The Killing Floor (1985)

Synopsis: During the economic boom spurred by World War I, a young black man from Mississippi moves north to make his fortune. Landing a job on the "killing floor" at a meat-packing plant, he becomes... During the economic boom spurred by World War I, a young black man from Mississippi moves north to make his fortune. Landing a job on the "killing floor" at a meat-packing plant, he becomes involved in the labor movement. But mounting racial pressure places him between the unionists and other blacks, and he is ultimately swept into the Chicago race riots of 1919. Bill Duke's hard-hitting docudrama, produced for PBS's AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE, mixes documentary footage with a dramatization of the events leading up to the riots, to powerful effect. Duke's film plunges the audience into the era, giving an intimate and compelling view of that time. Just as the film spares nothing in its portrayal of the brutality of the slaughterhouse, it is equally honest in its depiction of the complexities that racial and cultural differences brought to the union movement. It's a testament to Bill Duke's vision as a filmmaker that he chose such a difficult and compelling subject for his feature debut. [More]

Starring: Damien Leake, Alfre Woodard, Moses Gunn, Clarence Felder

Starring: Damien Leake, Alfre Woodard, Moses Gunn, Clarence Felder, Bill Bremer, Dennis Farina

Director: Bill Duke

Director: Bill Duke

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