The Black Klansman
The Black Klansman, originally released in 1966 under the name I Crossed the Color Line, is a low-budget feature film directed by Ted V. Mikels and starring Richard Gilden, Rima Kutner, Harry Lovejoy, Max Julien, Jakie Deslonde, and James McEachin.[1]
| The Black Klansman | |
|---|---|
 Official film release poster | |
| Directed by | Ted V. Mikels |
| Produced by | Ted V. Mikels Joe Solomon |
| Screenplay by | Art Names John T. Wilson |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Jaime Mendoza-Nava |
| Cinematography | Robert Caramico |
| Edited by | Ted V. Mikels |
Release date | 1966 |
| Country | United States |
Plot
During the civil rights movement, an African-American man, Jerry Ellworth (Richard Gilden, a white actor), is a Los Angeles jazz musician with a white girlfriend. Meanwhile, in an Alabama diner, a young black man attempts to exercise his civil rights by sitting at a local diner. When the Ku Klux Klan learn of this, they firebomb a church, killing Jerry's daughter. When he learns of this, Jerry moves to Alabama to infiltrate the group responsible for his daughter's death. Jerry dons his disguise and becomes a member of the inner circle, befriending the local leader and his daughter, and soon exacts his revenge.
Cast
- Richard Gilden
- Rima Kutner
- Harry Lovejoy
- Max Julien
- Jakie Deslonde
- James McEachin as Jimmy Mack
Production
Mikels says he told Joe Solomon that he would not make the film "if I couldn’t make some good out of it. If we couldn’t justify everything and bring about a union of understanding between black and white and come to a conclusion that would leave people saying, ‘Well, we better leam to get along, or else.’ If I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t make the movie, so I won out there."[2]
See also
References
- "The Black Klansman". TCM.
- Ashmun, Dale (2000). "Ted V Mikels". Psychotronic Video. No. 32. p. 41.