Miss Evers' Boys
Miss Evers' Boys | |
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Genre | Historical drama |
Based on | David Feldshuh (play) |
Written by | Walter Bernstein |
Directed by | Joseph Sargent |
Starring | |
Music by | Charles Bernstein |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Production locations |
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Cinematography | Donald M. Morgan |
Editor | Michael Brown |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 118 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | HBO |
Release | February 22, 1997 |
Miss Evers' Boys is an American made-for-television drama starring Alfre Woodard and Laurence Fishburne that first aired on February 22, 1997, and is based on the true story of the four-decade-long Tuskegee Syphilis Study. It was directed by Joseph Sargent and adapted by Walter Bernstein from the 1992 stage play of the same name, written by David Feldshuh.[1] It received twelve nominations for the 1997 Primetime Emmy Awards, ultimately winning five, including Outstanding Television Movie and the President's Award (awarded for programming that best explores social or educational issues).
Plot
The film tells the story of a medical study with covert goals organized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, conducted on poor African American men in the years 1932–1972 at Tuskegee University, designed to study the effects of untreated syphilis. The story is told from the perspective of the small town nurse Eunice Evers (Alfre Woodard) who is well aware of the lack of treatment, but feels her role is to console the involved men, many of whom are her close friends.
In 1932 she is sent to help Dr. Brodus (Joe Morton) and Dr. Douglas (Craig Sheffer) to help them "treat" rural black men in the town of Tuskegee, Alabama. She is sent around town to tell the people that the government is funding their treatment for free, but unbeknownst to them the government will soon run a study that requires them to go without any form of real treatment. She then comes across three men in an abandoned schoolhouse: Willie Johnson (Obba Babatundé), Bryan Hodman, and "Big" Ben Washington, who agree for treatment.
The study selected 412 men infected with the disease and promised them free medical treatment for what was called "bad blood". The movie shows Miss Evers suggesting the term as a strategy to withhold information about syphilis from the men. The men received fake long-term treatment, which involved giving them mercury and placebos even after penicillin was discovered as a cure. When Caleb Humphries (one of the test subjects who left the experiment) joins the Army during World War II and is treated and cured by penicillin, he returns to tell how he was cured and tries to get help for his friend. But none of the hospitals would help because the test subjects were placed on a list that stated they should not receive medical treatment because they were participants in the experiment. The survivors of the study did receive treatment and financial compensation after the US Senate investigated in the 1970s, and eventually a formal apology from President Bill Clinton.
Cast
Actor | Role |
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Alfre Woodard | Nurse Eunice Evers (based on Eunice Rivers Laurie, RN) |
Laurence Fishburne | Caleb Humphries |
Craig Sheffer | Dr. Douglas |
Joe Morton | Dr. Sam Brodus |
Obba Babatundé | Willie Johnson |
Ossie Davis | Mr. Evers |
E.G. Marshall | The Senate Chairman |
Awards and nominations
Event Organizer (Date) |
Award | Recipient | Outcome |
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19th CableACE Awards The Internet & Television Association (November 14, 1997) |
Movie |
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Won[2] |
Actress in a Movie or Miniseries | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Won[2] | |
Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries | Obba Babatundé (as Willie Johnson) | Nominated[2] | |
Costume Design | Susan Mickey | Nominated[2] | |
34th Cinema Audio Society Awards Cinema Audio Society |
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television - Movie of the Week, Mini-Series or Specials |
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Nominated[2] |
50th Directors Guild of America Awards Directors Guild of America (March 7, 1998) |
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series | Joseph Sargent | Nominated[3] |
37th Eddie Awards American Cinema Editors (March 14, 1998) |
Best Edited Two-Hour Movie for Non-Commercial Television | Michael Brown | Nominated[2] |
55th Golden Globe Awards Hollywood Foreign Press Association (January 18, 1998) |
Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Won |
Best Television Motion Picture | Miss Evers' Boys | Nominated | |
9th Golden Laurel Awards Producers Guild of America (March 3, 1998) |
David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television |
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Won |
2nd Golden Satellite Awards International Press Academy (February 22, 1998) |
Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Co-Winner[4] |
Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Miss Evers' Boys | Nominated[4] | |
Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television | Ossie Davis (as Mr. Evers) | Nominated[4] | |
24th Humanitas Prizes Human Family Educational & Cultural Institute (July 10, 1998) |
90 Minute or Longer PBS/Cable Television | Walter Bernstein (writer) | Won |
19th International Monitor Awards Association of Imaging Technology and Sound |
Film Originated Television Specials - Color Correction | Allan Rogers | Won[2] |
29th Image Awards NAACP (February 14, 1998) |
Outstanding Made for Television Movie | Miss Evers' Boys | Won |
1st Online Film & Television Association Awards Online Film & Television Association |
Best Actress in a Television Motion Picture or Miniseries | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Nominated[5] |
49th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 7, 1997) |
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Special | Michael Brown | Won |
Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Special | Donald M. Morgan, A.S.C. | Won | |
Outstanding Choreography | Dianne McIntyre | Nominated | |
Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries or a Special |
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Nominated | |
Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Special |
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Nominated | |
Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Special | Walter Bernstein | Nominated | |
49th Primetime Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 14, 1997) |
Outstanding Made for Television Movie |
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Won |
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Won | |
The President's Award |
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Won | |
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special | Laurence Fishburne (as Caleb Humphries) | Nominated | |
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special | Obba Babatundé (as Willie Johnson) | Nominated | |
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special | Ossie Davis (as Mr. Evers) | Nominated | |
41st San Francisco International Film Festival San Francisco Film Society (May 7, 1998) |
Silver Spire Award | Joseph Sargent | Won[2] |
4th Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild (March 8, 1998) |
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Won[6] |
References
- ^ Fowler, James (March 3, 1997). "Tuskegee study: Human tragedy, American style". First Person. The Emory Report. Vol. 49, no. 23. Emory University. Archived from the original on July 22, 2001. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Miss Evers' Boys - Awards". The Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
- ^ "Awards / History / 1997". Directors Guild of America. Archived from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- ^ a b c "1998 | Categories". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on May 12, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- ^ "1st Annual TV Awards (1996-97)". Online Film & Television Association. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- ^ "The 4th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards – Television". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Screen Actors Guild. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
External links
- 1990s English-language films
- 1997 drama films
- 1997 films
- 1997 television films
- African-American drama films
- American drama television films
- American films based on plays
- Films about race and ethnicity
- Films about racism
- Films about syphilis
- American films based on actual events
- Films directed by Joseph Sargent
- Films scored by Charles Bernstein
- Films set in Alabama
- Films set in the 1930s
- Films set in the 1940s
- Films with screenplays by Walter Bernstein
- HBO Films films
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie winners
- 1990s American films