The late 1980s and early 1990s were when Black filmmakers and actors finally started getting the recognition they richly deserved after decades of work that warranted it. So while directors like Spike Lee and John Singleton brought their magic to the masses with mostly Black casts, it wasn’t like Black actors hadn’t been crushing it in Hollywood for decades. Here is a look at classic films with fantastic performances by African American actors.
Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967)
It’s just crazy to realize that interracial marriage was actually illegal in many U.S. states before a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1967. Just six months after that ruling, called Loving V. Virginia, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner was released starring an all-star cast that included Sidney Poitier as a Black man engaged to a white woman played by Katharine Houghton. Houghton’s character brings her fiancé home to meet her parents, played by the legendary Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.
Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
Billie Holiday and Diana Ross are two of the greatest American singers of the 20th Century, and while they never had the opportunity to perform together, they did come together in one way. Ross played Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues from 1972, and she does an incredible job. Holliday’s life would later be immortalized again in The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Claudine (1974)
Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones both have first-class performances in this rare Black romantic movie from the era of Blaxploitation in Claudine. Diahann Carroll was even nominated for an Oscar, and both were nominated for Golden Globes.
Cabin In the Sky (1943)
It was exceedingly rare for a big studio movie in the 1940s to have an all-Black cast, but Cabin In The Sky is the exception. Starring Lena Horne, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, and Ethel Waters, it’s a wonderful, classic musical from MGM in the heyday of musicals. If you’ve never seen it and you love those old musicals, this is a must-watch.
A Man Called Adam (1966)
There is no question that Sammy Davis, Jr. was one of the biggest African-American stars of Mid-Century America. He starred in all kinds of great movies, sometimes as a singer and dancer, and sometimes, like in A Man Called Adam, he plays a musician. It’s one of those old movies you watch and are maybe surprised by the topics and plot the film isn’t afraid to explore, including racism and alcoholism.
The Great White Hope (1970)
Somewhat astoundingly, James Earl Jones, who passed away in 2024, was only nominated for an Oscar once in his career. That nomination came for 1970’s The Great White Hope, where he plays a boxer named Jack Jefferson, based loosely on the great heavyweight Jack Johnson. It’s a role Jones originated one of his best roles on Broadway in a play by the same name, for which he did win a Tony.
Uptight (1968)
Released just seven months after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., 1968’s Uptight gets right in your face about the troubles of the day and the Civil Rights movement. It’s a fearless film from a formerly blacklisted director, Jules Dassin, and starring Raymond St. Jacques and Ruby Dee.
Shaft (1971)
We had to include Shaft on this list. The Richard Roundtree-led movie established what has been called the “first Black action hero” and the soundtrack, by Isaac Hayes. It is an absolute classic, and Hayes won an Oscar for Best Song, becoming the first African-American to do so. The movie redefined what Black cinema could be.
The Learning Tree (1969)
1969’s The Learning Tree is one of the most significant movies in American history. Not only is it a fantastic, personal movie, but its writer and director Gordon Parks became the first African-American to direct a movie for a major studio, opening doors for future directing greats like Spike Lee, John Singleton, and Ryan Coogler.
Gone With The Wind (1939)
We certainly recognize the problematic nature of including Gone With the Wind on this list. The movie, while cinematically incredible, is rightfully controversial for its content. Part of that controversy is Hattie McDaniel’s “Mammy” character. However, McDaniel deserves to be mentioned on this list as the first African American to win an Oscar for her performance.
In The Heat Of The Night (1967)
One of Sidney Poitier’s best roles came in 1967’s In The Heat of the Night, and the movie was one of the most important of the 1960s. You really can’t lavish enough praise on the movie, which was nominated for seven Oscars and won five, including Best Picture. The score, written by the late Quincy Jones, was also lauded, winning a Grammy. It led to multiple sequels and a TV show in the late ’80s.
The Cool World (1964)
1964’s The Cool World is almost like the prototype for movies like Kids in the ’90s. It’s a gritty movie about the streets of Harlem that shows the good, bad, and ugly of all that brought in the early ’60s.
Cooley High (1975)
Cooley High is considered one of the most influential films in Black cinema, and it’s easy to see why. It is a personal story, without the over-the-top nature of many Black films of the era.
Car Wash (1976)
Like many comedies over his career, Car Wash really only found its stride as a cult classic years after its initial release. The movie features Franklyn Ajaye and an all-star cast of up-and-coming stars, including Richard Pryor, Garrett Morris, George Carlin, Danny DeVito, Bill Duke, and Antonio Fargas. The Pointer Sisters even appear in the movie.
Super Fly (1972)
Youngblood Priest, played by Ron O’Neal, is one of the great characters of 1970s cinema. Super Fly also happens to boast one of the greatest soundtracks of all time by Curtis Mayfield. It’s one of the few Blaxploitation films that has had real staying power over the years, and it’s still one of the most watchable movies of the era.
Porgy And Bess (1959)
Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge star as the titular characters in the classic musical Porgy and Bess. The rest of the cast isn’t too shabby, either, including Sammy Davis, Jr., and Diahann Carroll. Opera star Robert McFerrin, father of Bobby McFerrin, substituted for Poitier’s singing voice, so it’s safe to say there is a ton of talent everywhere.
The Wiz (1978)
The most recent movie on this list, The Wiz, is, in a way, the last of an era. It’s not quite an ’80s movie, but it’s close, both in style and timing. While the movie isn’t exactly perfect, it’s just so charming that it’s impossible not to be delighted when watching it. Michael Jackson is great, and though Diana Ross has been criticized for being too old to play Dorothy, people need to chill out because she’s fantastic.
Nothing But A Man (1964)
Nothing But A Man is another fearless independent movie from the 1960s that wasn’t afraid to tell it like it was for Black Americans at the height of the Civil Rights movement, when violence was a regular part of life, especially in the South. Star Ivan Dixon, who is most famous for playing Kinchloe in Hogan’s Heroes, was an active member of the Civil Rights movement, and you can see just how important movies like this were to him.
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
A Raisin in the Sun is one of the best plays of the 20th Century, and the movie adaptation features some incredible acting performances from the whole cast, notably by Sidney Poitier as Walter Lee and Claudia McNeil as Lena. McNeil was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.
Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby star in Uptown Saturday Night, and it’s tough watching Cosby in anything these days. The movie is fantastic, and it reminds you just how heartbreaking it is that Cosby turned out to be such a terrible person. He really was great for a long time.
The Mack (1973)
Anytime Quentin Tarantino gives his blessing by including an old movie in one of his scripts, as he did with The Mack in True Romance, you can count on the movie being good. Or at least interesting. The Mack is luckily both, and is yet another example of a Richard Pryor movie that found real life as a cult classic, after not being well-received initially.
Imitation Of Life (1959)
You don’t really expect a movie from the 1950s to so directly address societal issues like interracial relationships and other pressures that were just beginning to bubble to the surface for much of white America. Imitation of Life is a powerful and nuanced movie that talks about lots of issues that just weren’t talked about in the day. It’s fantastic in that way.
Carmen Jones (1954)
Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte star in this wonderful musical based on the Opera Carmen. Dandridge, who was at the height of her power, received a well-deserved nomination for an Oscar, and the score also picked up a nomination.
Sergeant Rutledge (1960)
Another movie on here that you wouldn’t expect would be so upfront about racial issues, Sergeant Rutledge from 1960, makes someone who wasn’t around in those days realize that the biggest issues of the day weren’t whitewashed completely in mass media, as we sometimes mistakenly assume. The story, about an all-white jury deciding the fate of a Black man, is scarily relevant today.
Cleopatra Jones (1974)
Cleopatra Jones is hands down the most fun Blaxploitation film with a female hero. Tamara Dobson stars as the titular character, and she is as awesome as any hero of the genre. It’s funny and full of great action, and of course, oozes with style.
Anna Lucasta (1958)
Anna Lucasta’s production and promotion were, frankly, a mess. Sammy Davis, Jr. and Eartha Kitt still manage to give great performances, and it’s worth watching for that alone. While it bombed at the box office, the movie has been re-evaluated positively over the ensuing years.
Cry, The Beloved Country (1951)
Without mincing words, Cry, The Beloved Country, is a must-watch for anyone. The movie, shot on location in Apartheid South Africa, tells a powerful story about the horrors of the era. It doesn’t pull any punches, and while it’s not an easy watch, it is a necessary one.
St. Louis Blues (1958)
Nat King Cole, a true American original, plays another American original, W.C. Handy. The musical features some of the biggest stars of the jazz era as they all pay tribute to Handy. In addition to Cole, it stars Eartha Kitt, Mahalia Jackson, Ruby Dee, Cab Calloway, Lee Young, and Ella Fitzgerald as herself. It even bridges the generation gap with a young Billy Preston, who got famous in the 1960s as a sideman with The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, in a small role.
Foxy Brown (1974)
Pam Grier is a 1970s Blaxploitation legend for a reason. Her most famous role, at least before starring as Jackie Brown in the Tarantino movie, was another Brown, Foxy Brown, in the movie named for the character. Foxy Brown is everything you want from a movie in the genre. Grier looks great, she’s got the right attitude, and she’s just a bad mother…you know.
The Harder They Come (1972)
The Harder They Come is a different kind of movie from one on this list. It’s really a modern (for 1972) musical of sorts hidden under a drama. It features some amazing early reggae, mostly by the film’s star, musician Jimmy Cliff. In a real way, it brought Reggae to the world, even before Bob Marley found worldwide fame.
Salt And Pepper (1968)
Salt and Pepper is really more a Rat Pack movie than anything else. It stars two primary members of the crew, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Peter Lawford, as nightclub owners in Swingin’ London of the 1960s. It’s more about the style than the substance, but sometimes that’s just what you need.
Black Caesar (1973)
If we’re honest, there is one reason to love this movie, and that’s the amazing soundtrack by James Brown which includes the classic “The Boss.”