Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier
Date of Birth: 20 Feb 1927
Country: USA
Biography: Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat. In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field. The significance of this achievement was later bolstered in 1967 when he starred in three well-received films--To Sir, with Love; In the Heat of the Night; and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner--making him the top box office star of that year...(Wikipedia)
Total Credits at Criticker: 61 (Actor), 9 (Director), 1 (Writer)
Biography submitted by hellboy76
Titles you haven't rated - Actor (61) | Director (9) | Writer (1)
The Jackal
A ruthless assassin (Willis) has been hired to eliminate someone at the very top of the U.S. government. Constantly changing his identity and location, he is known only as the Jackal. Everything about this hit man, including his sinister timetable, is a secret. (Universal)
In the Heat of the Night
An African American detective is asked to investigate a murder in a racist southern town. (imdb)
Sneakers
Complex but lighthearted thriller about computers and cryptography, government and espionage, secrets and deception and betrayal. (imdb)
Guess Who\
Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play a couple whose attitudes are challenged when their daughter brings home a fiance who is black. (imdb)
Blackboard Jungle
The Original 50's classic about a decent middle aged school teacher who goes to teach in an unruly high school filled with thugs led by Vic Morrow... (imdb)
A Raisin in the Sun
Walter Lee Younger (Poitier) is a young man struggling with his station in life. Sharing a tiny apartment with his wife, son, sister and mother, he seems like an imprisoned man. Until, that is, the family gets an unexpected financial windfall... (imdb)
Red Ball Express
Story of the military truck drivers who kept the Allied armies supplied in Europe during WW2. (imdb)
A Patch of Blue
A black professional man meets a blind white girl in the park one day. The tray of colored beads she strings for a living has been turned over and he helps her put them back in order. (imdb)
Little Nikita
Roy Parmenter is an FBI agent in San Diego; 20 years ago his partner was killed by a Soviet spy, still at large. Scuba is now trying to extort the Soviets (imdb)
No Way Out
The Biddle brothers, shot while robbing a gas station, are taken to the prison ward of the County Hospital; Ray Biddle, a rabid racist, wants no treatment from black resident Dr. Luther Brooks. (imdb)
Lilies of the Field
An unemployed construction worker (Homer Smith) heading out west stops at a remote farm in the desert to get water when his car overheats... (imdb)
A Piece of the Action
Dave Anderson and Manny Durrell are two high-class sneak thieves who have never been caught. Joshua Burke is a retired detective who has enough evidence on the both of them to put them behind bars. (imdb)
Uptown Saturday Night
Steve Jackson and Wardell Franklin sneak out of their houses to visit Madame Zenobia's: a high-class but illegal nightclub.During their visit, however, the place is robbed and they are forced to hand over their wallets. (imdb)
The Defiant Ones
Two escaped convicts chained together, white and black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture. (imdb)
The Wilby Conspiracy
Black anti-apartheid activist and British engineer are forced to run from South African secret police. (imdb)
To Sir, with Love
Engineer Mark Thackeray arrives to teach a totally undisciplined class at an East End school. Still hoping for a good engineering job, he's hopeful that he won't be there long. He starts implementing his own brand of classroom discipline: forcing the pupils to treat each other with respect... (imdb)
All the Young Men
Sidney Poitier stars as a black Sergeant amongst a platoon of whites. When the unit is ambushed, Poitier is the only noncom that survives. He must lead the survivors to a strategic farmhouse and hold it against overwhelming enemy forces. (IMDB Comments)
Shoot to Kill
A man is discovered breaking into his own jewelery shop in the dead of night. Questioned closely, it is learnt that his wife is being held hostage by an extortionist who demands the diamonds in the shop's safe... (imdb)
The Slender Thread
Alan is a Seattle college student volunteering at a crisis center. One night when at the clinic alone, a woman calls up the number and tells Alan that she needs to talk to someone. She informs Alan she took a load of pills, and he secretly tries to get help. During this time, he learns more about the woman, her family life, and why she wants to die. Can Alan get the cavalry to save her in time before it's too late? (imdb)
The Bedford Incident
Richard Widmark plays a hardened cold-warrior and captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford. Sidney Poitier is a reporter given permission to interview the captain during a routine patrol. Poitier gets more than he bargained for when the Bedford discovers a Soviet sub in the depths and the captain begins a relentless pursuit, pushing his crew to the breaking point. This one's grim tension to the end. (imdb)
Duel at Diablo
Lieutenant McAllister is ordered to transport several ammunition wagons to another fort through Apache territory with only a small troop of rookie soldiers to guard them. Along for the ride is ex-scout Jess Remsberg who is trying to track down Ellen Grange, who, having recently been freed from Apache captivity, has mysteriously run off again to rejoin them... (imdb)
Edge of the City
Two New York City longshoremen Axel Nordmann (John Cassavetes), an Army deserter and Tommy Tyler (Sidney Poitier), an easy-going freight car loader who's growing friendship is threatened by Charles Malik (Jack Warden), a notably repellent punk. Feature film debut of noted director Martin Ritt. (imdb)
Porgy and Bess
In this legendary Gershwin opera set among the black residents of a fishing village in 1912 South Carolina, Bess - a woman with a disreputable history - tries to break free from her brutish lover Crown after he becomes wanted for murder. The only person willing to overlook her past and offer her shelter is the crippled Porgy. Their relationship is threatened by the disapproval of the townspeople, the presence of her old drug supplier Sportin' Life - and the threatened return of Crown. (imdb)
They Call Me Mister Tibbs!
San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs is called in to investigate when a liberal street preacher and political candidate is accused of murdering a prostitute. Tibbs is also battling domestic woes, including a frustrated wife and a rebellious adolescent son. (imdb)
The Organization
A small group of ordinary citizens team up to topple over a drug ring called The Organization. They ask Lt. Virgil Tibbs to join as they need his expertise. Lt. Virgil Tibbs is reluctant as they are amateurs and have already committed several crimes in order to stop them. In order to help them he must do so without the knowledge of the police department. However, after a colleague suspected to be on the take commits suicide Lt. Tibbs joins them. (imdb)
Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist
An examination of the life of actor and singer Paul Robeson, from his first major triumphs on the stage in the 1920s through his gradually increasing social activism in the 1930s and 1940s, leading to his controversial performances in Eastern Europe in the 1940s in which he performed communist anthems and criticized American social conditions. (imdb)
The Long Ships
Viking seamen battle a Moorish prince for possession of a golden bell. (TCM.com)
Something of Value
Even though Peter and Kimani grow up together, Kimani soon finds that different races are treated differently. After the father of Kimani is jailed for following tribal customs, Kimani joins a band of rebels that wants all non-Kenyans out of their country. While Kimani believes in the cause, he does not agree with the indiscriminate killing of women, children and those who will not join or agree with them...
Buck and the Preacher
A wagon master and a con-man preacher help freed slaves dogged by cheap-labor agents out West. (imdb)
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
Documentary about the career of legendary insult comic, Don Rickles. (supergloo)
Band of Angels
A southern belle fights to survive slavery after learning her mother was black. (TCM.com)
Let\
In order to save their financially troubled fraternal order, scheming treasurer Bill Cosby and hypnotist Sidney Poitier concoct a plan to put a "winning whammy" on lanky boxer Jimmie Walker and bet the bank on him. Everything goes smooth until the mobsters who wagered against the puny pugilist show up and want their money back. (moviesunlimited.com)
Pressure Point
An African-American prison psychiatrist (Sidney Poitier) finds the boundaries of his professionalism sorely tested when he must counsel a disturbed inmate (Bobby Darin) with bigoted Nazi tendencies. (imdb)
Brother John
An angel comes to Earth to see if the human race is worth saving. (imdb)
Paris Blues
Ram Bowen and Eddie Cook are two expatriate jazz musicians living in Paris where, unlike America at the time, Jazz musicians are celebrated and racism is a non-issue. When they meet and fall in love with two young American girls, Lillian and Connie, who are vacationing in France, Ram and Eddie must decide whether they should move back to America with them, or stay in Paris for the freedom it allows them. (imdb)
To Sir, with Love II
After thirty years teaching in London, Mark Thackeray retires and returns to Chicago. There, however, the challenge of reaching kids in an inner city school proves too much to resist. (imdb)
The American Film Institute Salute to Gregory Peck
Tribute to Gregory Peck.
For Love of Ivy
A white family has had the same black maid for many years. When she tells them she wants to go back to school and will be leaving soon, the 20ish year old son decides what she needs is a change and begins searching for a man to wine her, dine her, but who won't marry her thinking that this will turn her aside from her plans. The man he finds doesn't entirely cooperate. (imdb)
Cry, the Beloved Country
In the back country of South Africa, black minister Stephen Kumalo (Canada Lee) journeys to the city to search for his missing son. (imdb)
David and Lisa
Lukas Haas portays David, a withdrawn but apparent near genius, who fears being touched. Brittney Murphy plays Lisa, a young woman seemingly suffering from split personalities who speaks only in rhymes and withdraws from anyone who doesn't speak to her likewise. Meeting in the psychiatric ward, the two's eyes lock and an obvious attraction is indicated. First each must learn to approach each other in their own sphere...
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn
A 91 year old carpenter (Sidney Poitier), who is still in completely good health, has to fight developers who are trying to force him to sell his land. (imdb)
Separate But Equal
The television movie made about the historic Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.
Good-bye, My Lady
An old man and a young boy who live in the Georgia swamps are brought together by the love of a dog. (imdb)
A Warm December
Dr. Matt Younger and his daughter arrive for a month-long visit to London for dirt-bike racing and unexpectedly, a new romance for the widowed Dr. Younger. His new love interest is the beautiful and playful Catherine who seems to enjoy eluding Dr. Younger as much as she enjoys eluding the mysterious men who are following her. Their romance develops gradually as does the viewers' understanding of what is going on with this charming woman and the complications she brings with her. (imdb)
Virgin Island
Evan and Tina want to live their lives differently. They go to live on an island. Tina's mother is concerned about her daughter's future. There is smuggling going on on the island. (imdb)
Go, Man, Go!
The story of Abe Saperstein and the creation of the Harlem Globetrotters. (imdb)
A Good Day to Die
Gypsy Smith, is a gunfighter and a bounty hunter. When he leads the US army into a Cheyenne camp to capture a suspected Indian renegade, a long train of events begins that finally lead to that 'good day to die'. White Wolf, only a child, is one of the few survivors of the massacre of his tribe that day, and Gypsy brings him to live with the Maxwell family, where he grows up not fully Indian and not really white but a bit too close to Rachel, the Maxwell daughter. (imdb)
The Lost Man
A gang of black militants plots to rob a factory to finance their "revolutionary struggle." (imdb)
Sing Your Song
Most people know the lasting legacy of Harry Belafonte, the entertainer. This film unearths his significant contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and to social justice globally.
The Mark of the Hawk
The man called Obam struggles with the increasingly hostile forces facing each other in a colonial African country. The African natives want their land and lives back from the British colonists. Obam's motives are questioned by his own people, in particular his brother Kanda. With the help of his wife Renee and missionary Bruce Craig, will he be able to get things under control before the country self-destructs?
Sepia Cinderella
The musical follows a young woman, Barbara (played by Guyse), in love with a good and kind bandleader, Bob (portrayed by Daniels), who seems oblivious to her love. Barbara helps Bob write a new song, "Cinderella", and it becomes an unexpected hit. Success and sudden fame lead Bob to abandon his former performing venue and lose touch with his friends.
The Last Brickmaker in America
A man must cope with the loss of his wife and the obsolescence of his job before finding redemption by becoming a role model to an equally lost 13-year-old.
Free of Eden
The story of one young African-American woman's determined escape from the ghetto through enlightenment and education. Although the film gets sidetracked periodically, it never derails and stays focused on the principals, Sidney Poitier's character, the teacher; his real life daughter Sydney's character, the pupil; and their inspiring and heartwarming story.
Under the Starry Sky
Under the skies of three cities -- Turin, New York, and Dakar -- Dyana Gaye charts the accidental intersections of characters in transit. Plans are derailed, happenstance meetings change courses, and destinies intertwine. Sophie (Marème Demba Ly), a young Senegalese bride, follows her husband, Abdoulaye (Souleymane Seye N'Diaye), from Dakar to Turin, where he has travelled without papers to look for work. Meanwhile, Abdoulaye has already has left for New York, lured by his cousin, Serigne (Babacar
Moms Mabley: I Got Somethin\
A look at the work and influence of African-American stand-up comedienne, Moms Mabley. (imdb)
Mandela and de Klerk
The negotiations between Mandela and De Klerk for an ordered, legal, and peaceful transition to a full democracy are the bulk of this film's content. (movies.msn.com)
Dooley\
In 2004, historian, writer and musician Scott Allen Nollen, incensed at someone's foolish reference to the great Dooley Wilson as "Dooby," composed this tribute to the African American performers of Hollywood's "Golden Age," and recorded all the instruments for the song under his band name of Jimmie Dynamite.
A Century of Black Cinema
This film highlights moments in the long and rich African American cinema history in relation to social and political events, and how it affected black viewers of the time.
Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick
Documentary exploring the career of noted film directer William A. Wellman. (imdb)
Sidney
Follow the real life story of Sidney Poitier, the Oscar winner of 1964.