The Great Debaters (2007)
Biography, Drama, Romance |.
The Great Debaters is a American biographical drama film directed by and starring Denzel Washington. It is based on an article written about the Wiley College debate team by Tony Scherman for the spring 1997 issue of American Legacy.
The film co-stars Forest Whitaker, Denzel Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker, Gina Ravera, Jermaine Williams and Jurnee Smollett. The screenplay is written by Robert Eisele, with story by Robert Eisele and Jeffrey Porro. The film was released in theaters on December 25, 2007.
Based on a true story, the plot revolves around the efforts of debate coach Melvin B. Tolson at Wiley College, a historically black college related to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to place his team on equal footing with whites in the American South during the 1930s, when Jim Crow laws were common and lynch mobs were a fear for blacks. The fictional Wiley team eventually succeeds to the point where they are able to debate Harvard University.
The movie explores social constructs in Texas during the Great Depression, from day-to-day insults African Americans endured to lynching. Also depicted is James L. Farmer, Jr., who, at 14 years old, was on Wiley’s debate team after completing high school.
Director: Denzel Washington
Writers: Robert Eisele (story & screenplay), Jeffrey Porro (story), Tony Scherman (inspired by the American Legacy article)
Stars: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker, Gina Ravera, Jermaine Williams, Jurnee Smollett
Cast:
| Denzel Washington | … | Melvin B. Tolson |
| Nate Parker | … | Henry Lowe |
| Jurnee Smollett | … | Samantha Booke |
| Denzel Whitaker | … | James Farmer Jr. |
| Jermaine Williams | … | Hamilton Burgess |
| Forest Whitaker | … | Dr. James Farmer Sr. |
| Gina Ravera | … | Ruth Tolson |
| John Heard | … | Sheriff Dozier |
| Kimberly Elise | … | Pearl Farmer |
| Devyn A. Tyler | … | Helen Farmer (as Devyn Tyler) |
| Trenton McClain Boyd | … | Nathaniel Farmer |
| Ritchie Montgomery | … | Deputy |
| Jackson Walker | … | Pig Owner |
| Tim Parati | … | Pig Farmer |
| Robert X. Golphin | … | Dunbar Reed |
| Justice Leak | … | Harland Osbourne |
| Glen Powell | … | Harvard Debater #1 (as Glen Powell Jr.) |
| Brad Watkins | … | Harvard Debater #2 |
| Brian Smiar | … | Harvard Dean |
| Damien Leake | … | Wilson |
| Voltaire Sterling | … | Paul Quinn Debater #1 (as Voltaire Rico Sterling) |
| Stephen Rider | … | Paul Quinn Debater #2 |
| Gordon Danniels | … | Paul Quinn Debate Judge |
| Donny Boaz | … | Oklahoma City College Debater #1 |
| Samuel Elliott Whisnant | … | Oklahoma City College Debater #2 (as Sam Whisnant) |
| Bonnie Johnson | … | Dr. Jennings |
| Charissa Allen | … | Benita |
| Michael Beasley | … | Trudell |
| Gary Mattis | … | Enormous Man (as Gary Mathis) |
| George Wilson | … | Samuel |
| Fahnlohnee R. Harris | … | Clementine (as Fahnlohnee Harris) |
| Harold Evans | … | William Taylor (as Harold X. Evans) |
| J.D. Evermore | … | Captain Wainwright |
| Sharon Jones | … | Lila |
| Kelvin Payton | … | Joseph |
| Southey Blanton | … | White Labor Organizer |
| Michael Mattison | … | White Sharecropper #1 |
| Jeff Braun | … | White Sharecropper #2 |
| Milton R. Gipson | … | Prairie View Professor |
| Frank Ridley | … | Security Guard |
| Jeremiah Kissel | … | Radio Announcer at Harvard Debate |
| Jack Radosta | … | White Man at Lynching |
| Marcus Lyle Brown | … | Howard Debater #1 |
| Alvin Youngblood Hart | … | Juke Joint Musician #1 (as Alvin ‘Youngblood’ Hart) |
| Dom Flemons | … | Juke Joint Musician #2 (as Dominique Flemons) |
| Justin Robinson | … | Juke Joint Musician #3 |
| Rhiannon Giddens | … | Juke Joint Musician #4 |
| Ahmad Powell | … | Fisk Professor |
| Michael C. ‘Mike’ Allen | … | Deputy Texas Ranger (uncredited) |
| Razmig Arabian | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Kevin Beard | … | Klansman at Lynching (uncredited) |
| Ellen Becker-Gray | … | Faculty at Harvard Debate (uncredited) |
| Chad Boldini | … | Harvard Debate Attendee (uncredited) |
| Matthew N. Bourgeois | … | Harvard Scholar (uncredited) |
| Crystal Brown-Tatum | … | Female Teacher / Dance Chaperone (uncredited) |
| Gio Castellano | … | Harvard Debate Attendee (uncredited) |
| Thomas Cataloni | … | Sailor (uncredited) |
| Michael DeMello | … | Debate Observer (uncredited) |
| Roger Dillingham Jr. | … | Upscale Traveler (uncredited) |
| Sal DiMino | … | Reporter (uncredited) |
| Curtis Eames | … | Reporter (uncredited) |
| Chaz Echols | … | Wiley College Student (uncredited) |
| Brian D. Evans | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Ben Fisher | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Jaishon Fisher | … | Newspaper Boy (uncredited) |
| Jamai Fisher | … | Kid at Train Station (uncredited) |
| Steve Flynn | … | Harvard Dean (uncredited) |
| Hugh Guiney | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Hevin Hampton | … | Bar Patron (uncredited) |
| Joel B. Hayden | … | Harvard Professor (uncredited) |
| Patrick Mel Hayes | … | Harvard Alumni (uncredited) |
| Benjamin Healy | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Chris Kosiavelon | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Kenneth Lecompte | … | Share Cropper and Grocer (uncredited) |
| Jimmy Lee Jr. | … | Lyncher (uncredited) |
| Aqua Lee | … | Juke Joint Couple (uncredited) |
| Christopher J. Long | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Robert Masiello | … | Harvard Alumni (uncredited) |
| Josh McBride | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Paul McGillicuddy | … | Harvard Debate Attendee (uncredited) |
| Alex Milne | … | Shoe Shine Boy (uncredited) |
| Tarek Moussa | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Jason Mulcahy | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Ed O’Keefe | … | Harvard Scholar (uncredited) |
| Nefertara Ozella | … | Extra (uncredited) |
| Giovanni Pantaleo | … | Havard Student (uncredited) |
| Cory Patt | … | Wiley Student (uncredited) |
| James Paul | … | Riot Starter (uncredited) |
| Jeannie Perrin | … | Lynching Participant (uncredited) |
| Todd Poudrier | … | Radio Tech (uncredited) |
| Cyndy Powell | … | Harvard debate audience (uncredited) |
| Breon Pugh | … | Wiley Debater (uncredited) |
| Alan Resnic | … | Harvard Scholar (uncredited) |
| Robert M. Saunders | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Cory Reed Smith | … | Harvard Debate Attendee (uncredited) |
| Scott Sousa | … | Harvard Student (uncredited) |
| Michael Stanton | … | Harvard Professor (uncredited) |
| Heath Stewart | … | Reserve Harvard Debater (uncredited) |
| Bill Stinchcomb | … | Lynch Mob (uncredited) |
| Ruth Mahala Sullivan | … | Student (uncredited) |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia