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Miss Evers' Boys

  • TV Movie
  • 1997
  • PG
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
Miss Evers' Boys (1997)
DramaWar

The true story of the U.S. Government's 1932 Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, in which a group of black test subjects were allowed to die, despite a cure having been developed.The true story of the U.S. Government's 1932 Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, in which a group of black test subjects were allowed to die, despite a cure having been developed.The true story of the U.S. Government's 1932 Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, in which a group of black test subjects were allowed to die, despite a cure having been developed.

  • Director
    • Joseph Sargent
  • Writers
    • David Feldshuh
    • Walter Bernstein
  • Stars
    • Alfre Woodard
    • Laurence Fishburne
    • Craig Sheffer
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    1.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Joseph Sargent
    • Writers
      • David Feldshuh
      • Walter Bernstein
    • Stars
      • Alfre Woodard
      • Laurence Fishburne
      • Craig Sheffer
    • 18User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 5 Primetime Emmys
      • 17 wins & 16 nominations total

    Photos60

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    Top cast41

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    Alfre Woodard
    Alfre Woodard
    • Eunice Evers, R.N.
    Laurence Fishburne
    Laurence Fishburne
    • Caleb Humphries
    Craig Sheffer
    Craig Sheffer
    • Dr. Douglas
    Joe Morton
    Joe Morton
    • Dr. Sam Brodus
    Obba Babatundé
    Obba Babatundé
    • Willie Johnson
    Von Coulter
    • Hodman Bryan
    Thom Gossom Jr.
    Thom Gossom Jr.
    • Ben Washington
    Ossie Davis
    Ossie Davis
    • Mr. Evers
    E.G. Marshall
    E.G. Marshall
    • The Senate Chairman
    Robert Benedetti
    • Senator
    Peter Stelzer
    Peter Stelzer
    • Senator
    Donzaleigh Abernathy
    Donzaleigh Abernathy
    • Nurse Betty
    Tommy Cresswell
    Tommy Cresswell
    • Dr. Larkin
    Judson Vaughn
    Judson Vaughn
    • Dr. Davis
    Larry Black
    • Dr. Hamilton
    Bill Coates
    • Old Man
    Gerald F. Brown
    • Announcer
    Joan Glover
    • Clinic Nurse
    • Director
      • Joseph Sargent
    • Writers
      • David Feldshuh
      • Walter Bernstein
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews18

    7.11.5K
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    Featured reviews

    nicholas.rhodes

    Bland

    I bought this together with "A Lesson Before Dying" by the same director and whilst I found the latter well-filmed, engrossing and very good on character analysis, I found Miss Evers' Boys to be a bit of a disappointment. You don't really get taken up into the story. Picture quality is hazy and fuzzy and you end up wondering really where Miss Evers was going in life ........... nowhere ! When you read the synopsis, you think you're in for a good, emotional, heart-rending story. However, that is not the impression which was conveyed to me. Miss Evers' even refuses romance, which could have been a saving grace. Why didn't she subtilise more penicillin if she was so concerned ? I tend to like these "racial" dramas, even though they are over-romanticized, but this one left me pretty near cold !
    7=G=

    A well crafted blend of docu and drama.

    "MEB" tells the story of the infamous "Tuskeegee Syphilis Study" by building the docudrama around a black nurse (Woodard) who hailed from the black community which was the focus of the study. The polished and well crafted film spends equal time with the lives of the Macon County black sharecroppers and the questions of medical ethics the study raised resulting in an entertaining as well as informative watch. A nice mix of docu and drama, fact and fiction.
    Jalea

    What in the World Did They Think They Were Doing??!!

    *spoilers*

    It was hard for me to sympathize with the central character, Nurse Evers, portrayed by Woodard. I thought that she betrayed the men and was in denial. Subsequently, she was locked in because of the lying and deceit and tried to make up for it by dedicating her life to the men she helped deceived. That only resulted, however, in two more wasted lives, hers and the man that loved her.

    I kept wondering, what is wrong with this woman, is she nuts or what?! As far as I am concerned with the study conflicted with their true "calling" as health care professionals. During the senate investigation Ms. Evers (Woodard) was asked "What in the world did you think you were doing??!! My sentiments, exactly.
    czarsun

    The Legacy of Miss Evers Boys

    Most viewers agree that the betrayal of Nurse Evers and Dr.Brodus was heinous. Regardless of whatever medical oath is taken, God's Commandments come first. And that goes for the military also. What makes Nurse Ever's and Dr.Brodus's actions more fiendish is the fact of allowing these men to live normal lives while participating in this study. Normal as being, continuing to have sexual relations with their unknowing wives, as well as other women in their community. Giving birth to children from those sexual relations in which those children entered the world infected over a 40 year period. They speak of numbers (412), but in fact , it really numbered into the thousands considering that several generations of men, woman, and children were infected through this study. In my eyes, that amounts to genocide which was sanctioned by the CDC.
    10twinklevango

    Response to "Pure Propaganda for the Ignorant"

    I went to the "Spiked" website and read the article mentioned in the previous post. That article is a fancy bit of rationalization. The bottom line is you don't promise anyone hope in the face of possible death when that hope was nothing more than a lie to begin with. That is the heart and soul of why this movie is so important. It does expose a terrible lie perpetrated upon unsuspecting people. If they had been told the truth, it would have been morally different. In fact, the eventual monetary compensation the men and families received was too small for a lifetime of hopes and deception.

    The article on "Spiked" only made me appreciate the movie and the excellent acting all that much more.

    The acting was powerful, and it looked like a labor of love. I think everyone involved with this film must have felt the weight of purpose for getting out the truth of what had happened. It is one of the best acted, most well written movies ever and I encourage people to see it.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Quotes

      Dr. Douglas: [addressing a waiting room full of patients] Gentlemen, there seems to be some confusion. Let me explain what we're checking for. There is a germ that infects the genital area, resulting in a temporary and painless but highly contagious penile ulceration. Now, this ulceration will disappear as the disease becomes non-contagious, or latent. And this latency can last for up to 30 years until finally the cardiovascular and nervous systems will disintegrate and collapse. Are there any questions?

      Eunice Evers, R.N.: [Seeing the bewildered silence of the patients] Doctor, could I just say something?

      Dr. Douglas: Sure.

      Eunice Evers, R.N.: By frolicking too much, or maybe passed on from your mama and your daddy, you might get a really bad sore down below on your private parts. Then through that sore a bug can crawl up inside of you and go to sleep for twenty, thirty years or more, so as not to hurt nobody but you. But when it wake up, you can't walk, you can't breathe, you can't think. That is bad blood. That's what we're checking to see if y'all got, so we can get rid of it.

      [Chorus of "Ah!" and smiles from the patients]

      Dr. Douglas: Nurse, could I speak with you for a second?

      Eunice Evers, R.N.: Sure.

      [They both walk into a private room]

      Dr. Douglas: Thank you. I know I'm a good medical doctor, but I'm not so sure that I'm a good people doctor yet.

      Eunice Evers, R.N.: Dr. Douglas, you're helping people. You're a good people doctor.

    • Alternate versions
      Final title cards at the end of the film differ in at least 2 versions. Version #1 No one connected with the study was ever charged or disciplined. The debate over human experimentation in America continues today. In Version #2 on HBO NOW differs slightly: No one connected with the study was ever charged or disciplined. On May 16, 1997, President Clinton offered the Tuskegee survivors the government's first formal apology: "We can finally say on behalf of the American people, what the United States did was shameful, and I am sorry."
    • Connections
      Featured in The 49th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      Show Me Lord
      Music and Lyrics by Charles Bernstein

      Vocals by Carmen Twillie

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 22, 1997 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Những Người Bạn Của Cô Evers
    • Filming locations
      • Porterdale, Georgia, USA(uncredited)
    • Production companies
      • HBO NYC Productions
      • Anasazi Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 58m(118 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR

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