The Black Klansman, originally released in 1966 under the name I Crossed the Color Line, is a low-budget feature film directed by Ted V. Mikels and starring Richard Gilden, Rima Kutner, Harry Lovejoy, Max Julien, Jakie Deslonde, and James McEachin.[1]

The Black Klansman
Official film release poster
Directed by	Ted V. Mikels
Screenplay by	Art Names John T. Wilson
Produced by	Ted V. Mikels Joe Solomon
Starring	Richard Gilden Rima Kutner Harry Lovejoy Max Julien Jakie Deslonde James McEachin
Cinematography	Robert Caramico
Edited by	Ted V. Mikels
Music by	Jaime Mendoza-Nava
Release date	1966
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States

Plot

During the civil rights movement, an African-American man, Jerry Ellworth (Richard Gilden, a white actor), is a Los Angeles jazz musician with a white girlfriend. Meanwhile, in an Alabama diner, a young black man attempts to exercise his civil rights by sitting at a local diner. When the Ku Klux Klan learn of this, they firebomb a church, killing Jerry's daughter. By way of revenge, Jerry moves to Alabama to infiltrate the group responsible for his daughter's death. Jerry dons his disguise and becomes a member of the inner circle, befriending the local leader and his daughter, and soon exacts his revenge.

Cast

• Richard Gilden as Jerry Ellsworth
• Rima Kutner as Andrea
• Harry Lovejoy as "Rock"
• Max Julien as Raymond
• Jakie Deslonde as Farley
• James McEachin as Lonnie
• Maureen Gaffney as Carole Ann
• W. McLennard as Wallace
• Ginode Augustino as Sawyer
• R.L. Armstrong as Jenkins
• Byrd Holland as Buckley
• Whitman Mayo as Alex
• Frances E. Williams as Ellie Madison
• Ray Dannis as Sloane
• William Collins as Deputy
• Kirk Kirksey as Delbert
• Jimmy Robinson as Barnaby
• Anita Hurrel as Mrs. Ellsworth
• Gary Kent as Wilkins

Production

Mikels says he told Joe Solomon that he would not make the film "if I couldn’t make some good out of it. If we couldn’t justify everything and bring about a union of understanding between black and white and come to a conclusion that would leave people saying, ‘Well, we better learn to get along, or else.’ If I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t make the movie, so I won out there."[2]

See also

• List of American films of 1966

References

External links

• The Black Klansman at IMDb
• The Black Klansman at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Black Klansman on YouTube
• The Black Klansman on Vimeo