,520 --> 00:56:20,520
Obviously, but I think that was a good scene
1028
00:56:20,520 --> 00:56:24,520
And I think that getting the two of them to talk to each other about their history
1029
00:56:24,520 --> 00:56:25,520
Their experiences
1030
00:56:25,520 --> 00:56:28,520
And their different perspectives on the people in the neighborhood
1031
00:56:28,520 --> 00:56:30,520
I thought that was really important
1032
00:56:30,520 --> 00:56:32,520
And that made sense
1033
00:56:32,520 --> 00:56:36,520
And I think if you focus on Larry and John and their transformation
1034
00:56:36,520 --> 00:56:39,520
That adds to the benefit of the movie
1035
00:56:39,520 --> 00:56:42,520
The cartoonish mustache twirling villain Sergeant Danner
1036
00:56:42,520 --> 00:56:45,520
Does not add anything to this movie
1037
00:56:45,520 --> 00:56:49,520
It's so ridiculous how evil he is
1038
00:56:49,520 --> 00:56:52,520
And then how he gets his justice in the end
1039
00:56:52,520 --> 00:56:54,520
I don't believe any of it
1040
00:56:54,520 --> 00:56:55,520
Well, up to the end
1041
00:56:55,520 --> 00:56:57,520
I thought that he was the most realistic character
1042
00:56:57,520 --> 00:57:00,520
Well, I can believe that the police do intimidation of witnesses
1043
00:57:00,520 --> 00:57:05,520
It's just the way that it happens here is not realistic to me
1044
00:57:05,520 --> 00:57:08,520
It doesn't feel like a natural scene
1045
00:57:08,520 --> 00:57:11,520
It's like something that a middle schooler wrote
1046
00:57:11,520 --> 00:57:13,520
Where do you think the story takes place?
1047
00:57:13,520 --> 00:57:15,520
Is this somewhere in a Los Angeles area?
1048
00:57:15,520 --> 00:57:17,520
Yeah, I believe that
1049
00:57:17,520 --> 00:57:21,520
I think that's some of the signage that we saw indicates that it's LA
1050
00:57:21,520 --> 00:57:25,520
And I think that's something that the story takes place
1051
00:57:25,520 --> 00:57:27,520
It's not indicates that it's LA
1052
00:57:27,520 --> 00:57:31,520
It's probably one of the more ethnic neighborhoods
1053
00:57:31,520 --> 00:57:36,520
So the reason I ask is because they kind of interchange the term soda and pop
1054
00:57:36,520 --> 00:57:38,520
Which is a regional thing
1055
00:57:38,520 --> 00:57:40,520
And you don't find an area that uses them both
1056
00:57:40,520 --> 00:57:42,520
You may call it soda pop
1057
00:57:42,520 --> 00:57:44,520
You may call it soda, you may call it pop
1058
00:57:44,520 --> 00:57:47,520
And a lot of places according to the maps that I see it's Coke
1059
00:57:47,520 --> 00:57:49,520
Well, you know what Earl is from Mississippi
1060
00:57:49,520 --> 00:57:52,520
So not everyone who lives in California grew up in California
1061
00:57:52,520 --> 00:57:55,520
So there are regional differences
1062
00:57:55,520 --> 00:57:57,520
I used to call it pop when I lived in the Midwest
1063
00:57:57,520 --> 00:58:01,520
And I'm kind of transitioned to calling it soda since I moved to Arizona
1064
00:58:01,520 --> 00:58:02,520
So that could happen
1065
00:58:02,520 --> 00:58:04,520
I don't think that that's really important
1066
00:58:04,520 --> 00:58:08,520
But I will say having grown up in the Midwest that when they did say pop
1067
00:58:08,520 --> 00:58:09,520
They pronounced it right
1068
00:58:09,520 --> 00:58:13,520
Well, like I said, just because you live in an area doesn't mean you're from that area
1069
00:58:13,520 --> 00:58:15,520
And I grew up in Indiana
1070
00:58:15,520 --> 00:58:19,520
And I didn't have the same accent as people one county south of me
1071
00:58:19,520 --> 00:58:24,520
So just being part of a state doesn't really guarantee anything
1072
00:58:24,520 --> 00:58:26,520
There's city versus rural
1073
00:58:26,520 --> 00:58:30,520
I just think that there's a whole plethora of ways to say things
1074
00:58:30,520 --> 00:58:34,520
And that there might be people saying it one way in a neighborhood
1075
00:58:34,520 --> 00:58:36,520
It's not going to be everybody
1076
00:58:36,520 --> 00:58:40,520
Well, so far I think we're in agreement that the acting is really good here
1077
00:58:40,520 --> 00:58:42,520
Yeah, Rosalind Cash is very good
1078
00:58:42,520 --> 00:58:48,520
Her handling of Wilford after the shooting was so amazing
1079
00:58:48,520 --> 00:58:50,520
She's trying so hard to get her boy back on track
1080
00:58:50,520 --> 00:58:53,520
She knows something terrible has happened and he had to see it
1081
00:58:53,520 --> 00:58:57,520
And she's doing a fantastic job
1082
00:58:57,520 --> 00:58:59,520
Trying to rescue him basically
1083
00:58:59,520 --> 00:59:02,520
Trying to keep him from giving into despair
1084
00:59:02,520 --> 00:59:05,520
And being unable to see a future for himself
1085
00:59:05,520 --> 00:59:08,520
And the way that it happens in the movie is just so sweet
1086
00:59:08,520 --> 00:59:10,520
They're just walking around talking
1087
00:59:10,520 --> 00:59:14,520
There's no big intervention where she's trying to lecture him
1088
00:59:14,520 --> 00:59:20,520
She's just kind of talking to him as a person, an older person, like he's an adult
1089
00:59:20,520 --> 00:59:23,520
And just trying to encourage him
1090
00:59:23,520 --> 00:59:25,520
What about the storyline where she's got the bad heart?
1091
00:59:25,520 --> 00:59:29,520
That's the other thing that I think was probably explained better in the book
1092
00:59:29,520 --> 00:59:32,520
Yeah, it was just shorthanded for the film
1093
00:59:32,520 --> 00:59:35,520
Well, they needed something that the police could use as leverage over her
1094
00:59:35,520 --> 00:59:36,520
And that's what they had
1095
00:59:36,520 --> 00:59:39,520
And that's all the serves in this movie is
1096
00:59:39,520 --> 00:59:40,520
Right
1097
00:59:40,520 --> 00:59:42,520
Yeah, she's on welfare because of this
1098
00:59:42,520 --> 00:59:45,520
She's not really supposed to be on welfare
1099
00:59:45,520 --> 00:59:47,520
She doesn't have a hard condition, that's the thing
1100
00:59:47,520 --> 00:59:50,520
She just can't or won't work for whatever reason
1101
00:59:50,520 --> 00:59:54,520
Maybe she doesn't want to leave her son home alone while she works three jobs
1102
00:59:54,520 --> 00:59:56,520
I mean, that's what I would imagine
1103
00:59:56,520 --> 00:59:58,520
But nothing gets explained
1104
00:59:58,520 --> 01:00:01,520
And I think we just shorthand a lot of this
1105
01:00:01,520 --> 01:00:05,520
And that's why it feels very much like an afterschool special for me
1106
01:00:05,520 --> 01:00:06,520
It's very simplistic
1107
01:00:06,520 --> 01:00:10,520
Between that and some of the dialogue particularly cornbread's dialogue is
1108
01:00:10,520 --> 01:00:11,520
Yeah
1109
01:00:11,520 --> 01:00:13,520
It's as schmultzi as the score
1110
01:00:13,520 --> 01:00:15,520
Keith Wilkes is not a good actor
1111
01:00:15,520 --> 01:00:16,520
He seems like a nice guy
1112
01:00:16,520 --> 01:00:18,520
He does seem like a great guy
1113
01:00:18,520 --> 01:00:21,520
And I definitely think he's a fantastic basketball player
1114
01:00:21,520 --> 01:00:23,520
I just don't know why he got cast in this movie
1115
01:00:23,520 --> 01:00:25,520
I think it's because he has an unusual look
1116
01:00:25,520 --> 01:00:27,520
He's got really light eyes
1117
01:00:27,520 --> 01:00:28,520
He's very tall
1118
01:00:28,520 --> 01:00:31,520
He's very tall, that's not going for him too
1119
01:00:31,520 --> 01:00:33,520
And I mean, yeah, he seems like a real person
1120
01:00:33,520 --> 01:00:35,520
But usually you won't
1121
01:00:35,520 --> 01:00:36,520
He didn't seem like a real person
1122
01:00:36,520 --> 01:00:37,520
I think that was the problem
1123
01:00:37,520 --> 01:00:44,520
Yeah, what I mean is like he seems like a civilian pulling off the streets to act in a movie
1124
01:00:44,520 --> 01:00:47,520
And he doesn't seem like an actor because he's not an actor
1125
01:00:47,520 --> 01:00:50,520
He didn't do anything after this except for one TV appearance
1126
01:00:50,520 --> 01:00:52,520
And then some sports stuff
1127
01:00:52,520 --> 01:00:54,520
And I can see why
1128
01:00:54,520 --> 01:00:56,520
I think there's a lot of missed opportunities here
1129
01:00:56,520 --> 01:00:58,520
Because there's a lot of good stuff mixed in
1130
01:00:58,520 --> 01:00:59,520
There's a lot of good stuff
1131
01:00:59,520 --> 01:01:02,520
The cinematography I think is really good in this movie
1132
01:01:02,520 --> 01:01:05,520
Yeah, there were a couple scenes that I thought were
1133
01:01:05,520 --> 01:01:07,520
I think this is the scene where Cormorant dies
1134
01:01:07,520 --> 01:01:09,520
And the riot starts
1135
01:01:09,520 --> 01:01:11,520
The cuts between that I didn't really care for that
1136
01:01:11,520 --> 01:01:13,520
Because we couldn't really see what was happening
1137
01:01:13,520 --> 01:01:17,520
They were cutting to the light on top of the police car flashing
1138
01:01:17,520 --> 01:01:19,520
And then they cut back to the beating
1139
01:01:19,520 --> 01:01:20,520
And then they cut away to something else
1140
01:01:20,520 --> 01:01:23,520
And that would seem like maybe the editing wasn't that great
1141
01:01:23,520 --> 01:01:24,520
But yeah, the cinematography is good
1142
01:01:24,520 --> 01:01:26,520
And they cut away to Officer Larry
1143
01:01:26,520 --> 01:01:30,520
With little pieces of glass pellets poking on his face
1144
01:01:30,520 --> 01:01:33,520
If that happened every time a windshield shattered
1145
01:01:33,520 --> 01:01:35,520
Yeah, I know
1146
01:01:35,520 --> 01:01:37,520
There'd be a lot more blind people in the world
1147
01:01:37,520 --> 01:01:41,520
Yeah, that didn't happen any of my car accidents
1148
01:01:41,520 --> 01:01:44,520
But in terms of the cinematography, particularly in the courtroom stuff
1149
01:01:44,520 --> 01:01:46,520
They keep getting really tight
1150
01:01:46,520 --> 01:01:47,520
Yeah
1151
01:01:47,520 --> 01:01:49,520
And it's really, really well done
1152
01:01:49,520 --> 01:01:50,520
Yeah
1153
01:01:50,520 --> 01:01:51,520
Yeah
1154
01:01:51,520 --> 01:01:53,520
Like I said, there's so much going on in this movie
1155
01:01:53,520 --> 01:01:56,520
They just insisted on inserting some of these really ridiculous scenes
1156
01:01:56,520 --> 01:01:59,520
The scene where Sarah comes out to stab, Dan or
1157
01:01:59,520 --> 01:02:02,520
Oh my god, she looked like a rabid animal
1158
01:02:02,520 --> 01:02:04,520
It was just so ridiculous
1159
01:02:04,520 --> 01:02:06,520
Oh, and when Cornbread is shot
1160
01:02:06,520 --> 01:02:09,520
And then the orange soda bottle flies through the air
1161
01:02:09,520 --> 01:02:10,520
Yeah
1162
01:02:10,520 --> 01:02:12,520
That was a little overdramatic, I think
1163
01:02:12,520 --> 01:02:13,520
Yeah
1164
01:02:13,520 --> 01:02:15,520
So I just wish I could redo this movie
1165
01:02:15,520 --> 01:02:17,520
I think I would give it a different title
1166
01:02:17,520 --> 01:02:19,520
Maybe I'd call it Hit the Open Man
1167
01:02:19,520 --> 01:02:22,520
I think I would cast a real actor to play Cornbread
1168
01:02:22,520 --> 01:02:24,520
Go into his background a little more
1169
01:02:24,520 --> 01:02:26,520
Like why is everybody thinking so great?
1170
01:02:26,520 --> 01:02:30,520
Because he seemed a little like a blank canvas to me
1171
01:02:30,520 --> 01:02:33,520
We have to go back to the book and see what's missing from the film
1172
01:02:33,520 --> 01:02:34,520
Yeah
1173
01:02:34,520 --> 01:02:36,520
But a lot of the stuff I wouldn't touch
1174
01:02:36,520 --> 01:02:39,520
Like anything with Wilford
1175
01:02:39,520 --> 01:02:42,520
I would give one eye something to do
1176
01:02:42,520 --> 01:02:47,520
I thought the only thing that he did was disappear when the police were about to come around
1177
01:02:47,520 --> 01:02:48,520
And we never saw him again
1178
01:02:48,520 --> 01:02:49,520
No, they don't talk about him
1179
01:02:49,520 --> 01:02:51,520
And it was not Charlie again, either come to think of it
1180
01:02:51,520 --> 01:02:53,520
Yeah, we didn't see Charlie again, but that's okay
1181
01:02:53,520 --> 01:02:55,520
Because Sarah's moved on, she's got herself a lawyer
1182
01:02:55,520 --> 01:02:57,520
Well, maybe
1183
01:02:57,520 --> 01:02:59,520
We don't really see anything solid developing there
1184
01:02:59,520 --> 01:03:04,520
There's an implication of something possibly interminating there
1185
01:03:04,520 --> 01:03:08,520
But yeah, but I think she's going to like him a lot better than she likes Charlie
1186
01:03:08,520 --> 01:03:09,520
The horny guy
1187
01:03:09,520 --> 01:03:11,520
The horny guy without a job, yeah
1188
01:03:11,520 --> 01:03:13,520
Yeah, right, exactly
1189
01:03:13,520 --> 01:03:15,520
Benjamin can pay the rent
1190
01:03:15,520 --> 01:03:16,520
But he's a good guy
1191
01:03:16,520 --> 01:03:20,520
And Moses Gunn as Benjamin was very good too
1192
01:03:20,520 --> 01:03:22,520
In the tradition of movie lawyers
1193
01:03:22,520 --> 01:03:25,520
He's wise, he's kind, he's forceful
1194
01:03:25,520 --> 01:03:27,520
He did a great job with the role
1195
01:03:27,520 --> 01:03:29,520
And I really liked him in this movie
1196
01:03:29,520 --> 01:03:31,520
And I can see who I Rosalind liked him too
1197
01:03:31,520 --> 01:03:35,520
When they go into these reports and they talk about a shiny object in his hand
1198
01:03:35,520 --> 01:03:37,520
Nobody mentions the basketball
1199
01:03:37,520 --> 01:03:39,520
He's always got a basketball in his hand
1200
01:03:39,520 --> 01:03:42,520
And that's going to be more noticeable than a soda bottle
1201
01:03:42,520 --> 01:03:43,520
I think so too
1202
01:03:43,520 --> 01:03:45,520
And he couldn't really dribble because it was raining
1203
01:03:45,520 --> 01:03:47,520
And a little harder to control your hands or slippery
1204
01:03:47,520 --> 01:03:48,520
I can understand now
1205
01:03:48,520 --> 01:03:49,520
He's still running with the basketball
1206
01:03:49,520 --> 01:03:51,520
Yeah, he was dribbling it as he went
1207
01:03:51,520 --> 01:03:52,520
But he was dribbling it?
1208
01:03:52,520 --> 01:03:53,520
Yeah
1209
01:03:53,520 --> 01:03:55,520
I guess that's in character, sure
1210
01:03:55,520 --> 01:03:57,520
He always, when does he not dribble a basketball?
1211
01:03:57,520 --> 01:03:59,520
He's bouncing it off the wall
1212
01:03:59,520 --> 01:04:00,520
Well, there you go
1213
01:04:00,520 --> 01:04:03,520
I think he bounced it off some of the buildings that he walked past too
1214
01:04:03,520 --> 01:04:05,520
He did
1215
01:04:05,520 --> 01:04:08,520
So they never really explained why the cops should have shot him in the first place
1216
01:04:08,520 --> 01:04:12,520
I mean, they later amended their story that they thought he had a gun
1217
01:04:12,520 --> 01:04:16,520
But I guess the person they were chasing did shoot somebody
1218
01:04:16,520 --> 01:04:18,520
So assuming that he had a gun
1219
01:04:18,520 --> 01:04:21,520
Right, but they didn't have a description of what this person was wearing
1220
01:04:21,520 --> 01:04:22,520
No
1221
01:04:22,520 --> 01:04:26,520
They were chasing somebody with a gray sweatshirt, they didn't know that was the right guy
1222
01:04:26,520 --> 01:04:28,520
It probably was, we don't know
1223
01:04:28,520 --> 01:04:29,520
It might have been
1224
01:04:29,520 --> 01:04:31,520
It probably was
1225
01:04:31,520 --> 01:04:35,520
But he wasn't charging at anybody with whatever he had in his hand
1226
01:04:35,520 --> 01:04:38,520
Cornbread, I mean, wasn't actually physically threatening anybody
1227
01:04:38,520 --> 01:04:40,520
He was just walking across the street
1228
01:04:40,520 --> 01:04:43,520
He wasn't even going that fast despite what everyone else said
1229
01:04:43,520 --> 01:04:46,520
The one thing is it did look like he turned around when they said police
1230
01:04:46,520 --> 01:04:48,520
And then he turns around and starts running
1231
01:04:48,520 --> 01:04:50,520
Well, he probably assumed they weren't talking to him
1232
01:04:50,520 --> 01:04:51,520
Yeah, probably
1233
01:04:51,520 --> 01:04:55,520
That's what I would do, like I wouldn't assume the cops were chasing me
1234
01:04:55,520 --> 01:04:57,520
I don't know, it just...
1235
01:04:57,520 --> 01:05:01,520
Obviously it's not right to shoot suspects that's not the police's job
1236
01:05:01,520 --> 01:05:05,520
Their job is to catch them and bring them to trial
1237
01:05:05,520 --> 01:05:07,520
And so that's very problematic
1238
01:05:07,520 --> 01:05:09,520
They didn't really address that in the movie though
1239
01:05:09,520 --> 01:05:11,520
That's not really what it was about
1240
01:05:11,520 --> 01:05:15,520
Same in the owner were quick to say it was just a case of mistaken identity
1241
01:05:15,520 --> 01:05:17,520
Like you should have shot the other guy
1242
01:05:17,520 --> 01:05:19,520
But maybe the other guy didn't do it either
1243
01:05:19,520 --> 01:05:23,520
We never saw him holding a gun when he was standing in the background
1244
01:05:23,520 --> 01:05:27,520
He stood right behind the cops as the cops were examining Cornbread's body
1245
01:05:27,520 --> 01:05:30,520
And then eventually he's like, "I should get out of here"
1246
01:05:30,520 --> 01:05:33,520
But should they have shot either one of those guys?
1247
01:05:33,520 --> 01:05:34,520
Oh, thanks so
1248
01:05:34,520 --> 01:05:36,520
No, under the circumstances that we've seen
1249
01:05:36,520 --> 01:05:39,520
And they'd lost sight of the person they were chasing
1250
01:05:39,520 --> 01:05:43,520
And it was raining, we said it was raining, but we didn't describe how rainy it was
1251
01:05:43,520 --> 01:05:45,520
It was a pretty torrential rain
1252
01:05:45,520 --> 01:05:48,520
Imagine you're in the shower except for it's on the entire street
1253
01:05:48,520 --> 01:05:50,520
It's like that much rain
1254
01:05:50,520 --> 01:05:54,520
So their vision was obscured, it was loud, it was noisy, there were lots of people
1255
01:05:54,520 --> 01:05:58,520
And despite all this rain, there were tons of people walking around
1256
01:05:58,520 --> 01:06:02,520
But anyway, it was just a scene that didn't call for someone to be shot in the back
1257
01:06:02,520 --> 01:06:04,520
But the movie doesn't really address that
1258
01:06:04,520 --> 01:06:08,520
Well, we wouldn't have had a movie if that hadn't happened so I can understand why
1259
01:06:08,520 --> 01:06:10,520
Oh yeah, sure it happens all the time
1260
01:06:10,520 --> 01:06:12,520
It never stopped happening
1261
01:06:12,520 --> 01:06:16,520
It's just that the movie doesn't address the fact that they shouldn't have shot the movie
1262
01:06:16,520 --> 01:06:20,520
It's just the fact that they shouldn't have shot the other guy either
1263
01:06:20,520 --> 01:06:28,520
They make Sam and the owner seem like they're very magnanimous by just wanting the admission of guilt and apology
1264
01:06:28,520 --> 01:06:32,520
And just clearing Cornbread's name, that's all they wanted
1265
01:06:32,520 --> 01:06:36,520
But honestly, they could have got a bundle and they deserved it
1266
01:06:36,520 --> 01:06:40,520
So Cheryl, it sounds like you have some very strong feelings about this film
1267
01:06:40,520 --> 01:06:44,520
How would you rate Cornbread in early me, given those strong feelings
1268
01:06:44,520 --> 01:06:50,520
Using our AIP scale, for A is awesome, i is intermediate, and P is pathetic
1269
01:06:50,520 --> 01:06:56,520
I think I know where I mean, I'm obviously gonna give it the great, I'm gonna give it
1270
01:06:56,520 --> 01:06:59,520
But it's unfortunate because parts of this movie deserve an A
1271
01:06:59,520 --> 01:07:06,520
Lawrence Fishburn's performance and some of the other performances that we mentioned are A material
1272
01:07:06,520 --> 01:07:08,520
But parts of it are pathetic
1273
01:07:08,520 --> 01:07:14,520
The parts of the script, the ending was wrapped up too patly
1274
01:07:14,520 --> 01:07:20,520
The scenes where the police are intimidating, the witnesses where Sarah was trying to stab the cop
1275
01:07:20,520 --> 01:07:24,520
That's just enane stuff, this movie deserves better
1276
01:07:24,520 --> 01:07:28,520
So I think I have to take the A parts and the P parts and average it out and give it an i
1277
01:07:28,520 --> 01:07:30,520
What do you think?
1278
01:07:30,520 --> 01:07:33,520
I agree, there's so many good ingredients here
1279
01:07:33,520 --> 01:07:39,520
Like I said, I love the cinematography, the acting is for the majority of this superb
1280
01:07:39,520 --> 01:07:41,520
A few notable exceptions
1281
01:07:41,520 --> 01:07:43,520
With a few notable exceptions, yeah
1282
01:07:43,520 --> 01:07:45,520
But it sings like the score
1283
01:07:45,520 --> 01:07:47,520
Yeah
1284
01:07:47,520 --> 01:07:49,520
That is just grating
1285
01:07:49,520 --> 01:07:51,520
It's so annoying
1286
01:07:51,520 --> 01:07:55,520
The Cornbread song is bad, but it's fun bad, so I can go with it
1287
01:07:55,520 --> 01:07:59,520
Yeah, I think it should have left it off the ending though
1288
01:07:59,520 --> 01:08:04,520
I think what really hurts it is the stuff that's not there that has to be in the book
1289
01:08:04,520 --> 01:08:11,520
Because I don't see how the story could have even been published with so many unanswered questions
1290
01:08:11,520 --> 01:08:15,520
So I think the problem is the adaptation is what really hurts this film
1291
01:08:15,520 --> 01:08:19,520
But I don't know, so I have to judge the film on its own
1292
01:08:19,520 --> 01:08:21,520
You would anyways
1293
01:08:21,520 --> 01:08:23,520
Yeah, I would
1294
01:08:23,520 --> 01:08:27,520
So I'm going to agree this is an “I” movie, there's just not enough here to give it the A that the subject matter
1295
01:08:27,520 --> 01:08:29,520
Give it the A that the subject matter deserves
1296
01:08:29,520 --> 01:08:30,520
Exactly
1297
01:08:30,520 --> 01:08:35,520
And we'd love to know what you think of our podcast or our treatment of this movie
1298
01:08:35,520 --> 01:08:37,520
Cornbread, Earl and Me
1299
01:08:37,520 --> 01:08:39,520
Or anything else that you'd like to tell us
1300
01:08:39,520 --> 01:08:41,520
And the way to do that is to go to our website
1301
01:08:41,520 --> 01:08:43,520
aippod.com
1302
01:08:43,520 --> 01:08:45,520
It's aippod.com
1303
01:08:45,520 --> 01:08:51,520
Where you can find out more about the movies, see posters, trailers, promotional materials, and the like
1304
01:08:51,520 --> 01:08:55,520
And like I said, get in touch with us and give us your thoughts on
1305
01:08:55,520 --> 01:08:58,520
This movie or any of the other movies that we've covered
1306
01:08:58,520 --> 01:09:00,520
aippod.com
1307
01:09:00,520 --> 01:09:04,520
And that's it for this episode of the American International Podcast
1308
01:09:04,520 --> 01:09:05,520
I'm Jeff Markin
1309
01:09:05,520 --> 01:09:06,520
And I'm Cheryl Lightfoot
1310
01:09:06,520 --> 01:09:08,520
And we'll meet you at the drive-in
1311
01:09:08,520 --> 01:09:15,520
Follow the American International Podcast on Instagram and Letterbox @aip_pod
1312
01:09:15,520 --> 01:09:20,520
And on Facebook at facebook.com/AmericanInternationalPodcast
1313
01:09:20,520 --> 01:09:26,520
The American International Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Markin
1314
01:09:26,520 --> 01:09:29,520
A man whose mind is distorted by hatred
1315
01:09:29,520 --> 01:09:30,520
And Cheryl Lightfoot
1316
01:09:30,520 --> 01:09:33,520
A girl hungry for too many things
1317
01:09:33,520 --> 01:09:46,520
The American International Podcast is part of the Pop Culture Entertainment Network
1318
01:09:46,520 --> 01:09:56,520
[MUSIC]