Movies by Sidney Poitier
As part of the cast:
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Sing Your Song (2011)
Cast: Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Diahann Carroll …
Directed by: Susanne Rostock
Hoping to inspire a new generation of activists, entertainer Harry Belafonte allows director Susanne Rostock intimate access to his life to document his many decades as a performer and as a…
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Black Hollywood: Blaxploitation and Advancing an Independent Black Cinema (2008)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Diahnne Abbott, Rosalind Cash …
Directed by: Howard Johnson
Filmed on location in Hollywood in 1984, this probing documentary examines the ever-changing state of African-American cinema via the increasing visibility of black actors and directors, and…
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Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
Cast: Don Rickles, Clint Eastwood, Robert De Niro …
Directed by: John Landis
Renowned director John Landis offers up a portrait of legendary comedian Don Rickles (in an Emmy-winning role) by blending clips of Rickles's appearances at the Dean Martin celebrity…
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Ali Rap (2006)
Cast: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Diane Sawyer, James Earl Jones …
Hosted by Chuck D. and based on the George Lois book of the same name, this film focuses on the man whose rhymes, witticisms and wisecracks mesmerized America long before rap ruled the…
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Ebony Elegance (2004)
Cast: James Earl Jones, Sidney Poitier, Mario Van Peebles …
Award-winning black actors are showcased in this collection of nuanced films. In Mark of the Hawk, Sidney Poitier struggles with issues of racial equality in modern-day Africa. In The River…
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A Century of Black Cinema (2003)
Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg …
This 90-minute documentary recounts the history of blacks in film, from the industry's early days and big-screen classics such as Gone with the Wind (1939) to contemporary fare such as…
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Quincy Jones: In the Pocket (2002)
Cast: Quincy Jones, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier …
Directed by: Michael Kantor
The American Masters series turns its impeccable eye on the life and career of indomitable composer and producer Quincy Jones. In a career that spans five decades, Jones has earned 26 Grammy…
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The Last Brickmaker in America (2001)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Piper Laurie, Jay O. Sanders …
Directed by: Gregg Champion
Haunted by the death of his wife and the obsolescence of his life's work, brickmaker Henry Cobb's (Sidney Poitier) existence is invigorated when he becomes the unexpected mentor to…
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Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light (1999)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, Denzel Washington …
The recollections of Sidney Poitier -- actor, artist, writer, director and diplomat -- are at the heart of this PBS documentary, which provides an in-depth look at the life and contributions…
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The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn (1999)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Dianne Wiest, Mary-Louise Parker …
Directed by: Gregg Champion
Small-town farmer Noah Dearborn (Sidney Poitier) lives an uncomplicated existence until shady developer Christian Nelson (George Newbern) tries to usurp his family's land. Nelson will do…
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Free of Eden (1999)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Phylicia Rashad …
Directed by: Leon Ichaso
After a robbery in the fast-food joint where she works turns lethal, high school dropout Nicole Turner (Sydney Tamiia Poitier) finds a seed of hope in the rousing eulogy delivered by Will…
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The Jackal (1997)
Cast: Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier …
Directed by: Michael Caton-Jones
A triumvirate of stars forms the core of this update of the 1973 spy thriller The Day of the Jackal that has Bruce Willis portraying the shadowy assassin of the title. Hired by a powerful…
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Mandela and de Klerk (1997)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Michael Caine, Tina Lifford …
Directed by: Joseph Sargent
Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine turn in a pair of Emmy-nominated performances as Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk, respectively, in this thought-provoking drama about the end of apartheid in…
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Small Steps, Big Strides (1997)
Cast: Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, James Earl Jones …
Directed by: Velma Cato
Louis Gossett Jr. narrates this fascinating chronicle of African-American achievements and stereotypes in the world of Hollywood cinema, directed by Velma Cato. The documentary's…
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A Good Day to Die (1995)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Jim Caviezel, Robert Guillaume …
Directed by: David Greene
Gypsy Smith (Sidney Poitier) is a gunfighter and bounty hunter who leads the U.S. army into an Indian settlement on a mission to capture a suspected renegade. When the Army slaughters the…
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Sneakers (1992)
Cast: Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley …
Directed by: Phil Alden Robinson
When shadowy U.S. intelligence agents blackmail a reformed computer hacker and his offbeat team of security experts into stealing a code-breaking "black box" from a Soviet-funded genius, they…
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Separate But Equal (1991)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Burt Lancaster, Richard Kiley …
Directed by: George Stevens Jr.
Sidney Poitier stars as the dazzling legal mind Thurgood Marshall in this drama that follows the strong-willed attorney as he battles to desegregate schools, taking on John W. Davis (Burt…
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Little Nikita (1988)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix, Richard Jenkins …
Directed by: Richard Benjamin
Jeff Grant (River Phoenix) is an 'all-American high school student applying to the Air Force Academy. During a routine background check, FBI agent Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier) uncovers…
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Shoot to Kill (1988)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger, Kirstie Alley …
Directed by: Roger Spottiswoode
FBI agent Warren Stantin (Sidney Poitier) has just been paired with tracker Jonathan Knox (Tom Berenger) in order to find a killer who's led law enforcement officials into the…
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The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn (1986)
Cast: Joan Bennett, Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Taylor …
Directed by: David Heeley
Spencer Tracy was a true Hollywood legend who starred in dozens of films, including such classics as Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. In this tribute…
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A Piece of the Action (1977)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, James Earl Jones …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
How does retired cop Joshua Burke (James Earl Jones) get two career criminals, Manny Durrell (Sidney Poitier) and Dave Anderson (Bill Cosby), to follow the straight and narrow? Con them into…
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Let's Do It Again (1975)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Calvin Lockhart …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
Clyde (Sidney Poitier) and Billy (Bill Cosby) are devoted members of the Sons and Daughters of Shaka, whose home is about to be taken away by its owner, the city of Atlanta. To raise the cash…
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The Wilby Conspiracy (1975)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Michael Caine, Nicol Williamson …
Directed by: Ralph Nelson
Inspired by writer Peter Driscoll's novel about apartheid in South Africa, The Wilby Conspiracy follows the attempts of two men, British engineer Jim Koegh (Michael Caine) and activist…
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Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby team up in this hilarious misadventure as buddies Steve and Wardell, who head uptown to a swanky nightclub. Unfortunately, thieves hit the club and steal…
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A Warm December (1973)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Yvette Curtis, Earl Cameron …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
When widowed Dr. Matt Younger (Sidney Poitier, who also directs) goes on holiday to London with his daughter, Stefanie (Yvette Curtis), he begins a romance with the lovely Catherine (Ester…
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Buck and the Preacher (1972)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier made his directorial debut with this 1972 action-comedy about odd couple Buck (Poitier) and an ex-con preacher (Harry Belafonte) who battle bounty hunters while leading a group…
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The Organization (1971)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Barbara McNair, Gerald S. O'Loughlin …
Directed by: Don Medford
Young revolutionaries break into the corporate headquarters of a malevolent company and steal $5 million worth of heroine to keep it off the streets. When they're falsely accused of…
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Brother John (1971)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Will Geer, Bradford Dillman …
Directed by: James Goldstone
In this classic drama, a mysterious, well-traveled man (Sidney Poitier) with extraordinary knowledge of the past, present and future returns to his Alabama hometown just before his…
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They Call Me Mr. Tibbs (1970)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Martin Landau, Barbara McNair …
Directed by: Gordon Douglas
This sequel to In the Heat of the Night finds detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) and his family living in San Francisco. Tibbs becomes embroiled in an explosive case when a liberal…
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King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)
Cast: Martin Luther King, Paul Newman, James Earl Jones …
Directed by: Sydney Lumet
From five time Academy Award nominee Sidney Lumet comes the never before released landmark documentary that chronicles the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from the beginnings of…
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For Love of Ivy (1968)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Abbey Lincoln, Beau Bridges …
Directed by: Daniel Mann
Ivy Moore (Abbey Lincoln), housekeeper to a white family, is growing tired of domestic service and plans to leave the Long Island residence of her employers for big-city living. This sends…
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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier …
Directed by: Stanley Kramer
Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn star as wealthy Californians who consider themselves progressive until their only daughter (Katharine Houghton) brings home her African American…
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In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates …
Directed by: Norman Jewison
Black Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs helps a redneck Southern sheriff solve a murder in this riveting study in racism that still strikes a chord. Rod Steiger won a Best Actor Oscar for…
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To Sir, with Love (1966)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson …
Directed by: James Clavell
Sidney Poitier stars as Mark Thackeray, an engineer by training who reluctantly takes a teaching job in a working-class London high school. His unruly students (played by an impressive group…
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Duel at Diablo (1966)
Cast: James Garner, Sidney Poitier, Bibi Andersson …
Directed by: Ralph Nelson
It's the U.S. Cavalry versus the Indians in this lively shoot-'em-up. Jess Remsberg (James Garner) is a ruggedly handsome scout, and Toller (Sidney Poitier) is a former trooper who…
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The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
Cast: Max von Sydow, Michael Anderson Jr., Carroll Baker …
Directed by: George Stevens, David Lean, Jean Negulesco …
Swedish actor Max Von Sydow made his English-speaking debut in this gargantuan retelling of the life of Christ from Giant director George Stevens. The much-ballyhooed all-star cast includes…
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A Patch of Blue (1965)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Hartman, Shelley Winters …
Directed by: Guy Green
Gordon Ralfe (Sidney Poitier), a handsome, hard-working black man, befriends Selina (Elizabeth Hartman, who received an Oscar nod), a blind white girl, and he introduces her to a whole new…
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The Bedford Incident (1965)
Cast: Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, James MacArthur …
Directed by: James B. Harris
At the peak of Cold War tensions, a U.S. naval ship discovers a Soviet submarine in the North Atlantic and scrutinizes its every move. As the ship's commander, Capt. Findlander (Richard…
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The Long Ships (1964)
Cast: Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, Rosanna Schiaffino …
Directed by: Jack Cardiff
Based on the book by Frank Bengtsson, this 1964 film tells the tale of Viking brothers Rolf (Richard Widmark) and Orm (Russ Tamblyn), who are hunting for a mythical golden bell. For this,…
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Lilies of the Field (1963)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann …
Directed by: Ralph Nelson
Aimless ex-soldier Homer Smith (Sidney Poitier) is on his way to California when his car overheats in the desert. He stops to get some water at an isolated farm and soon finds himself…
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Pressure Point (1962)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Bobby Darin, Peter Falk …
Directed by: Hubert Cornfield
Conservative prison psychiatrist Sidney Poitier is a master at unraveling the troubled psyches of inmates, but he has his hands full when he tries to "head shrink" a racist Nazi fanatic.…
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A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Daniel Petrie
Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee shine in this film version of Lorraine Hansberry's play about an inner-city black family. Poitier plays Walter Lee Younger, a chauffeur with a wife (Dee) and…
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The Defiant Ones (1958)
Cast: Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel …
Directed by: Stanley Kramer
Two escaped convicts -- one black (Sidney Poitier), one white (Tony Curtis) and both shackled in the same pair of handcuffs -- battle the elements and each other as they travel Southern back…
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Band of Angels (1957)
Cast: Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo, Sidney Poitier …
Directed by: Raoul Walsh
Screen icon Clark Gable stars in this adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's Civil War novel as Hamish Bond, a wealthy landowner who falls in love with a Southern belle turned slave (Yvonne…
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Edge of the City (1957)
Cast: John Cassavetes, Sidney Poitier, Jack Warden …
Directed by: Martin Ritt
When Axel Nordmann (John Cassavetes) deserts the Army and goes to work at the New York rail yards, he hits it off with freight car loader Tommy Tyler (Sidney Poitier), but their interracial…
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Something of Value (1957)
Cast: Rock Hudson, Sidney Poitier, Dana Wynter …
Directed by: Richard Brooks
As Kenya's Mau Mau uprising tears the country apart, former childhood friends Kimani (Sidney Poitier), a native, and Peter (Rock Hudson), a British colonist, find themselves on opposite…
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Blackboard Jungle (1955)
Cast: Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Louis Calhern …
Directed by: Richard Brooks
Inner-city high school teacher Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) struggles to maintain his idealism in this gritty drama set in the 1950s. The students drink, smoke, steal and cause mayhem, and two…
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No Way Out (1950)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell …
Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
When rabid bigot Ray Biddle (Richard Widmark) and his brother Johnny (Dick Paxton) are admitted with gunshot wounds to the county hospital's prison ward, they balk at being treated by…
As a director:
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Ghost Dad (1990)
Cast: Bill Cosby, Kimberly Russell, Denise Nicholas …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
When workaholic widower Elliot Hopper (Bill Cosby) is killed in a tragic accident, his three children -- Danny (Salim Grant), Amanda (Brooke Fontaine) and Diane (Kimberly Russell) -- are left…
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Hanky Panky (1982)
Cast: Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Kathleen Quinlan …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
While searching for her brother's killers and being pursued by a dangerous foe (Richard Widmark), Kate Hellman (Gilda Radner) and Michael Jordan (Gene Wilder) embark on a harried…
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Stir Crazy (1980)
Cast: Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Georg Stanford Brown …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
In their second of four on-screen teamings, Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor are two slackers who get bum-rapped and shipped directly to the Arizona State Penitentiary (where parts of this…
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A Piece of the Action (1977)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, James Earl Jones …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
How does retired cop Joshua Burke (James Earl Jones) get two career criminals, Manny Durrell (Sidney Poitier) and Dave Anderson (Bill Cosby), to follow the straight and narrow? Con them into…
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Let's Do It Again (1975)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Calvin Lockhart …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
Clyde (Sidney Poitier) and Billy (Bill Cosby) are devoted members of the Sons and Daughters of Shaka, whose home is about to be taken away by its owner, the city of Atlanta. To raise the cash…
-
Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby team up in this hilarious misadventure as buddies Steve and Wardell, who head uptown to a swanky nightclub. Unfortunately, thieves hit the club and steal…
-
A Warm December (1973)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Yvette Curtis, Earl Cameron …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
When widowed Dr. Matt Younger (Sidney Poitier, who also directs) goes on holiday to London with his daughter, Stefanie (Yvette Curtis), he begins a romance with the lovely Catherine (Ester…
-
Buck and the Preacher (1972)
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee …
Directed by: Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier made his directorial debut with this 1972 action-comedy about odd couple Buck (Poitier) and an ex-con preacher (Harry Belafonte) who battle bounty hunters while leading a group…