
Cornbread, Earl and Me
He Had the Lightest Touch in a Heavy Town.
The unintentional shooting by police of a star basketball player has profound personal, political and community repercussions in this acclaimed adaptation of the novel Hog Butcher by Ronald Fair. This was one of the more thoughtful urban dramas produced at the height of the "blaxploitation" craze. Also released under the title Hit the Open Man, it features the screen debut of Laurence Fishburne, who was barely a teenager at the time.
Director Joseph Manduke
Trailer
Cast

Stefan Gierasch
Sgt. Danaher

Moses Gunn
Benjamin Blackwell

Beverly Hope Atkinson
Edna

Don McGovern
Det. Kelly

Rosalind Cash
Sarah Robinson

Bernie Casey
Officer Larry Atkins

Erik Kilpatrick
Ace

Hank Rolike
Man

Bill Henderson
Watkins

Jamaal Wilkes
Nathaniel 'Cornbread' Hamilton

Thalmus Rasulala
Charlie

Charles Lampkin
Fred Jenkins

Stack Pierce
Sam Hamilton

Hal Baylor
Mr. Wilson

J. Jay Saunders
Mr. Johnson

Sarina C. Grant
Mrs. Parsons

Sandy Ward
Store Manager

Madge Sinclair
Leona Hamilton

Laurence Fishburne
Wilford Robinson

Antonio Fargas
One-Eye

Logan Ramsey
Deputy Coroner