“A Piece of the Action,” the 1977 crime comedy directed by the late Sidney Poitier, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Friday (February 17) at the STAX Museum, 926 E. McLemore Ave.
Sponsored by WLOK Black Film Festival, the show is free and open to the public.
Showing “A Piece of the Action” is WLOK Black Film Festival’s tribute to Black History Month and part of its annual Black Film Festival, said Dorrit Gilliam, chief operating officer of Gilliam Foundation.
WLOK, which now is celebrating its 46th year, is the city’s first Black and locally-owned radio station. Gilliam Communication, the parent company of WLOK, purchased the station on February 17, 1977.
Co-starring Bill Cosby and featuring James Earl Jones, with the soundtrack performed by Mavis Staples, “A Piece of the Action,” tells the story of two high-class sneak thieves who never have been caught.
A retired detective gathers enough evidence against the men to put them behind bars, but instead offers to keep silent if the crooks will go straight and work at a youth center for delinquents.
The Los Angeles Times at the time praised the film as “uproarious yet poignant,’’ with “generous, spirited direction” from Poitier.
(For more information, please contact Dorrit Gilliam, 901-527-9565, or dorritgilliam.gfi@gmail.com.)
