I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979)
April 28, 1979Release Date
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979)
April 28, 1979Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
This Movie Is About.
Cast & Crew.
Paul Benjamin
Freeman
Diahann Carroll
Vivian
Ruby Dee
Grandmother Baxter
Roger E. Mosley
Bailey Sr.
Esther Rolle
Momma
Fielder Cook
Director
Madge Sinclair
Miss Flowers
Maya Angelou
Writer
Sonny Jim Gaines
Uncle Willie
Art Evans
Principal
Leonora Thuna
Writer
Jean Moore Edwards
Producer
Constance Good
Maya
Peter Matz
Composer
John M. Driver II
Bailey, Jr.
Georgia Allen
Mrs. Gurney
Ralph Woolsey
Cinematographer
J. Don Ferguson
Mr. Donleavy
Tonea Stewart
Lillie
Monica Kyles
Julie
Rick Salassi
Parmenian
Lewis Liddell
Tommy
Sammy Liddell
Ira
Sylvester Spann
Tutti
Shaunery Stevens
Policeman
Hosie Phillips
Preacher
Myra Jo Arvin
Red
George Cummins
Sheriff Rogers
Torain
Teacher
Darleen Taylor
Girl #1
Laurie Waters
Tall Girl
Mose Lee Williams
Mrs. Fletcher #1
Frankie Mitchell
Mrs. Fletcher #2
M.L. Breeland
Mr. Peters
Angela Brown
Kitty
Abbie Burns
Mary
Johnny Lewis
Picker #1
John L. Patterson
Man
James Peters
2nd Man
Melvin Kennerly
3rd Man
Shirley Perkins
Woman
John C. Roper Jr.
White Man
Terri Ann Ross
Small Girl
I.D. Thompson
Black Man
Darryl Antony Williams
Tommy Valdon
Frank J. Urioste
Editor
Caro Jones
Casting
Carl Anderson
Art Direction
Details.
Wiki.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an American television film based on the autobiography of the same name by Maya Angelou, first aired April 28, 1979 on CBS. Angelou and Leonora Thuna wrote the screenplay, and the movie was directed by Fielder Cook. Constance Good played the young Maya Angelou. Also appearing were Esther Rolle, Roger E. Mosley, Diahann Carroll, Ruby Dee, and Madge Sinclair. Filming took place in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
The movie traces Maya's life from when she and her brother move in with their grandmother to the trauma of being raped as a young girl by one of her mother's boyfriends and the several years of silence that came after the attack.
Two scenes in the movie differed from events described in the book. Angelou added a scene between Maya and Uncle Willie after the Joe Louis fight. In it, he expresses his feelings of redemption after Louis defeats a white opponent. Angelou also presents her eighth-grade graduation differently in the film. In the book, Henry Reed delivers the valedictory speech and leads the black audience in the Negro national anthem. In the movie, Maya conducts these activities.