Movies by Ruby Dee
As part of the cast:
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Video Girl (2011)
Cast: Adam Senn, Meagan Good, Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Ty Hodges
In this urban drama, sweet small-town girl Lorie Walker thinks all her dreams have come true when she becomes a famous hip-hop video star -- but she soon finds herself spiraling down into a…
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Politics of Love (2011)
Cast: Mallika Sherawat, Brian White, Loretta Devine …
Directed by: William Dear
Politics makes strange bedfellows, but never stranger than when a sexy, savvy, African-American Republican reluctantly falls for his counterpart: a beautiful Indian-American Democratic…
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A Place Out of Time: The Bordentown School (2010)
Cast: Ruby Dee
Directed by: Dave Davidson
This documentary examines the legacy of New Jersey's Bordentown School, a cultural oasis that served African American students for 70 years until the landmark &NFi;Brown v. Board of…
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America (2009)
Cast: Rosie O'Donnell, Ruby Dee, Philip Johnson …
Directed by: Yves Simoneau
Psychiatrist Maureen Brennan (Rosie O'Donnell) encounters a heart-wrenching case in her patient America (Philip Johnson), a teenager filled with rage after years of parental neglect,…
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Let Freedom Sing: How Music Inspired the Civil Rights Movement (2009)
Cast: Pete Seeger, Louis Gossett Jr., Isaac Hayes …
Directed by: Jon Goodman
From the Civil Rights era to Watergate, the most striking moments in 20th-century American history were accompanied by music that reflected those turbulent times. Revisit the sounds of Pete…
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The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll (2009)
Cast: Kevin Zegers, Jason Ritter, Taryn Manning …
Directed by: Scott D. Rosenbaum
After his second album fails, famous rocker Spyder returns to his hometown to lick his wounds. There, he reunites with his former best friend, a fellow musician, and soon the two set off on a…
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American Gangster (2007)
Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Cuba Gooding Jr. …
Directed by: Ridley Scott
From director Ridley Scott comes this tense crime thriller starring Denzel Washington as true-life Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas and Russell Crowe as the dogged outcast NYPD cop charged with…
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No. 2 (2007)
Cast: Ruby Dee, Mia Blake, Rene Naufahu …
Directed by: Toa Fraser
Inspired by a dream, Nanna Maria (Ruby Dee), the beloved matriarch of a large Fijian family, makes plans to name her successor at an elaborate feast. But longstanding animosity between…
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All About Us (2007)
Cast: Boris Kodjoe, Ryan Michelle Bathe, Morgan Freeman …
Directed by: Christine Swanson
Inspired by a true story, this romantic dramedy follows a young couple struggling to become Hollywood filmmakers who decide to take a trip to Mississippi to seek out Morgan Freeman (in a…
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Conversations (2007)
Cast: Juanita Moore, Jasmine Guy, Phylicia Rashad …
An enlightening and original program, "Conversations" features candid discussions with African American celebrities and activists and the idols who influenced their careers. Guests such as…
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Steam (2007)
Cast: Ally Sheedy, Ruby Dee, Kate Siegel …
Directed by: Kyle Schickner
The stories of three very different women -- a widow (Ruby Dee) finding a new love, a divorced mom (Ally Sheedy) in a relationship with a younger man, and an activist college student (Kate…
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No. 2 (2006)
Cast: Ruby Dee, Tuva Novotny, Mia Blake …
Directed by: Toa Fraser
Bringing his stage play to the big screen, playwright Toa Fraser tells the story of an aging woman determined to revive her family traditions -- even if she's the only one who still…
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The Way Back Home (2006)
Cast: Michael Houston King, Julie Harris, Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Reza Badiyi
When widowed New York lawyer Spencer Krane (Michael Houston King) rushes back home to take care of his ailing grandmother (Julie Harris), he's forced to confront the hollow man he's…
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Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005)
Cast: Halle Berry, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Michael Ealy …
Directed by: Darnell Martin
Halle Berry stars in this version of Zora Neale Hurston's novel, adapted for television and produced by Oprah Winfrey. The story centers on Janie Crawford (Berry), a free-spirited woman…
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The History Makers: Faith (2004)
Cast: James Avery, Ruby Dee, B.B. King …
Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Susan L. Taylor, B.B. King, Kim Fields, Ruby Dee, Ernie Banks and many others share their inspiring stories of faith in the second installment of this series…
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The Life of Jackie Robinson (2003)
Cast: Ruby Dee, Jackie Robinson, Bernie Hamilton …
Directed by: Alfred E. Green
Baseball legend Jackie Robinson stars as himself in this biopic, which chronicles his youth, success at UCLA, military service, Negro League experience and, of course, achievement becoming…
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Unchained Memories: Slave Narratives (2002)
Cast: Roscoe Lee Browne, Ruby Dee, LaTanya Richardson …
Directed by: Ed Bell, Thomas Lennon
Throughout the 1930s, journalists and writers accumulated stories and photographs from former African-American slaves and compiled more than 2300 first-person accounts of this horrifying…
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Taking Back Our Town (2001)
Cast: Laura Innes, Ruby Dee, Chris Bauer …
Directed by: Sam Pillsbury
When an international conglomerate decides it wants to build yet another industrial plant in a small town, two women band together to fight the proposal. Pat (Laura Innes) and Emelda (Ruby…
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Directors: Spike Lee (2000)
Cast: Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Alfre Woodard …
Directed by: Robert J. Emery
One of the nation's leading cinematic voices, Spike Lee made a name for himself as an iconoclastic, controversial filmmaker. From Do the Right Thing to Summer of Sam, Lee has…
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Finding Buck McHenry (2000)
Cast: Ossie Davis, Michael Schiffman, Kevin Jubinville …
Directed by: Charles Burnett
Baseball aficionado Jason Ross (Michael Schiffman) feels dejected when he gets bumped from his Little League squad. Determined to succeed, Jason joins an expansion club. Problem is, the team…
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A Storm in Summer (2000)
Cast: Peter Falk, Aaron Meeks, Nastassja Kinski …
Directed by: Robert Wise
Abel Shaddick (Peter Falk) is a lonely Jewish deli owner who accepts an inner-city kid, Herman (Aaron Meeks), into his home for the summer. Although the two come from different worlds, they…
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Baby Geniuses (1999)
Cast: Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd, Kim Cattrall …
Directed by: Bob Clark
Who'd have guessed that babies are born with innate knowledge of the universe's secrets -- and can speak to each other in an esoteric language? Evil Dr. Kinder (Kathleen Turner) and…
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Passing Glory (1999)
Cast: Andre Braugher, Rip Torn, Sean Squire …
Directed by: Steve James
Based on a true story set in 1960s New Orleans, Passing Glory stars Andre Braugher as Father Joseph Verrett, who sets up a match between his all-black high school's undefeated basketball…
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The Wall (1998)
Cast: Edward James Olmos, Ruby Dee, Frank Whaley …
This unique collection of short films tells the story of three brave soldiers who never came home from the Vietnam War. "The Pencil Holder" follows a tough colonel (Edward James Olmos)…
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A Simple Wish (1997)
Cast: Martin Short, Mara Wilson, Kathleen Turner …
Directed by: Michael Ritchie
When Anabel Greening (Mara Wilson) makes a wish for her father, Oliver (Robert Pastorelli), to be cast in a coveted role in a Broadway musical, Murray (Martin Short), a well-meaning but…
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Small Steps, Big Strides (1997)
Cast: Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, James Earl Jones …
Directed by: Velma Cato
Louis Gossett Jr. narrates this fascinating chronicle of African-American achievements and stereotypes in the world of Hollywood cinema, directed by Velma Cato. The documentary's…
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Mr. and Mrs. Loving (1996)
Cast: Ruby Dee, Timothy Hutton, Isaiah Washington …
Directed by: Richard Friedenberg
Though white laborer Richard and his African American girlfriend, Bean, want to marry, it's illegal to do so in 1960 Virginia. They wed in Washington, D.C., then spend years struggling…
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Just Cause (1995)
Cast: Sean Connery, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Capshaw …
Directed by: Arnold Glimcher, Arne Glimcher
When a death row inmate (Blair Underwood) calls on Harvard law professor Paul Armstrong (Sean Connery) to prove his innocence eight years after a crime, the evidence doesn't interest the…
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Cop and a Half (1993)
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Norman D. Golden II, Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Henry Winkler
After witnessing a mob hit, 8-year-old Devon refuses to tell the police what he saw unless they make him a cop for a day, and hard-boiled detective Nick is saddled with the pint-sized sidekick.
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Jungle Fever (1991)
Cast: Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Halle Berry …
Directed by: Spike Lee
Flipper (Wesley Snipes) is a successful, married architect. Angie (Annabella Sciorra) is a temporary office worker. When they meet, it's Jungle Fever. Director Spike Lee vividly explores…
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Decoration Day (1990)
Cast: James Garner, Judith Ivey, Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Robert Markowitz
In this drama based on the novel by John William Corrington, Albert Sidney Finch (James Garner), a cranky loner, is forced out of seclusion when he takes on the cause of a childhood friend,…
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Love at Large (1990)
Cast: Tom Berenger, Elizabeth Perkins, Anne Archer …
Directed by: Alan Rudolph
A beautiful woman (Anne Archer) hires lunkheaded private eye Harry Dobbs (Tom Berenger) to tail her mysterious lover. But Harry ends up following the wrong guy, a bigamist who oscillates…
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The Marzipan Pig / Jazztime Tale (1990)
Directed by: Michael Sporn
In "The Marzipan Pig," a pig made of sweets is befriended by a mouse, a lovelorn owl, a bee and a hibiscus flower. In "Jazztime Tale," a piano player's unique music helps two girls from…
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Do the Right Thing (1989)
Cast: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Spike Lee
What begins as an uproarious comedy evolves into a provocative, disquieting drama as director Spike Lee chronicles trivial events that bring festering racial tensions to the surface on a…
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Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985)
Cast: Paul Winfield, Rosalind Cash, James Bond III …
Directed by: Stan Lathan
James Baldwin's literary gem is adapted for the screen in this spellbinding film about three generations of an African-American family struggling to find footing in America, a place…
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Cat People (1982)
Cast: Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard …
Directed by: Paul Schrader
When a panther is captured in New Orleans, Irina is drawn to the cat -- and the zoo curator is drawn to her. Soon, the budding romance is complicated by Irina's dark family secret: that…
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It's Good to Be Alive (1974)
Cast: Paul Winfield, Louis Gossett Jr., Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Michael Landon
After baseball star Roy Campanella (Paul Winfield) survives a near-fatal car accident in 1958, he's paralyzed for the rest of his life. Angry and bitter about his condition, Roy's…
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Buck and the Preacher (1972)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier made his directorial debut with this 1972 action-comedy about odd couple Buck (Poitier) and an ex-con preacher (Harry Belafonte) who battle bounty hunters while leading a group…
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Up Tight! (1968)
Cast: Raymond St. Jacques, Ruby Dee, Frank Silvera …
Directed by: Jules Dassin
In this remake of the 1935 film The Informer, unemployed and desperate Tank bungles his role in a Cleveland robbery, leading his best friend and accomplice, Johnny, to kill a guard during his…
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The Balcony (1963)
Cast: Shelley Winters, Peter Falk, Lee Grant …
Directed by: Joseph Strick
Joseph Strick helmed this adaptation of playwright Jean Genet's surrealistic political satire about customers who continue their fantasy role-playing in a brothel, oblivious to the…
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Purlie Victorious (1963)
Cast: Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Godfrey Cambridge …
Directed by: Nicholas Webster
When Ossie Davis's "Purlie Victorious" premiered on Broadway in 1961, America's Civil Rights movement was gearing up for a tumultuous decade. This film version of the play follows…
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A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Daniel Petrie
Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee shine in this film version of Lorraine Hansberry's play about an inner-city black family. Poitier plays Walter Lee Younger, a chauffeur with a wife (Dee) and…
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Take a Giant Step (1959)
Cast: Johnny Nash, Estelle Hemsley, Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Philip Leacock
This critically acclaimed social drama from Philip Leacock stars singer Johnny Nash as Spencer, an African American struggling to find his identity and his purpose in life. Rich and out of…
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St. Louis Blues (1958)
Cast: Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway …
Directed by: Allen Reisner
This heartfelt biopic of composer W.C. Handy features some of the best musical talent of the 1950s, including Nat King Cole, who stars as the devout musician driven to write blues and jazz…
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Edge of the City (1957)
Cast: John Cassavetes, Sidney Poitier, Jack Warden …
Directed by: Martin Ritt
When Axel Nordmann (John Cassavetes) deserts the Army and goes to work at the New York rail yards, he hits it off with freight car loader Tommy Tyler (Sidney Poitier), but their interracial…
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Sports Legends Collection: The Joe Louis Story / The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
Cast: Ruby Dee, Coley Wallace, Raul Stewart …
Directed by: Robert Gordon
Two great African-American sports stars -- Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis -- are profiled. Robinson portrays himself in The Jackie Robinson Story, which was made just three years after he…
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The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
Cast: Jackie Robinson, Ruby Dee, Minor Watson …
Directed by: Alfred E. Green
This 1950 biographical movie tackles the racial issues that elevated and threatened Jackie Robinson, the first baseball player to break the color barrier. The Hall of Fame Dodger plays…
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No Way Out (1950)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell …
Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
When rabid bigot Ray Biddle (Richard Widmark) and his brother Johnny (Dick Paxton) are admitted with gunshot wounds to the county hospital's prison ward, they balk at being treated by…