''Grambling's White Tiger'' (also released as ''White Tiger'' in Europe) is a 1981 TV movie about the true story of Jim Gregory (played by

Caitlyn Jenner Caitlyn Marie Jenner (born William Bruce Jenner; October 28, 1949) is an American media personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete. Jenner played college football for the Graceland Yellowjackets before incurring a knee ...

, credited as Bruce Jenner) the first white quarterback of the Grambling Tigers at Grambling College, a

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

, in 1962. The movie covers Gregory's freshman year.

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an internati ...

stars as coach Eddie Robinson and

LeVar Burton Levar Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host, best known for playing Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994). He also played Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries ''R ...

(already famous from ''Roots'' and later to be known for '' Reading Rainbow'' and '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'') appears as Charles 'Tank' Smith, the first friend Jim Gregory makes on the team. The film is directed by Georg Stanford Brown.

Plot

The movie starts with the recruitment of Gregory as a talented recruit, keen to have the opportunity to go to a school with real NFL credentials, who also opens avenues for funding and recognition for the college. The story deals with issues of race, culture and integration at a critical time in America's history. It ends with grudging acceptance and a positive message — although Gregory only actually plays for less than a minute in the final game of the team's division winning season.

Outside the USA

The movie has enjoyed popularity outside the USA under different titles, usually some version of simply ''White Tiger''. This is because Grambling would be unknown to other audiences and would not be understood in the title. It has been released in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

under the names ''Team Tiger'' and ''White Tiger''. It is particularly well known in Germany under the title ''Der Kampf der weißen Tiger'' (which translates as, The Struggle of The White Tiger). Movies featuring American Football have a very specific following in Germany. All the releases are identical to the US release with various different covers for Video and DVD releases.

Production

Director: Georg Stanford Brown (also from ''Roots'') Writers: William A. Attaway; based on a book called ''My Little Brother's Coming Tomorrow'' by Bruce Bahrenburg

Cast

* Bruce Jenner as Jim Gregory * Dennis Haysbert as James 'Shack' Harris * Bill Overton as Slick * Deborah Pratt as Jennifer * Byron Stewart as Sandman * Ray Vitte as Rags *

as Charles 'Tank' Smith *

as Coach Eddie Robinson * Vance Davis as Coach Porter * Fred Pinkard as Dr. Ford * Daniel Joseph Bernard as Gibbons * Mark Chavis as Chris * Betsy Corley as Coed Clerk * Gilbert Culpepper as Holmes * Rick Frederick as Male Clerk * Marlene Leeper as Janey * Alex Marshall as Wiley Coach * Herb Nelson as Slob * Glarence Odum as Potts * Robert Parham as 'JJ' Johnson * Anita Parrott as Mrs. Johnson * John K. Price as Man at Counter * Dorsey R. Richard as Rhino * Katie Robinson as Waitress * Tammy L. Staten as Ruby * John Tellis as Guard * Michael Jerome Williams as Pow Wow Samuels

Release

The film was released on DVD on June 3, 1998.

References

External links

* {{Grambling State Tigers football navbox Grambling State Tigers football 1981 films American football films American television films Films directed by Georg Stanford Brown 1980s English-language films 1980s American films