Cornbread, Earl and Me

"He Had the Lightest Touch in a Heavy Town."

May 21 1975 PG 1h 35m
Drama, Sport

The unintentional shooting by police of a star basketball player has profound personal, political and community repercussions in this acclaimed adaptation of the novel Hog Butcher by Ronald Fair. This was one of the more thoughtful urban dramas produced at the height of the "blaxploitation" craze. Also released under the title Hit the Open Man, it features the screen debut of Laurence Fishburne, who was barely a teenager at the time.

Plot

Nathaniel "Cornbread" Hamilton was the black urban dream and a hero to youngsters Wilford Robinson and Earl Carter. Shortly before he would have become the first man from his community to go to college, he demonstrates his scholarship-winning running ability to his friends and admirers in the neighborhood. At the same time, the police are on a manhunt for an armed rapist. They mistake Cornbread for the rapist and shoot him dead in the street. In the aftermath of the community's shattered dream, and in the face of an intimidating police cover-up, Wilford is determined not to betray the memory of his hero.

Written by

Ronald Fair, Leonard Lamensdorf

Directed by

Joseph Manduke

Cast

Moses Gunn, Rosalind Cash, Bernie Casey

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United States of America

Languages

English

Awards

N/A

Trailers
Cornbread, Earl And Me Trailer Blaxploitation
Scores
# of Votes
1,158
Average Rating
7 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA