David Alan Grier

Sam and Naomi meet by chance in a Reykjavik hostel. When a volcanic eruption grounds all flights, leaving them stranded on the island. Sam sets off toward the highlands. Naomi joins him on this tense and uncertain journey. Sam and Naomi meet by chance in a Reykjavik hostel, sharing an impulsive encounter in the luggage room. They part ways, expecting never to see each other again. That night, a volcanic eruption grounds all flights, leaving them stranded on the island. Sam, a wannabe photographer driven by his desire to be the first to capture the eruption, sets off toward the highlands. Naomi, seeking an escape from her own life, decides to join him on this tense and uncertain journey.

When emotionally abandoned wife Zahra Jones seeks the help of divorce attorney Joshua Wright, she becomes the target of a twisted obsession, forcing her and her husband Mark to survive against a man determined to ruin her life.

Based on Norman Bridwell`s children`s books of the same name, the film is a live-action portrayal of a young girl who loves her puppy, Clifford, so much that he grows to an enormous size.

Set in the midst of the 2009 housing crisis, this darkly comedic story follows Cassie Fowler, a single mom and struggling realtor whose life goes off the rails when she witnesses a murder.

Sparks fly when Wade Walker (Craig Robinson) crashes the preppy Peeples annual reunion in the Hamptons to ask for their precious daughter Grace`s (Kerry Washington) hand in marriage. Wade might be a fish-out-of-water among this seemingly perfect East Coast clan but he's not about to let himself flounder. Instead, in a wild weekend of fun, dysfunction and hilarious surprises, Wade is about to discover there's room for all kinds of Peeples in this family, no matter their differences. Writer and first-time director Tina Gordon Chism (writer of DRUMLINE) joins forces with Tyler Perry to present a laugh-out-loud look at the family ties that freak us out but bind us together with love.

This is an island 100 km away from Havana in Cuba. Who are the young people of this island society: are they the heirs of this 1960s revolution which will celebrate its 52nd anniversary, or have they evolved towards new hopes, new utopias?

Calvin (Marlon Wayans) has just been released from prison. They open the door of the prison to reveal him to be a midget. His accomplice, wannabe rapper Percy (Tracy Morgan), picks up Calvin and tells him they need to get a diamond from a local jewelry store, which will pay each of them 50,000 dollars. Percy (P-Unit) says he needs it to start his record studio. Meanwhile, at a swank restaurant, Darryl (Shawn Wayans) is talking to his friend Jimmy (David Alan Grier), telling him to come out when the time is right. Soon Vanessa (Kerry Washington) arrives and tells Darryl she has news. Right before she says it all, Darryl's friend pops out playing "Gonna Have My Baby". She says that she actually got a promotion, and he pops out singing "Celebration" before shouting out, "REMIX!" Eventually he is shooed by Darryl, and it is revealed she doesn't want a baby like Darryl does. Eventually, Calvin and Percy reach the jewelry store, where the diamond is located. They go inside the store, with Calvin in a duffel bag. Percy puts down the bag and begins to talk to a worker, who, after Percy tells her he is a rapper, begins acting "gangsta" to get his business. Meanwhile, Calvin goes under the table holding the diamond and removes the diamond by sawing a circle under the table and removing it. Calvin then gets back in the bag and crawls back to where Percy dropped him. Also, a dog gets in the bag with Calvin not knowing. When Percy picks up the bag, an old lady notices her dog is missing and alerts security, leading to the diamond's disappearance being noticed. Percy runs out with the bag and they get in the car. As they take off, they only drive around in circles, as a boot got put on their car. They then get out and run on foot as two police men chase them. They hide in a store while police find another black guy and begin beating him. Meanwhile, Calvin hides the diamond in a lady's purse to get rid of the evidence. Calvin and Percy meet up after police leave, believing they lost their man. They decide to follow the couple home. When they reach their home, they discover that Darryl wants a baby. This leads to the idea to disguise Calvin as a baby and get the diamond back. Percy rings the bell and hides in the bushes. Darryl and Vanessa answer the door, finding the "baby" and a note from Percy asking them to take care for his baby because he could not. After an attempt to call child services, they discover they can't bring him in, as they're closed. When they change his diaper, they are in shock. Vanessa's father (John Witherspoon) lives with them. He's the only one who doesn't trust the baby. After Calvin coughs horribly, they decide to take him to the doctors. At the doctors, they discover a scar from a knife fight or appendix removal, as well as a tattoo, which they blame on bad parenting. After the checkup, Calvin steals the purse with the diamond in it while Darryl and Vanessa try to figure out what they have to do with the baby. Darryl wants to keep him while Vanessa wants to get rid of him. Calvin, meanwhile, runs into a police officer outside the room, who treats him like a baby. Before he can check the purse, Vanessa finds him and grabs the purse. Right when she is about to turn Calvin over, he calls her "Mama", leading to her keeping him for the weekend. After bringing him home, they decide to invite their friends to meet the baby and loan them baby stuff for the weekend. During the weekend, Calvin has to suffer several unpleasant humiliations, such as bath time. He believes Vanessa will be joining him in the bath, only for it to be Darryl. Darryl strips naked, jumps in the bath and Vanessa leaves them. It is here that Darryl decides to relieve himself of a large build up of flatulence and breaks wind several times in the bath. Calvin is forced to suffer all through bath time, as Darryl's flatulence is incessant and he breaks wind powerfully and without hesitation. Cut to Percy going into a shady bar run by mafia kingpin Walken (Chazz Palminteri) who offered to pay them for the diamond. He threatens Percy, telling him he had 24 hours before his goons would get involved. Back at the home, Darryl and Vanessa's friends arrive. They include Greg (Lochlyn Munro), Brittany (Brittany Daniel), Richard (Fred Stoller) and Janet (Alex Borstein). They take turns trying to describe the ugly baby, such as "National Geographic Beauty". Brittany and Janet go into the kitchen with Calvin. Calvin pulls himself onto Brittany, who suggests breast feeding after he tugs at her breasts a few times. He says yes, expecting her to do it, but is sadly mistaken when Janet offers to do it. Calvin bites her and runs away. Soon we see their friends leave, with Brittany stopping to give Calvin a kiss, leading to him frenching her. After all their friends leave, Vanessa and Darryl put Calvin to bed. Calvin decides to stay up and wait to take the diamond and leave, but is incapable of fighting off the lullaby, and falls asleep. He wakes up later that night and goes downstairs to call Percy and get the diamond. While on the phone, though, Pops comes in, shotgun in hand. He starts threatening Calvin before Darryl comes in. Darryl takes Calvin away, not believing Pops, and warms up some milk for him. He then sits Calvin down and begins an emotional speech about wanting to be a father. Vanessa watches as he talks, and finally laughs as Darryl and Calvin drink their milk. When asked why, she reveals the milk to be Janet's breast milk. This causes both of them to spit it out. Darryl and Vanessa begin getting romantic as Calvin watches in his crib. The next morning, Vanessa wakes up as Darryl comes in. She looks happy, saying she can't remember the last time they did it twice in one night. He looks puzzled as Calvin comes up from under the blanket. Vanessa makes a nice breakfast for Pops and Darryl. Pops comes down while Calvin is watching a kids show. She gives Pops his breakfast while he turns the TV to the news. Right before they show a photo of Calvin, the suspect of the diamond heist, he repeatedly cries out D-Rex, leading Vanessa to change it back. Pops begins to read the paper as Calvin eyes his breakfast. Soon he jumps over and grabs his food, one item at a time. Eventually Pops realizes his food is gone and blames Calvin. Vanessa brushes him off as he leaves for a diner. Darryl comes down stairs and grabs his breakfast as Vanessa leaves for work. He begins to feed Calvin who hides his face, prompting a game of peek-a-boo. Soon Calvin gets tired of it and smacks him over the head with a frying pan. As Calvin drags Darryl's body, he grabs the diamond out of her purse. Vanessa comes back in as she forgot her purse and wakes up Darryl from his unconsciousness. She scolds him for sleeping, and he looks puzzled. Calvin hides the diamond in a diaper bag while Vanessa leaves. Darryl and Calvin go to the park and play multiple games, each one resulting with Darryl getting hit between the legs. Eventually Darryl and his friends go for ice cream, leaving Calvin with Brittany and Janet. Percy shows up as Calvin tries to find the right diaper bag. He grabs one as the moms find him, thinking he was trying to kidnap Calvin. They chase Percy down as he tries to run off with the bag. He gets beaten before getting away. Darryl arrives and hears the news, deciding to take Calvin home. As they load the car, Calvin begs for keys. He keeps on whining and kicking Darryl in the shin until he gives Calvin the keys. Calvin gets in the car and takes off, leading Darryl to believe someone stole the car. He stops the mini van driver (Molly Shannon) and begs her to chase down the car. She does and drives like a mad man as she tracks down the car. After a lengthy chase, the car is stopped, and the police open the car to reveal Calvin crying in the backseat. The police are convinced the car jacker got away. Calvin is tied up and Darryl debates going to a hockey game. They decide to go to the game with Calvin. At the game, Calvin takes the diamond and swallows it to hide it from Darryl. He then grabs a beer from the man next to him and drinks it to keep it down. The drink lady comes down and asks if he wants some more, and he gets some, as do Darryl and his two friends. Calvin makes a crude comment ("nice ass!") as the lady passes Darryl and she believes it was him, calling him a pig. Calvin calls her a tramp, and she pours a beer on Darryl. Calvin drinks the beer again, leading him(the guy to Calvins left) to believe Darryl did it. Soon a cheap check costs a visiting team's player a trip to the box as fans boo him. He then challenges all of them, and Calvin throws a beer at the man. The player, thinking it was Darryl, comes into the stands and Calvin climbs up on top of the player and attacks him. The man then throws Calvin to the ground and stomps on him. We see a bruised Calvin in bed as Darryl talks about not being a good father. Then he decides to throw Calvin a birthday party. Percy brings the diaper bag to Walken, who opens it to reveal nothing but dirty diapers and other baby items. He is then told by the Walken that he'll give him more time, but he better deliver. After Percy leaves, the boss tells his men that he suspects betrayal by Percy's partner, and to follow Percy. At the birthday party, Calvin picks a fight with D-Rex (Rob Schneider), by calling him a loser in a blue dinosaur suit who has no money. Then that leads to Calvin running behind D-Rex,ripping his tail wide open,crawling up into his suit, and beating him up from the inside! Eventually Darryl gets Calvin away from the dead D-Rex to play football with the other boys and their dads. At the start, the other team, led by Greg who stiff arms the children, are winning. Soon though, Calvin and another kid decide to kick it up a notch and use brutal force to take down the other team, leading them to victory. After Greg gets hit between the legs by Calvin making a touchdown, his son walks up to him(Greg),says "Dad,you suck!,"and kicks him in the head. Meanwhile, Darryl answers a knock at the door where Percy says he is Calvin's father here to get him. Darryl beats him up, which the mob goons see, leading them to believe Darryl was Percy's partner, and he took the diamond for himself. Meanwhile, Pops watches the news at a diner and sees Calvin as the prime suspect in the diamond heist. He decides to stop him. Back at the party, Calvin is given a cake and begins to cry, as he never had a birthday or parents. Pops shows up with a teddy bear, saying he was wrong about Calvin. Calvin goes inside where he sees Janet give her son Castor Oil. Calvin decides to drink it and poop out the diamond. He drinks it and goes as Vanessa and Darryl watch. Darryl leaves Vanessa to change his diaper, where she finds the diamond, thinking it to be a diamond for her ring, which had none. She decides to take him out to dinner, leaving Pops and Calvin alone. It is now that Calvin reveals to Pops that he is a criminal. He then beats up Pops and calls Percy, telling him to show up in an hour. At the restaurant, Darryl tries to tell Vanessa that he didn't get that for her, but he stops when she says she wants to adopt Calvin. Afterwards, Vanessa and Darryl come home to find Pops strangling Calvin. Vanessa then calls the retirement home, who come to take away Pops. He shouts "The teddy bear knows!" Before being taken away. Vanessa puts Calvin in bed as she cries and goes in the bathroom. Darryl remembers the bear comment and finds the bear, revealing it to be a camera. He hooks it up to the TV, and watches as Calvin reveals himself not to be a baby to Pops on screen. He runs upstairs to tell Vanessa, both of whom discover Calvin to be missing as is the diamond. Percy, while driving with Calvin, tells his partner that Walken thinks Darryl betrayed Percy and he has the diamond, so they are free to keep the diamond. Calvin realizes Darryl and Vanessa are in danger and he needs to go back. He does and finds Darryl, where the two confront each other about him lying about being a baby. Calvin apologizes, and before it can go any farther, the Walken and his two goons bust in. They threaten to hurt Calvin and Darryl. Eventually, Calvin knocks out the goons while the boss threatens Darryl while still maintaining his baby disguise. Calvin comes in and throws a plane that hits the boss below the waist. The police come in and arrest the mob boss and his goons. Calvin returns the diamond to the police and they tell Darryl he will receive a 100,000 dollar reward. After the police leave, Darryl and Calvin have a tearful goodbye, where Calvin reveals he liked being their kid. Darryl follows Calvin outside and they decide to go to a bar. During the credits, though, Pops and Calvin are looking at Vanessa and Janet's baby. Calvin remarks that the baby looks just like his father.

After a couple of movies flopped badly, a film star, Jack, agrees to a TV role as Darrin in a revival of Bewitched. His intent is to make Darrin the major part. He wants an unknown to play Elizabeth Montgomery's role (Samantha) so she won't try to upstage him. A real witch trying to act human becomes romantically interested in Jack and is cast as Samantha because she can do the nose twitch. But the audience prefers her to him. She becomes disillusioned when she realizes what an egotistical jerk he really is. After quarrels in which she uses her powers, Jack finally realizes he's been a jerk and reforms. -------------------------------- Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman), who has been a real witch her whole life, moves to San Fernando Valley to try to be a normal person. Isabel wants to feel the hardships that mortal people experience everyday by not using her powers. Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) is a movie star whose career has gone down since his last picture lost millions. His agent gets him a job on a remake of the Bewitched television show as Darrin Stephens. Jack wants an unknown actress to play the part of Samantha. The casting call goes out and the search is on. Jack sees Isabel twitch her nose at a book store and follows her. Jack thinks she is the perfect choice to play Samantha. What they don't know is that Isabel is a witch. While filming the show, Isabel uses her witchcraft to get events to go her way. Isabel has a little help from her father (Michael Caine). Douglas Young (the-movie-guy) Will Ferrell is Jack Wyatt an actor with minimal talent whose career has been declining steadily. Desperately seeking something that will boost his sagging career and his self esteem, Jack agrees to star in a re-make of the TV show Bewitched on the condition that he gets a complete unknown for the female lead to play opposite him. This will ensure that the audience will only be left with Jack to see with lots of screen time. Jack and the producers audition a long roster of wannabes, and in a period of frustration, he sees Isabel (Nicole Kidman) at a caf and begs her to become an actress and work in his TV show. He is confused when she initially rebuffs his advances, mistaking his attention as declaration of love. Since she is a witch and has been brought up in a world of spells and goblins, without TV, she is unaware of Elizabeth Montgomerys role of Samantha Stevens and the legacy of the TV show Bewitched. Isabel is trying to be a regular mortal person, and ultimately trying to catch a normal husband form the mortal side of reality. During the course of events she finds she must use her magical powers to help things along. But in the end she discovers that she must decide finally between a life spent on earth with mortal man or return home, where she will be a witch forever more.

Bob Rueland (David Duchovny) and his wife Elizabeth (Joely Richardson) are deeply in love. She is a dedicated animal psychologist specializing in great apes, who has for 16 years worked with a gorilla at the Chicago zoo. Bob is a builder, and he is very committed to a project to build a wonderful new gorilla enclosure at the zoo, to his wife's design. Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver) is an orphan who has been brought up by her devoted grandfather Marty O'Reilly (Carroll O'Connor) who is proprietor of an Italian restaurant, the chef being Marty's dear friend Angelo Pardipillo (Robert Loggia). Grace's great friend is Megan Dayton (Bonnie Hunt), married to the chauvinistic but clumsily chivalrous Joe (James Belushi). Grace has a weak heart, caused by incurable disease, and needs a transplant. One night, after a gala with guest in evening dress, Elizabeth is fatally injured and dies in the hospital. She's a donor and her heart is transplanted into Grace. Bob is devastated and so is Elizabeth's dog Mel, which pines for her in their apartment hallway for months. During this time Grace gradually recovers from surgery with her new heart, and after much thought writes a letter to the donor family of her heart, for forwarding by the donor/transplant agency as the arrangement is anonymous. Grace creates a garden full of varied flowers, in Marty's back yard in the city; and she paints pictures, of the city scene around her but also of scenes of an Italian city, though she has never been abroad. She gets around the city on her bicycle, and often visits Megan. They go with Megan's children to the zoo, and --- mysteriously, because he doesn't do it for anybody else --- the gorilla comes over and gives Grace a "high-five" with his hand on the divider through which visitors look at him. Grace even passes close to Bob in the crowd around the existing gorilla enclosure, and he seems to experience some frisson as though he can feel Elizabeth's heart still beating but now inside Grace. At last, after a year or so, one of Bob's best friends Charlie Johnson (David Alan Grier) persuades him to come out on a foursome date. Charlie is a veterinary expert at the zoo, involved with the care of the gorilla. On top of all his other projects (on which he is always the man in charge of the whole operation), Bob has been working intensively on the new gorilla enclosure and has been seeing a lot of Charlie, who also knew Elizabeth very well but has grown increasingly concerned about Bob's state of mind since her death. The place they pick for the four-way date, about which Bob is still doubtful, is O'Reilly's Italian restaurant. Bob turns up late and is dismayed by the fussy, bossy personality of the woman who is his blind date; however he is rather taken with Grace, who comes to take their order. He even asks her whether they have met somewhere. Bob finally contrives a mobile phone call and claims he must rush back to work on one of his projects which has hit a crisis needing him on site immediately although it's late. Grace gives him a dinner to take away, and he escapes to eat it on his own. He leaves his mobile phone on the counter and only realizes the next day that he has mislaid it. He goes back the next night after hours, and is greeted by Mary, Angelo and their two elderly friends, one of whom is the apple in the eye of O'Reilly's other waitress, the amply proportioned Sophie (Marianne Muellerleile). These four repeatedly debate the relative merits of Sammy Davis, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, and play cards. Grace has gone to bed and is unaware that Bob has arrived in the now closed restaurant. She goes downstairs in her dressing gown and shower cap, and is horrified to find Bob there seeing her en dishabille. However Bob is undisturbed and, as he helps her cover the flowers in her precious garden against an expected gale, asks her out the next evening. The couple are in love but Grace gets increasingly obsessed with the idea that he must not find out she has had heart surgery. Then, on first being invited back to his apartment, she discovers her own letter "to the donor family" on his desk, and realizes this is the man whose dead wife's heart is now inside her. She goes to pieces, takes the letter, and leaves. Bob goes to see her and she shows him the letter. This time, it is Bob who leaves abruptly. All this time, Grace has had an airline ticket to Italy which Marty got for her. The next time Bob calls, she says she is going away, to Italy, to paint. Bob presents her with a new bright red bicycle, and she takes it to Italy with her. But, sitting in her room or with her easel on a rooftop with her artist's easel in front of her, she thinks only of Bob and can't get anything done. An avuncular Italian waiter comes and offers her refreshment. WHen she declines he offers to listen to her story. Meanwhile Bob is distracted, can't concentrate on his work, and the next thing we see he is on an Italian street. That morning, Grace encounters a trio of nuns who admire her beautiful red bicycle. She offers one a ride on it. Off the nun pedals into the crowd. The scene shifts to Bob, a little way off in the same town, who finds himself looking at random at cyclists as they speed past him. Then a nun comes by, and he thinks he recognizes the bike so he runs after her. We go back to Grace and the other two nuns; when the third returns on the bike, she is riding on the from and a man is behind her pedaling. It is Bob. Grace is so moved that he flew all the way to Italy to find her. (They have only been separated a few days.) Back in the USA the gorilla enclosure has a grand opening. Then at O'Reilly's there is a wedding: it is Sophie and Wally getting hitched.

An unusual board game unleashes seemingly unstoppable forces into the lives of a makeshift family.

A simpleton inventor becomes a superhero with a bulletproof costume and a low budget. Darryl is a childlike man with a genius for inventing various gadgets out of junk. When he stumbles on a method to make his clothes bulletproof, he decides to use his skills to be the lowest budgeted superhero of all. —Kenneth Chisholm <kchishol@execulink.com> Darryl Walker is a nerdy, child-like man with a genius for inventing various gadgets out of junk. After tragedy hits his family, and when he stumbles on a method to make his clothes bulletproof, he decides to use his skills to become the lowest budgeted superhero ever. His brother Kevin disapproves of Darryl fighting crime as "Blankman", but soon finds himself fighting alongside his brother as "Other Guy", an easily overlooked partner with no special weapons or crime-fighting abilities. —Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

Louisiana, 1944. In her nightclub, Big Mary's Catfish Ribs and Liquor, Big May (Patti LaBelle) is belting out a blues tune. The club is filled with black soldiers from a nearby segregated Army base. Sergeant Waters (Adolph Caesar) stumbles out of the club. He staggers down the street, past black soldiers, civilians, to the edge of town and into a wooded area. He looks up at the camera, and pleads with a hoarse, drunken cackle: 'They still...hate you! They still...hate you!' A semi-automatic handgun goes off, blowing him on to his back. Seconds later, a second round is fired. At the Army barracks, Captain Taylor (Dennis Lipscomb) has the troops searched. He doesn't want anyone going into Tynin, the nearby town, looking for rednecks. The men are convinced the Klan murdered Sergeant Waters. Captain Davenport (Howard E. Rollins, Jr.), a graduate of Howard University Law School, is called in to investigate the murder. He arrives in Tynin on an interstate bus. He is wearing aviator sunglasses and is asleep in the back, behind the white passengers. 'Hey, wake up, boy! You said Tynin, didn't ya?' says the driver. Corporal Ellis (Robert Townsend) is standing by his Army jeep, waiting for Davenport to disembark. He is shocked to see a black officer, but is also proud. He collects Davenport's bags and drives him back to base. Colonel Nivens (Trey Wilson) gives Davenport the Waters file. Nivens has doubts about Davenport's investigation. He doesn't want outsiders like the NAACP, the Negro Press, nor 'the paper-shuffling desk jockeys in Washington' involved. He instructs Davenport to complete his investigation in three days. He also expects Davenport, the first black officer the men ever saw, to be an 'example' to the colored soldiers. Captain Davenport is ushered in to see Captain Taylor, who commands the racially segregated Company. Taylor is shocked when Captain Davenport enters. Taylor inquires about Davenport's background. 'Had I known you'd be e a Negro I would have requested the immediate suspension of the investigation. These local people aren't going to charge a white man in this Parish on your say-so...Will you take off those damn sunglasses?' 'I like these,' says Davenport, 'they're like McArthur's.' Davenport is at the enlisted men's barracks. Ellis tells Davenport that Taylor had questioned two white officers who were on the road the night of the murder. Captain Davenport interviews his first soldier. Private Wilkie (Art Evans) gives a summary of the all-black Company. The soldiers were recruited from a baseball team in the Negro Leagues. As for Sergeant Waters-he was a veteran of the First World War, 'all spit and polish.' Waters had taken Wilkie's Sergeant's stripes-demoted him to Private-- because Wilkie was found drunk on duty. Davenport asks about Water's relationship with his men. Wilkie replies Waters didn't like the Southern men, except for C.J.-probably because C.J. was the best ball player on the team--and he could sing, too. 'Boy could he sing.' Flashback to C.J. playing his guitar and singing the blues at Big Mary's club. Big Mary joins him onstage, and the soldiers are enjoying C.J.'s tune, 'Low Down Dirty Shame.' After the song Waters and Wilkie approach C.J. Memphis (Larry Riley). Waters asks him if he's from Mississippi. 'Yessuh.' Waters tells C.J. he reminds him of Blues singers from Mississippi, and of a club in France during the First World War-the 'Café Napoleon.' Present day, Davenport's interview with Wilkie: The Sarge was a 'good' man, Wilkie says. Good to his men, wrote home to his wife every day. But, his attitude could change in an instant. 'Two people, sir. Mr. Warm and Mr. Cold.' Wilkie asks Davenport if it's true that when Sergeant Waters was found his stripes and insignia were still on his uniform. Yes. 'Something's wrong, ain't it, sir? 'The Klan boys can't stand to see us in these uniforms. They usually take the stripes and stuff off before they lynch us.' Private First Class Peterson (Denzel Washington) enters. He called Sergeant Waters 'Stone Ass'-no offense. Flashback: A baseball game between the soldiers and a white team. C. J. excels on defense-catching a long fly ball-and on offense, hitting a monstrous home run. Captain Taylor is ecstatic over the performance of his black players, to the chagrin of his fellow white officers. They win the game, then go to the mess hall to celebrate. The soldiers are laughing and drinking; C.J. sings another of his songs. Captain Waters enters and tells the men to 'knock it off. We don't need no more of that guitar-picking-sittin'-around-the-shack music today, C.J.' They've got a work detail, painting the lobby of the officer's club. Private Smalls (David Harris) asks: Why can't the officers paint their own damn club? Waters: The reason for issuing an order is none of your business. Waters is up in Private Small's face: When I give you an order, I want it done! As Waters leaves, Peterson asks: What kind of colored man are you? 'I'm a soldier, Peterson. The kind of colored man that don't like lazy, shiftless Negroes.' Peterson replies 'You don't have to call us names.' Waters: the Germans call you names too, you going to complain to Hitler? C.J. says they couldn't do too much to the Nazi's with paintbrushes. 'Are you mockin' me, C.J.? Whatever an ignorant low-class Geechee like you has to say ain't worth payin' attention to. Is it!' 'I reckon not, Sarge,' says C.J. Peterson: You're a creep, Waters! Waters: If it wasn't for you Southern niggers, white folks wouldn't think we was all fools. Peterson: Where are you from, England? The men nervously retreat from Peterson. 'Looks like we got us a wise-ass Alabama boy here.' Waters gets up in Peterson's face and pushes him. Peterson pushes back. 'Get your...hands off me!' Waters dares Peterson to hit him. Just then Captain Taylor enters and congratulates the team on their victory. Only seven more games and they'll be the first colored team in Army history to play the Yankees. He gives them the rest of the day off. After Taylor leaves, Waters promises Peterson he'll teach him a lesson, and demands Peterson fight him. Peterson accepts and Waters leaves. The men warn Peterson Waters will fight dirty. Outside the barracks, the two men fight. Peterson is winning. Down on his face Waters scoops up a handful of dirt and throws it in Peterson's eyes. Peterson is unable to see. Waters delivers a flurry of vicious punches and knocks him out. Present day, the interview with Peterson: Peterson says he never reported the incident. Waters left him alone after that so he 'just played ball.' 'I appreciate your honesty, Peterson,' says Davenport. 'Did you see Waters the night he was killed?' 'Uh, no sir. Smalls and I had guard duty.' Night. Davenport is typing his report. Taylor visits. He is submitting a request to have Davenport's investigation terminated. Taylor is emphatic that Davenport will not be able to get the truth on Waters' murder. Davenport asks Taylor why the file he received from Nivens did not include any mention of the two white officers who had an encounter with Waters the night he was murdered. Colonel Nivens had ordered it not included, Taylor says. Waters was killed with two .45 caliber slugs, Army issue. If the black soldiers had found out, there would have been a slaughter. Lt. Byrd and Captain Wilcox were the officers. 'Tell me what they told you,' says Davenport. 'Look, hotshot. They're not gonna let you charge those two men.' Flashback: The night Waters was murdered. Byrd and Wilcox are in their vehicle, in a wooded area approaching a bridge. They come across a drunken Sergeant Waters. 'I'll be damned. If it ain't the white boys,' says Waters. Though Waters is obviously drunk, Byrd is incensed that he won't salute. Wilcox implores him to let it go. Byrd refuses, insists Waters come to attention. Waters won't do 'nothin' white folks say to him, and starts crying. 'I've even killed for you.' Byrd knocks him to the ground and starts kicking him repeatedly. 'White men are killing for you, nigger. Good men are dyin' for you'. He cocks his pistol. Present day, Taylor and Davenport: Taylor: they claimed they left Waters at 23:10 and were back at the barracks by 23:30 and neither left until the following morning. Davenport replies: That's just white officers protecting their own. I'm arresting both of them, and you can consider yourself under arrest pending my charges against you. Captain Taylor: Colonel Nivens is part of their alibi. Nivens and other white officers were playing pool with Byrd and Wilcox until three in the morning. Davenport visits Colonel Nivens and requests authority to arrest Byrd and Wilcox. Nivens refuses, but does give Davenport permission to question them, provided a white officer is present. Davenport interviews another soldier, Private Henson (William Allen Young). Henson didn't like Waters on account of what he did to C.J. In fact he doesn't like officers at all, and doesn't want to talk to any officers, black or white. Davenport threatens to put him in the stockades unless he talks. Henson: There was a shooting. It happened last year at the end of the baseball season. Flashback: Waters barges into a darkened barracks with Wilkie, while the soldiers are sleeping. A colored soldier shot a white M.P., and he was chased down to the Army base. 'We got us a vicious, low down murdering piece of black trash in here somewhere-and a few people who helped him.' Waters has the barracks searched. Wilkie 'finds' a pistol under C.J.'s bunk. The men vouch for C.J.'s innocence. Private Henson says he saw someone sneaking into their barracks. Corporal Cobb (David Alan Grier) says C.J. was asleep before he, Cobb, went to bed. Waters is undeterred, and shows open contempt for 'C. J. Memphis' - 'cotton-picker', bowin', scrapin' in white folks faces. 'This man undermines us. That "yasser-boss" is hidin' somethin,' and jabs C.J. in the chest. With one punch, C.J. knocks Waters to the ground. Waters has C.J. arrested and taken away. Peterson gets dressed. He's seen the likes of Waters before: White man gives him a job as a servant, when the boss ain't lookin' ...he acts like the new boss...he can't look good unless he's standin' on you. Peterson leaves to tell the M.P.s that C.J. was in the barracks all night. Present day, the Davenport and Henson interview continues. Davenport asks Henson if Wilkie was the only one out of his bunk the night the white M.P. was killed. Henson: I guess...but I was a little juiced that night. Davenport questions Corporal Cobb about his best friend, C.J. Cobb tells Davenport C.J. was a 'country boy' and that jail cell started closing in on him in solitary. Flashback: Sergeant Waters visits C.J. in solitary. The charges are changed-he's now charged with striking a superior officer. They're talking about giving him five years. 'Why you doin' this to me, suh?' 'Don't feel too bad, C.J.. It has to be this way....The black race can't afford you no more...there used to be a time when we'd see someone like you singin', clowinin', yasser-bossin'..and we wouldn't do anything. Folks liked that. You were good. Homey kinda nigger. When they needed someone to mistreat...they paraded you. Reminded them of the good old days. Not no more. The day of the Geechee is gone, boy, and you're going with him. We can't let nobody go on beleivin' we're all fools like you. Waited a long time for you, boy, but I got ya.' Waters says he's already put three Geechees in jail, 'now, I've got you...one less fool for the race to be ashamed of.' Waters leaves. Tears stream quietly down C.J.'s face. Present day, Davenport and Cobb: Two days after speaking with Waters, C.J. was found hanging from the bars of his cell. The players protested C.J.'s suicide by throwing the last game of the season. After that the baseball team was broken up. The Sergeant 'started actin' funny, was drunk all the time.' Cobb gives Davenport the time he got in the night Waters was killed. And Peterson and Smalls? They were the last ones in--they had guard duty. Davenport interviews Lieutenant Byrd (Wings Hauser) and Captain Wilcox (Scott Paulin), the white officers who encountered Waters the night of his murder. Captain Taylor is present. Davenport: When did you last see Sergeant Waters? Lieutenant Byrd says it was the night he was killed-'I should have done it myself, the way he spoke to Wilcox and me...The goddamned nigger was disrespectful, no way a colored soldier speaks to a white officer like that.' Davenport challenges Byrd, 'You beat him up...and you shot him.' 'You get out of my face, boy, 'fore I kill you.' 'Like you killed Waters.' 'No!' Captain Wilcox says their weapons were turned in and cleared ballistics. Byrd adds: They were short of .45 caliber ammo. They were for M.P.s and special duty people only. 'No one on the bivouac was issued .45 caliber ammo.' Captain Taylor does not believe their stories. Why wasn't he told, he asks the officers. Wilcox: Nivens felt Taylor would go to Washington with it. Taylor: 'Consider yourselves under arrest, gentlemen. The charge is murder.' Davenport orders them released. Taylor: They're as guilty as hell. Charge them, I'll back you up. Davenport replies he does what the facts tell him, 'not you.' Davenport and Taylor are on the bridge near where Waters was killed. Davenport: I think Waters tricked the kid into attacking him. Davenport questions Wilkie again. Wilkie is seated in the barracks and wipes his sweaty palms on his uniform. He can't understand why Davenport wants to speak to him again. 'No, Waters was not a nice guy,' Wilkie says. Waters' demoting him made him mad, all the things he did for Waters. Davenport: You were his boy. You took care of the team. You ran his errands. You policed his quarters. You listened to his stories. You put the gun under C.J.s bunk. Wilkie: No! It wasn't me. It was Sarge who ordered me to do it. He said I'd get my stripes back. The Sarge just wanted to scare him; put him in jail for a few days, but then C.J. hit him, then he had C.J. where he wanted him. Waters despised C.J., but he hid it because everybody like C.J., but underneath there was a cray kind of hate, sometimes you could just feel it. Flashback: C.J. is singing in Big Mary's club. Waters is at the bar with Wilkie watching him. 'This kinda boy seems innocent...White boys envy his strength, his speed... He can't talk. Can't barely read or write his own name... he don't care. He'll tell you they like him. Colored folks ain't supposed to have so much sense. You know the damage one ignorant Negro can do?' He shares with Wilkie an incident that took place when he was in France during the First World War. 'We had won decorations. The white soldiers told the French gals we had tails. They found an ignorant colored soldier and paid him to tie a tail to his ass and run around half naked making monkey sounds...They put him on a big round table in the Café Napoleon. .. made him eat bananas in front of all them Frenchies. How the white boys danced that night...Passed out pictures with that boy's picture on it. Called him "Moonshine", "King of the Monkeys." And when we slit his throat you know that fool asked us what he'd done wrong? ...My Daddy told me we got to turn our backs to these kind, Wilkie...We are men. Soldiers. And I don't intend for our race to be cheated out of its place of honor and respect in this war because of fools like C.J. You watch everything he does. Everything.' Present day, Wilkie and Davenport: 'And I watched him,' says Wilkie. Davenport: Why didn't Waters pick on Peterson-they had the fight. Wilkie: Sarge liked Pete. Pete fought back. He was going to promote Pete. After C.J. died 'Pete' put together the protest that lost our last game. Then he kept to himself, or with Smalls. Outside a flare gun goes off. The soldiers are celebrating, and more flare guns are fired into the night sky, like fireworks. The men are shipping out; they are finally going to get a chance to fight. Davenport places Wilkie under arrest. Smalls goes AWOL but is caught. Davenport interrogates Smalls. Davenport: Peterson knew that I'd find out the two of you killed Waters. Smalls: It was Peterson, sir. It wasn't me. Flashback: Peterson and Smalls are walking across the bridge. They come across Waters, drunk on the ground. Peterson: I'm gonna enjoy this. He offers Waters a hand up, and then kicks him back down. Waters starts crying: C.J. could never make it. He was a clown. A clown in blackface. 'You got to be like them. But the rules are fixed.' In a high-pitched voice he sings a line from C.J.'s tune 'Low Down Dirty Shame' - the tune everyone loved. Then he says 'it doesn't make any difference...They still... hate you.' Peterson draws his weapon. 'Justice, Smalls. For C.J. For everybody.' He shoots Waters in the chest, knocking him on to his back. Present day: Davenport asks Smalls, 'And you call that justice?' Peterson is brought in, in handcuffs. He stares at Smalls. 'You told him, didn't you.' He laughs and turns to Davenport. 'I didn't kill much. Some things need getting rid of. Man like Waters never did nobody no good anyway, Cap'n.' Davenport: Who gave you the right to judge? To decide who is fit to be a Negro-and who is not? Who? Smalls and Peterson are taken away. Davenport is leaving the base as the soldiers are rolling out. Taylor, in aviator sunglasses, and Ellis, pull up alongside in a jeep. Taylor: So I guess that's it. You got your man. I was wrong. Davenport: So was I. Davenport, laden with bags and an overcoat, says to 'Charlie,' he could do with a lift. Captain Taylor offers Davenport a hand as he climbs into the back. 'I guess I'm gonna have to get used to Negroes with bars on their shoulders, Davenport. You know, being in charge.' Davenport puts on his sunglasses. 'Oh, you'll get used to it, Captain. You can bet your ass on that. You'll get used to it.'