made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
from
The American Collection
''The American Collection'' was a spinoff series of '' Masterpiece Theater'', which ran from 2000 to 2003, for the former series' 30th anniversary. It was funded originally by Exxon Mobil (later Mobil); however, funding for both series was withdra ...
directed by
Deborah Pratt
Deborah M. Pratt is an American actress, writer, and television producer.
Early life
Pratt was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Geraldine (''née'' Bryant) and Col. Bertram Roberson Pratt, a vice president of Pullman Heritag ...
, starring
Regina Taylor
Regina Annette Taylor ''Film Reference''. (born August 22, 1960) is an American
and
Cherry Jones
Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress known for her roles on screen and stage. She has received various accolades for her performances in television and theatre including three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, thr ...
. The film was shot on location in October 1999 in central Iowa. Cities such as Ames, Cambridge and Story City were used. The movie is based on a short story by the same name in ''
The Ways of White Folks
''The Ways of White Folks'' is a collection of fourteen short stories by Langston Hughes, published in 1934. Hughes wrote the book during a year he spent living in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The collection addresses multiple dimensions of ...
'', a 1934 collection of short stories by
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...
. Cinematographer Ernest Holzman won an American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Award, for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movies of the Week/Mini-Series'/Pilot for Network or Basic Broadcast TV, for his work on this film. David Herbert Donald called the short story "a brilliantly realized portrait of an isolated black woman in a small Middle Western town, who stoically survives her own sorrows but in the end lashes out against the hypocrisy of the whites who employ her."
Synopsis
This adaptation of Langston Hughes' powerful tale, set in the 1920s and 30s, tells the story of Cora Jenkins, the daughter of the only African-American family in the small
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
town of Melton. Cora supports her mother and her daughter, Josephine, by working as a domestic in the home of the socially driven Mrs. Studevant, where she serves almost as a surrogate mother to the Studevants' daughter, Jessie. Cora's own daughter dies, and Cora's relationship with Jessie grows even deeper. When Jessie dies as a result of an abortion arranged by her mother and the latter lies about the cause to preserve her social standing, Cora must risk her livelihood, her security, and her place in the community in order to speak the truth and honor the memory of the child she loved and lost.
Cast
*
Regina Taylor
Regina Annette Taylor ''Film Reference''. (born August 22, 1960) is an American
- Cora Jenkins
*
Cherry Jones
Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress known for her roles on screen and stage. She has received various accolades for her performances in television and theatre including three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, thr ...
- Lizbeth Studevant
*
Ellen Muth
Ellen Muth (; born March 6, 1981) is an American former actress best known for her role as Georgia "George" Lass in Showtime's series ''Dead Like Me'' (2003–2004 series, 2009 film).
Early life
Muth was born in Milford, Connecticut, to Eric ...
Michael Gaston
Michael Gaston is an American film and television actor. He played agent Quinn on the show ''Prison Break'', Gray Anderson on the CBS drama series ''Jericho'', and appeared in the first episode of ''The Sopranos'' as Alex Mahaffey, a compulsive g ...
- Arthur Studevant
*
Kohl Sudduth
Walter Kohl Sudduth (born August 8, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Luther "Suitcase" Simpson in nine Jesse Stone television films.
- Joe
* Arlen Dean Snyder - Dr. Siebels
*
CCH Pounder
Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder (born December 25, 1952) is a Guyanese-American actress. She has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles in ''The X-Files'', '' ER'', ''The Shield'', and ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agenc ...
- Ma Jenkins
*
Tinashe
Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe ( ; born February 6, 1993), known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Her notab ...
- Josephine Jenkins
* Ben Easter - Willie Matsoulis
* Melissa Albright - Mary Studevant
** Tiffany M. Wren - 13 year-old Mary
*
Tom Woodward
Thomas Woodward (8 December 1917 – 18 November 1994) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Bolton Wanderers and Middlesbrough.
In the season 1951-1952, he scored 3 goals in 22 appearances in the Lancashire Combinati ...
- Reverend Macelroy
* Bethany Larson - Muriel Debord
* David Fritts - Tom Debord
* Stephen George - Luther Jenkins
*
John Easter
John Nicholas Cave Easter (17 December 1945 – 11 January 2016) was an English squash player, cricketer and businessman.
Education
John Easter attended St Edward's School, Oxford, before going up to Christ Church, Oxford, where he got an hono ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
*
*
* {{cite web
, url = http://www.fandango.com/coraunashamed_v227001/summary
, title = Cora Unashamed Synopsis
, author = Mark Deming, All Movie Guide, authorlink=
, access-date = 2010-07-16 , date = , publisher =
Fandango
Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...