4 Little Girls (1997)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Spike Lee

Release Date:

9 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Tagline:

Birmingham, 1963. A single explosion rocked a community and awakened a sleeping nation.

Plot:

A documentary of the notorious racial terrorist bombing of an African American church during the Civil Rights Movement.

Plot Keywords:

Civil Rights Movement | Church | Civil Rights | Bombing | Hate Crime

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Maxine McNair	...	Herself (Mother of Denise McNair)
Chris McNair	...	Himself (Father of Denise McNair)
Helen Pegues	...	Herself (Denise's Aunt)
Queen Nunn	...	Herself (Neighbor of Denise McNair)
Arthur Hanes Jr.	...	Himself (Defense Attorney for Bob Chambliss)
Howell Raines	...	Himself (New York Times Editor)
Harold McNair	...	Himself (Denise's Uncle)
Carole C. Smitherman	...	Herself (Denise's Childhood Friend) (as Carole C. Smitherman Esq.)
Wamo Reed Robertson	...	Herself (Carole's Aunt)
Dianne Braddock	...	Herself (Carole's Sister)
Carolyn Lee Brown	...	Herself (Carole's Childhood Friend)
Alpha Robertson	...	Herself (Mother of Carole Robertson)
Wyatt Tee Walker	...	Himself (Former Executive Director of SCLC)
Fred Shuttlesworth	...	Himself (Pres. of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights) (also archive footage)
Florence Terrell	...	Herself (School Teacher)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Company:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Trivia:

One of the victims, Denise McNair, was a friend and classmate of future Secretary of State 'Condoleeza Rice'.

Quotes:

Howell Raines: A day in 1957, in the afternoon, the evening newscast, there's a piece of film of a gang of white men beating Fred Shuttlesworth, in the street outside of Phillips high school where he'd taken his children. With chains they beat him to the ground. And the reason it was riveting for me...

Movie Connections:

References "60 Minutes" (1968)

Soundtrack:

4 Little Girls

Heartbreaking

Spike Lee did an excellent job with this documentary. I too, was extremely shocked that it did not win the Oscar the year it was nominated. One of the victims was my cousin, my fathers favorite niece at that. Growing up and learning about this tragedy first hand was very enlightening and yet tragic all at the same time. This film definitely captures the pain and suffering of my family and of the entire black community that lived through such racially biased times in Birmingham, Alabama. I think that this film should be seen by all, and not just during Black History month. In my opinion, there is no justification for the actions of those involved and it took some time and patience but they too had to pay for their crimes.