Grambling's White Tiger
| Grambling's White Tiger | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Georg Stanford Brown |
| Written by | William A. Attaway |
| Based on |
My Little Brother's Coming Tomorrow by Bruce Bahrenburg |
| Starring | Harry Belafonte, Caitlyn Jenner, Dennis Haysbert |
Grambling's White Tiger (also released as White Tiger in Europe) is a 1981 TV movie[1] about the true story of Jim Gregory (played by Caitlyn Jenner) the first white quarterback at Grambling College, a historically black college in 1962. The movie covers Gregory's freshman year.
The movie starts with the recruitment of Gregory as a talented recruit, keen to have the opportunity to go to a school with real NFL credentials, who also opens avenues for funding and recognition for the college. The story deals with issues of race, culture and integration at a critical time in America's history. It ends with grudging acceptance and a positive message — although Gregory only actually plays for less than a minute in the final game of the team's division winning season.
Harry Belafonte stars as Coach Eddie Robinson and LeVar Burton (already famous from Roots and later to be known for Reading Rainbow and Star Trek TNG) appears as Charles 'Tank' Smith, the first friend Jim Gregory makes on the team.
Outside the USA
The movie has enjoyed popularity outside the USA under different titles, usually some version of simply White Tiger. This is because Grambling would be unknown to other audiences and would not be understood in the title. It has been released in Finland under the names Team Tiger and White Tiger. It is particularly well known in Germany under the title Der Kampf der weißen Tiger (which translates as, The Struggle of The White Tiger).[2] Movies featuring American Football have a very specific following in Germany.[3]
All the releases are identical to the US release with various different covers for Video and DVD releases.
Director: Georg Stanford Brown (also from Roots) Writers: William A. Attaway, Based on a book called 'My Little Brother's Coming Tomorrow' by Bruce Bahrenburg[4] Stars: Harry Belafonte, Caitlyn Jenner, Dennis Haysbert and LeVar Burton
References
- ↑ "Grambling's White Tiger (1981)". NYTimes. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- ↑ "Kampf der weißen Tiger, De". KI Media GbR. 20 September 2003. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- ↑ "Der Kampf der weissen Tiger (orig.: Gramblings White Tiger)". www.footballforum.de. 5 May 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- ↑ "Grambling's White Tiger". NYTimes. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
External links
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