''Knights of the South Bronx'' is a 2005 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

television film 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 ...

directed by Allen Hughes and written by Jamal Joseph and

Dianne Houston Dianne Houston is an African-American film director, producer and screenwriter. She is the first, and thus far only, African-American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for work she directed. Early life Dianne Houston was born on Ju ...

. Based on a true story, it stars

Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. ...

as a teacher who helps students at a tough South Bronx elementary school to succeed by teaching them to play

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

. It aired on A&E on December 6, 2005.

Plot summary

The film is based on the true story of David MacEnulty, who taught schoolchildren of the Bronx Community Elementary School 70 to play at competition level, eventually winning New York City and the New York State Chess Championships. The screenplay portrays whistle-blowing and a mid-life crisis that combine to remove Richard Mason (played by Ted Danson) from his old life. He becomes a substitute teacher and is assigned to a fourth-grade class in a South Bronx school. In the class are students with parents who are drug addicts or in jail or just scrambling to pay the bills. Few of them see a purpose in school other than meeting society's requirements, and he struggles, mostly in vain, to reach them. Then a student whose father is in jail sees Mason in the park playing a

simultaneous exhibition A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition (commonly chess or Go) in which one player (typically of high rank, such as a grandmaster or dan-level player) plays multiple games at a time with a number of other pl ...

, and beating fourteen opponents at once. He asks to learn the game. One thing leads to another, and soon the entire class is interested in the game. Mason convinces them that on the chessboard it doesn't matter how much money you have or what clothes you're wearing or where you come from, and that it's only the moves you make, then and there. The class forms a team to compete in ever-larger tournaments.

Cast

- Mr. Richard Mason *

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- Jimmy Washington *

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- Arnie *

Kate Vernon Katherine Elizabeth Vernon (born April 21, 1961) is a Canadian-born American actress. She is known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS primetime soap opera '' Falcon Crest'' (from 1984–1985), the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in ...

- Pat Mason * Yves Michel-Beneche - MD Duprais * Yucini Diaz - Renee * Antonio Ortiz - Dawson * Eugene Clark - Gene *

Keke Palmer Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer (born August 26, 1993) ( ) is an American actress, singer and television personality. Known for playing leading and character roles in comedy and drama productions, she has received a Primetime Emmy Award, five NAACP I ...

- Kenya Russell *

Clifton Powell Clifton Powell (born March 16, 1956) is an American actor who primarily plays supporting roles in films, such as in ''Ray'' (2004), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture nomination. Care ...

- Cokey *

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- Darren * Sandi Ross - Principal Nettie Weston *

Karen LeBlanc Karen LeBlanc is a Canadian film, television and musical theatre actress. Early life LeBlanc grew up in Tottenham, Ontario to family from Nova Scotia. She attended the musical theatre program at Sheridan College. Career Starting with a minor rol ...

- Dolly *

Philip Akin Philip Akin (born April 18, 1950) is a Canadian actor. Akin has had roles in major American films such as '' The Sum of All Fears'', ''S.W.A.T.'', and '' Get Rich or Die Tryin. He has also done much voice work, including voicing the character ...

- Asst. Principal Allen Hill *

Alex Karzis Constantine Alexander Karzis (born June 8, 1975) is a Canadian film and television actor, voiceover artist, singer, and musician. He was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. Life He played the roles of Bruce in the 1993 film '' I Love a Man ...

Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak Elo rating system, rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until ...

Nicholas Carpenter Nicholas Andre Carpenter Gray, Tara "40th Anniversary of the Mercury 7". NASA.gov. Accessed January 9, 2010. is an American film director. He worked as a set production assistant on TV and on films such as ''Thank You for Smoking'' (2005) before go ...

- Dawson's Opponent

Production

The film was announced in January 2004, under the working title ''Chessmates''. Filming took place in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. David MacEnulty, the inspiration for the film's main character, taught the basics of chess to the child actors.

References

External links

2005 television films 2005 films 2005 drama films 2000s American films 2000s English-language films A&E (TV network) original films American drama television films American films based on actual events Chess in the United States Drama films based on actual events Films about chess Films about educators Films directed by the Hughes brothers Films set in the Bronx Films shot in Toronto Television films based on actual events {{US-tv-drama-film-stub