The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
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| The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings | |
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| Directed by | John Badham |
| Produced by | Berry Gordy Rob Cohen |
| Written by | Hal Barwood William Brashler |
| Starring | Billy Dee Williams James Earl Jones Richard Pryor |
| Music by | William Goldstein |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 17, 1976 |
| Running time | 110 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976) is an affectionately comedic sports film about a team of enterprising ex-Negro League baseball players in the era of racial segregation. It starred Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones and Richard Pryor. Directed by John Badham, the movie was produced by Berry Gordy for Motown Productions and Rob Cohen for Universal Pictures, and released by Universal on November 17, 1976.
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[edit] Plot summary
Tired of being treated like a slave by team owner Sallison Potter (Ted Ross), charismatic star pitcher Bingo Long (Billy Dee Williams) steals a bunch of Negro League players away from their teams, including catcher/slugger Leon Carter (James Earl Jones) and Charlie Snow (Richard Pryor), a player forever scheming to break into the segregated Major League Baseball of the 1930s by masquerading as first a Cuban ("Carlos Nevada"), then a Native American ("Chief Takahoma"). They take to the road, barnstorming through small Midwestern towns, playing the local teams to make ends meet. One of the opposing players, 'Esquire' Joe Callaway (Stan Shaw), is so good that they recruit him.
Bingo's team becomes so outlandishly entertaining and successful, it begins to cut into the attendance of the established Negro League teams. Finally, Bingo's nemesis Potter is forced to propose a winner-take-all game: if Bingo's team can beat a bunch of all-stars, it can join the league, but if it loses, the players will return to their old teams. Potter has two of his goons kidnap Leon prior to the game as insurance, but he escapes and keys his side's victory.
Ironically, there is a major league scout in the audience. After the game, he offers Esquire Joe the chance to break the color barrier; with Bingo's permission, he accepts. Leon glumly foresees the decline of the Negro League as more players follow Esquire Joe's lead, but Bingo, ever the optimist, cheers him up by describing the wild promotional stunts he intends to stage to bring in the paying customers.
[edit] Cast
- Billy Dee Williams as Bingo Long
- James Earl Jones as Leon Carter
- Richard Pryor as Charlie Snow, "Carlos Nevada" and "Chief Takahoma"
- Stan Shaw as 'Esquire' Joe Callaway
- Tony Burton as Issac, one of Bingo's players
- Rico Dawson as Willie Lee Shavely, an All-Star
- Sam Brison as Louis Keystone, another All-Star
- Jophery C. Brown as Emory Chambers, an All-Star
- Leon Wagner as Fat Sam Popper, an All-Star
- DeWayne Jessie as Rainbow, the All-Stars' batboy. He later played singer Otis Day in Animal House.
- Ted Ross as Sallison Potter, Bingo's nemesis and owner of the Ebony Aces
- Mabel King as Bertha Dewitt, another Negro League team owner
- Ken Foree as Honey, one of Potter's henchmen
- Carl Gordon as Mack, Potter's other goon
[edit] Negro League tie-ins
Bingo Long is based on Satchel Paige. Early in his career, Paige called in his outfielders while leading in the ninth inning of a 1-0 game and pitched his way out of a jam. Bingo replicated the stunt in this movie. Leon Carter is a Josh Gibson-like power hitter, even playing the same position (catcher). Most obviously, 'Esquire' Joe Callaway is a thinly-veiled Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to break Major League baseball's color barrier.
The Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings were loosely based on the Indianapolis Clowns, a barnstorming exhibition baseball team, noted for their Harlem Globetrotters-like clowning routines, that joined the Negro American League in 1943.
The character of Bertha (Mabel King), the sole woman team owner, is inspired by Effa Manley.
[edit] Production
Luther Williams Field in Macon, Georgia was used for filming as the Negro League ballpark. Luther Williams Field is home to the Macon Music, a minor league team in the independent South Coast League. Additional ballpark scenes were shot at Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Georgia, home of the Savannah Sand Gnats of the Class A South Atlantic League. Exterior scenes set in St. Louis residential neighborhoods were also filmed in Savannah. Scenes set in rural communities were filmed in Talbotton, Georgia and various small towns around Macon. Some ballplayers were played by actual ballplayers, including former members of the Indianapolis Clowns, who performed the clowning stunts shown in the film.
Steven Spielberg originally wanted to have a hand in producing the movie until the success of his film Jaws got his full attention.
