To mark the sad loss of Cicely Tyson (19 Dec 1924 – 28 Jan 2021), the pioneering Black Hollywood actress known for portraying characters of strength, whose 60-year career earned her three Emmys and a Tony Award, we will be watching Fried Green Tomatoes. Based on the 1987 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Fannie Flagg, and adapted for the screen in 1991 by Carol Sobieski.
Younger moviegoers, might remember Tyson as Constantine Jefferson in 2011’s The Help, which starred Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Emma Stone. Tyson’s other notable film credits included Hoodlum, Because of Winn-Dixie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Last Flag Flying and A Fall from Grace, the latter of which was her final movie.
In 2018, Tyson received an honorary Oscar, making her the first African-American woman to earn such an honor.
FRIED GREEN TOMATOES – SYNOPSIS
Evelyn Couch, whose name inadvertently describes the kind of languid person she is, has had enough of her tedious, predictable, mind-numbing life. So where does Evelyn go looking for excitement? The local nursing home! Though Ninny Threadgoode lives in the facility, but has way more pluck than Evelyn. At each visit, Ninny recounts stories of her youth, especially the goings on in Whistle Stop, Georgia, and the café where the specialty of the house was fried green tomatoes. Cicely Tyson plays Sipsey, who raises the children in the Threadgoode family and is mother to Big George, who, despite being African American, is heartily welcomed by the proprietors of the Whistle Stop Café—in defiance of local Klan intimidation.
With Cicely Tyson, Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker.
The film was released in theatre in the United States on December 27, 1991, garnered positive reviews from critics and was a box office hit, grossing $119.4 million on a $11 million budget. It was nominated for two Oscars at the 64th Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Tandy) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Carol Sobieski).
AVAILABLE TO WATCH CLICK HERE