Part of Weekend Classics: Batter Up!
Top baseball pitcher Bingo Long (Billy Dee Williams) is fed up with how his Negro League team owner treats him, so he forms his own lineup, recruiting big-hitting Leon Carter (James Earl Jones) and Charlie Snow (Richard Pryor), who dreams of playing in the majors. Boycotted by Black teams, Long’s outfit play minor league white teams, earning more attention as entertainers than as players. However, their success wins them a chance to play again in the Negro League — this time as equals.
“BINGO LONG is the sort of movie that sends you out feeling happy about the world.” —George Anderson, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
“THE BINGO LONG TRAVELING ALL-STARS & MOTOR KINGS is a terrific summer movie, full of fun. It's almost like going to a baseball game, only it's air conditioned — the fans talk back to the screen, cheer the heroes, advise them, boo the bad guys.” —Richard Dyer, Boston Globe
“Not the least of BINGO LONG’s assets is the splendid photography by Bill Butler who did the lens-work on JAWS. There is a sort of sepia quality in his color shots here, conveying an old-timey atmosphere that magically takes us back to 1939.” —Clyde Gilmour, Toronto Star