Berrenger's
Berrenger's is an American primetime television soap opera created by Diana Gould that aired on NBC in 1985. The series revolved around the Berrenger family, a New York dynasty which owned the glamorous department store which bore their name. Following in the tradition of Dynasty and Dallas, Berrenger's played up to the familiar motifs of 1980s soap operas - glamorous and beautiful characters, using money and power in games of love, business and betrayal. The series was cancelled after 13 one-hour episodes had been produced. In North America, only 11 of the 13 episodes were screened. Because of studio television output deals it was screened in Europe and Australia, and has sustained a modest cult following.
Bernard Lechowick
Scott Hamner
Bill Duke
Philip Leacock
Linda Day
Michael Preece
Also Directed by Bill Duke
In 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City was running 'the numbers'. When Madam Queen—the powerful woman who runs the scam in Harlem—is arrested, Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson takes over the business and must resist an invasion from a merciless mobster.
From the creator and director of the critically acclaimed documentary Dark Girls, award-winning filmmaker Bill Duke continues the conversation on colorism with Light Girls. Sharing the untold stories and experiences of lighter-skinned women, Light Girls dives deep into the discussion of skin color, preference, privilege, pain and prejudice. The documentary features interviews with Russell Simmons, Soledad O'Brien, Diahann Carroll, India Arie, Iyanla Vanzant, Michaela Angela Davis, Kym Whitley, Salli Richardson-Whitfield and more.
A woman who wishes to become a priest hires a lawyer to file suit against the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
During World War I, a poor black Southerner travels north to Chicago to get work in the city's slaughterhouses, where he becomes embroiled in the organized labor movement.
Made especially for the HBO cable network, this well-wrought feature is comprised of three short stories by three noted black American authors, each of which is directed by a respected black director.
Interrupted at dinner by a street kid with a strange story, Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin find themselves drawn into a strange case when their young informant is found murdered. The victim's mother soon appears with his life savings totally $4.30, Wolfe's fee for taking the case! Archie's fancy legwork brings Wolfe to a mysterious woman with golden spider earrings. And when everyone else investigating the matter hits a dead end, only the inimitable Wolfe can get to the bottom of the crime.
When someone is murdered on New Year's Eve, the prime suspect is Valerie Maas, a church-going home-maker whose life unravels when she discovers that her husband of many years has been leading a double life. Her strength of character and faith keep her going as the revelation of her husband's betrayal threatens to destroy all that they have known.
A beautiful black gangster's moll flees to Harlem with a trunkload of gold after a shootout, unaware that the rest of the gang, and a few other unsavoury characters, are on her trail. A pudgy momma's boy becomes the object of her affections and the unlikely hero of the tale.
Angel is a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of rap's most conflicted and charismatic MC. DMX commands arena stages, wrecks his competition in battles, and takes time to show fans some tough love. Leading off this two-hour tale of the X is the 20-minute short "Angel" directed by Bill Duke. It's a mini-movie about DMX's rise to super-stardom and his constant fight with evil. Co-stars Mary J. Blige. View "Angel" once and then forget about it... the rest of the DVD is what makes it a must-have. "Tales of X" is a look into the life and times of DMX. You can finally hear him, understand him and enter his world. "One More Road to Cross" documents step-by-step how X and his team lay down an album in the studio and the creative and emotional intensity surrounding the process. A full taste of DMX in front of a hometown audience is given by "Survival of the Illest" shot during his legendary 1999 performance at the Apollo Theater.
Abdul Rahman, an African prince who was sold into slavery, spent four decades in servitude before an amazing coincidence took him to the White House to meet President John Quincy Adams, where he was granted his freedom. Mos Def narrates this PBS documentary that includes reenactments of scenes from Rahman's life and interviews with historians who discuss the conditions faced by slaves in early America.
Also Directed by Philip Leacock
Walt Sherill (Alan Ladd) is attacked and beat down by a group of juvenile delinquents on his way home from work one night. The boys who attacked him are not previously known by the police and are therefore hard to track down. As Sherill starts getting impatient he begins his own investigation. Meanwhile Detective Sergeant Koleski (Rod Steiger) does his best to track down the culprits.
A married couple are traveling on a deserted desert road at night. They stop at a diner and the husband goes to the men's room. He never returns and the wife begins to suspect serious foul play.
The headmaster of a stuffy British boys' school receives a surprise visit from the now-grown, and very voluptuous, daughter he fathered years earlier in the Pacific islands.
Adam is a young American wrongly accused of being an accomplice to murder while on shore leave in Liverpool. He is sentenced to death by hanging but the sentence is commuted to twenty years in a convict settlement in Australia.
During WWII an American soldier sent to Norway to help with the escape of a scientist working on the atomic bomb for the Germans. Before they can escape they are captured and sent to a POW prison camp in an alpine castle. Cook must find a way to escape with the scientist before the Gestapo discover the Norwegian's true identity and convinces the other prisoners to build a two person glider in which they plan to escape.
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A former CIA agent and his friend operate a boat service in Florida find themselves the target of an eccentric millionaire with a score to settle.
Seven-year-olds Michael and Rachel are best friends who do everything together and who have vowed to remain friends "forever and ever and can't be parted for never and never." Unfortunately, the society that Michael and Rachel live in is one of religious intolerance. The fact that Michael is Irish Catholic and Rachel is Jewish is a point of conflict for just about everyone in the community. When the two young children are made aware of their ideological differences, it begins to tear apart their friendship, and they decide to test whose God is stronger. What they discover is that at the core, their religions really aren't that different from one another: both worship a God of love, not vengeance.
Nineteen people were hanged and one man pressed to death, while hundreds went to jail during the "witch hysteria" of 1692. THREE SOVEREIGNS FOR SARAH offers an accurate portrayal of the Salem witch trials, with real characters and original transcripts woven into the dialogue. The film is a powerful, moving story about three loving sisters accused of witchcraft.
Also Directed by Linda Day
The Parkers is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from August 30, 1999, to May 10, 2004. A spin-off of UPN's Moesha, The Parkers features the mother-daughter team of Nikki and Kim Parker. The Parkers' signature "Heeyyy" greeting became very popular in the early 2000s.
Throb is an American television sitcom broadcast in syndication from 1986 to 1988, created by Fredi Towbin. It revolved around thirty-something divorcee Sandy Beatty who gets a job at a small New Wave record label, Throb. Beatty's boss is Zach Armstrong, who looks like Michael J. Fox but dresses like Don Johnson. Beatty also has a 12-year old son named Jeremy. Beatty's best friend was Meredith, a single teacher who lived in her building, and her co-workers included hip business manager Phil Gaines, and Prudence Anne Bartlett, nicknamed Blue. During the second season, Sandy moved from her original apartment to the recently vacated penthouse in her building. She took in her co-worker, Blue, to help with rent, but the differences between straitlaced Sandy and the very free-spirited Blue became more pronounced as they both lived and worked together. Notably, it was the first time much of the American TV audience saw Jane Leeves, who later gained fame as Daphne Moon on Frasier. Also notable is the casting of a young Paul Walker, who played Jeremy Beatty for the first season. Walker became a leading man in Hollywood some 15 years later, particularly after his breakthrough role in The Fast and the Furious.
Women in Prison is an American television sitcom created by Katherine Green which aired on Fox from October 11, 1987 to April 2, 1988.
When genius cybernetics engineer Ted Lawson brings home his top-secret invention, a Voice Input Child Identicant or V.I.C.I., life becomes anything but mechanical for the Lawson Family. With his boss and his nosy family living next door, Ted, his wife Joan and their son Jamie must pass Vicki off as a real child. It is easy for Joan, who cannot help doting on her like a daughter, but harder for precocious Jamie, who uses Vicki to do his homework and to ward off Harriet, the annoying redheaded girl next door.
Double Trouble is an American sitcom that aired from 1984 to 1985 on NBC. The series stars identical twins Jean and Liz Sagal as Kate and Allison Foster, two teenagers living under the watchful eye of their widowed father. The show was considered an updating of the "twins in mischief" concept seen in films like The Parent Trap or the Patty Duke Show of the 1960s.
Thea is an American sitcom that premiered September 3, 1993 on ABC, and last aired on February 14, 1994, for a total of 19 episodes. Starring comedienne Thea Vidale, the series marked the first time an African American female comedienne was the star of a series named after her.
Two conservative men support their younger brother when he comes out as gay, and help him navigate being openly homosexual in 1980s Philadelphia.
Nell Carter portrays the assistant to the owner of a large banquet hall which features curious customers and an odd-ball staff.
Hitz is an American comedy television series that premiered August 26, 1997 on UPN. The series follows two record industry executives and their boss at Hitower Records in Los Angeles.
Also Directed by Michael Preece
Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable doctor who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986.
An Interpol agent fights drug dealers in Europe and America.
To many, Joshua McCord is a charismatic Asian studies professor. To the President of the United States, he's America's greatest secret weapon; a covert operative charged with only the most sensitive and dangerous missions.
Boone is a dramatic television series which was broadcast on NBC from 1983 to 1984. It starred Tom Byrd and Barry Corbin. Byrd played teenager Boone Sawyer, who aspires to a career in rock and roll music, despite the advice of his stern father, Merit Sawyer, played by Corbin, who wants Boone to join him in the automobile repair business. The setting of the series is Tennessee in the early 1950s, when great changes began to occur in popular music, with the rise of Elvis Presley. Ten weekly episodes began airing on September 26, 1983, and three remaining segments were broadcast in the summer of 1984, the last on August 11. The series was created by Earl Hamner, Jr. Ronnie Claire Edwards, an Oklahoma City native who played Corabeth Godsey, the bossy wife of storekeeper Ike Godsey in The Waltons, portrayed Aunt Dolly Sawyer in Boone. William Edward Phipps played her husband Link Sawyer, the owner of Link's Orchid Lounge, where Boone and his friend, Rome Hawley, sometimes performed. Other stars included Elizabeth Huddle as Boone's mother, Faye, who wanted Boone to commit to the ministry, as his older brother, Dwight, had done prior to Dwight's death in World War II. Julie Anne Haddock was cast as Amanda; Robyn Lively, Banjo; and Amanda Peterson, Boone's young sister, Squirt Sawyer.
In the prosperous town of Sulphur Falls, everything seems peaceful and calm, but little do the townspeople know of the web of lies and deceit that lie hidden behind that facade in their seemingly sleepy little town.
"Bags" the boxer (funnyman Tim Conway) and his manager, Shake (Don Knotts), are quite a pair: One is a dim bulb, and the other has a mean streak. Times are tough and they must save their gym, so they line up some moneymaking fights. But when Bags and Shake discover that the bouts have been rigged, they end up with their backs to the wall and must fight back -- literally.
Shirley is an American comedy-drama television series that aired from October 26, 1979 until January 25, 1980.
Dangerous Curves is a crime series. It centers on Lise Cutter and Michael Michele, two female security guards working for a private security agency, Personal Touch, in Dallas.
A comedy film directed by Michael Preece.