Main Cast: Richard Pryor, Beau Bridges, Pam Grier, Cleavon Little, Vincent Gardenia
Release Year: 1977
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Based on the life story of NASCAR auto racing champion Wendell Scott, this film, starring Richard Pryor as Scott, covers his struggles -- from the end of World War II to 1971-- to overcome racism and gain the freedom to demonstrate his winning auto-racing skills to everyone. He is not without support: he has Mary Jones (Pam Grier), his loving wife, a sense of humor, and quite a few good friends, including the white race-car driver Hutch (Beau Bridges). Filmed in the Atlanta area, this movie features performances by folksinger Richie Havens, Julian Bond (later a Congressman), and Maynard Jackson (at one time Atlanta's mayor). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Richie Havens - Woodrow; Julian Bond - Russell; Earl Hindman - Beau Welles; Lucy Saroyan - Hutch's Wife; Noble Willingham - Billy Joe Byrnes; Bruce Atkins - Deputy Turner; Steve Fifield - Deputies; Georgia Allen - Mary's Mother; Maynard Jackson - Minister; Danny Nelson - Wayne Carter; Cara Dunn - Restaurant Owner; Alvin Huff - Moonshiner; Willie McWhorter - Wendell, Jr.; Frederick Dennis Greene - Slack; Bill Cobbs - Mr. Jones; Minnie Gentry - Wendell's Mother
Credit
Jack Senter - Art Director, Celia Bryant - Costume Designer, Henry Salley - Costume Designer, Terry Donnelly - First Assistant Director, Ken Swor - First Assistant Director, Michael Schultz - Director, Christopher Holmes - Editor, Bob Wyman - Editor, Randy Roberts - Editor, Norman Gimbel - Composer (Music Score), Fred Karlin - Composer (Music Score), Bradford Craig - Composer (Music Score), Bob O'Bradovich - Makeup, Richard C. Glouner - Camera Operator, George Bouillet - Cinematographer, Lester Berman - Producer, Hannah Weinstein - Producer, James I. Berkey - Set Designer, Jim Berkey - Set Designer, Tom Ward - Special Effects, Candy Flanagin - Special Effects, Willie D. Burton - Sound/Sound Designer, Don Cahn - Sound/Sound Designer, Jim Cook - Sound/Sound Designer, Ted Duncan - Stunts Coordinator, Melvin Van Peebles - Screenwriter, Leon Capetanos - Screenwriter, Kenneth Vose - Screenwriter, Lawrence DuKore - Screenwriter
"Greased Lightning" is a film loosely based on the biography of Wendell Oliver Scott, the first blackAmericanstock-car racing champion. Richard Pryor is "Wendell Scott", a taxi cab driver in post-World War II, who learns his craft for car racing by transporting illegal moonshine in the backwoods of Virginia. By the mid-1960s, he was a veteran driver who had won his battles with the white racetrack owners and police officers. Pam Grier is Mary Jones, Wendell Scott's wife, and Beau Bridges is Wendell's good friend and race-car driver. This movie was partially filmed in Winder, Georgia and Madison, Georgia.
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