Miss Evers' Boys
{{Short description|1997 made-for-television historical drama by HBO}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Miss Evers' Boys cover art.jpg
| image_size = 220
| image_alt = Alfre Woodard in nurse's uniform with Laurence Fishburne in U.S. Army uniform circa World War 2 and "Miss Evers' Boys" superimposed in white block letters
| caption = DVD cover
| genre = Historical drama
| based_on = David Feldshuh (play)
| writer = Walter Bernstein
| director = Joseph Sargent
| starring = {{Unbulleted indent list|Alfre Woodard|Laurence Fishburne|Craig Sheffer|Joe Morton|Ossie Davis}}
| music = Charles Bernstein
| country = United States
| language = English
| producer = {{Unbulleted indent list|Derek Kavanagh|Kip Konwiser}}
| executive_producer = {{Unbulleted indent list|Robert Benedetti|Laurence Fishburne}}
| location = {{Unbulleted indent list|Porterdale, Georgia, U.S.|Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.|Covington, Georgia, U.S.}}
| editor = Michael Brown
| cinematography = Donald M. Morgan
| camera = Single-camera
| runtime = 118 minutes
| company = {{Unbulleted indent list|Anasazi Productions|HBO NYC Productions}}
| network = HBO
| released = {{Start date|1997|02|22}}
}}
Miss Evers' Boys is an American made-for-television drama starring Alfre Woodard and Laurence Fishburne that first aired on February 22, 1997, and is based on the true story of the four-decade-long Tuskegee Syphilis Study. It was directed by Joseph Sargent and adapted by Walter Bernstein from the 1992 stage play of the same name, written by David Feldshuh.{{Cite magazine|last=Fowler|first=James|date=1997-03-03|title=Tuskegee study: Human tragedy, American style|url=https://www.emory.edu/EMORY_REPORT/erarchive/1997/March/ERmarch.3/3_3_97FirstPerson.html|url-status=live|department=First Person|magazine=The Emory Report|language=en-US|publisher=Emory University|volume=49|issue=23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010722151301if_/http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_REPORT/erarchive/1997/March/ERmarch.3/3_3_97FirstPerson.html|archive-date=2001-07-22|access-date=2022-08-16|df=mdy-all}} It received twelve nominations for the 1997 Primetime Emmy Awards, ultimately winning five, including Outstanding Television Movie and the President's Award (awarded for programming that best explores social or educational issues).
Plot
The film tells the story of a medical study with covert goals organized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, conducted on poor African American men in the years 1932–1972 at Tuskegee University, designed to study the effects of untreated syphilis. The story is told from the perspective of the small town nurse Eunice Evers (Alfre Woodard) who is well aware of the lack of treatment, but feels her role is to console the involved men, many of whom are her close friends.
In 1932 she is sent to help Dr. Brodus (Joe Morton) and Dr. Douglas (Craig Sheffer) to help them "treat" rural black men in the town of Tuskegee, Alabama. She is sent around town to tell the people that the government is funding their treatment for free, but unbeknownst to them the government will soon run a study that requires them to go without any form of real treatment. She then comes across three men in an abandoned schoolhouse: Willie Johnson (Obba Babatundé), Bryan Hodman, and "Big" Ben Washington, who agree for treatment.
The study selected 412 men infected with the disease and promised them free medical treatment for what was called "bad blood". The movie shows Miss Evers suggesting the term as a strategy to withhold information about syphilis from the men. The men received fake long-term treatment, which involved giving them mercury and placebos even after penicillin was discovered as a cure. When Caleb Humphries (one of the test subjects who left the experiment) joins the Army during World War II and is treated and cured by penicillin, he returns to tell how he was cured and tries to get help for his friend. But none of the hospitals would help because the test subjects were placed on a list that stated they should not receive medical treatment because they were participants in the experiment. The survivors of the study did receive treatment and financial compensation after the US Senate investigated in the 1970s, and eventually a formal apology from President Bill Clinton.
Cast
- Alfre Woodard as Nurse Eunice Evers (based on Eunice Rivers Laurie, RN)
- Laurence Fishburne as Caleb Humphries
- Craig Sheffer as Dr. Douglas
- Joe Morton as Dr. Sam Brodus
- Obba Babatundé as Willie Johnson
- Ossie Davis as Mr. Evers
- E.G. Marshall as The Senate Chairman
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Accolades |
| scope="col" data-sort-tyle="text" | Event Organizer (Date) ! scope="col" style="width: 20em;" | Award ! scope="col" | Recipient ! scope="col" data-sort-type="number" | Outcome |
|---|
| scope="row" rowspan="4" data-sort-value="CableACE Awards" | {{Ordinal|19|sup=yes}} CableACE Awards The Internet & Television Association (November 14, 1997) | Movie | {{Hlist|{{Nowrap|Robert Benedetti}} and {{Nowrap|Laurence Fishburne}} (executive producers)|{{Nowrap|Derek Kavanagh}} and {{Nowrap|Kip Konwiser}} (producers)|{{Nowrap|Kern Konwiser}} and {{Nowrap|Peter Stelzer}} (co-producers)|list_style=text-align: center;}} | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won{{Cite web|title=Miss Evers' Boys – Awards|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119679/awards/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315180120if_/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119679/awards|archive-date=2022-03-15|access-date=2022-08-16|website=The Internet Movie Database|language=en|df=mdy-all}} |
| Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
| Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
| Obba Babatundé (as Willie Johnson) | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| Costume Design
| Susan Mickey | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| scope="row" data-sort-value="Cinema Audio Society Awards" | {{Ordinal|34|sup=yes}} Cinema Audio Society Awards Cinema Audio Society | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television – Movie of the Week, Mini-Series or Specials | {{Hlist|{{Nowrap|Shirley Libby}} (production mixer)|{{Nowrap|Robert W. Glass, Jr.}},{{Nowrap|Scott Ganary}} and {{Nowrap|Jim Fitzpatrick}} (re-recording mixers)|list_style=text-align: center;}} | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| scope="row" data-sort-value="Directors Guild of America Awards" | {{Ordinal|50|sup=yes}} Directors Guild of America Awards Directors Guild of America (March 7, 1998) | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series | Joseph Sargent | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated{{Cite web|title=Awards / History / 1997|url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1990s/1997.aspx?value=1997|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304054703if_/https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1990s/1997.aspx?value=1997|archive-date=2018-03-04|access-date=2022-08-17|website=Directors Guild of America|language=en-US|df=mdy-all}} |
| scope="row" data-sort-value="Eddie Awards" | {{Ordinal|37|sup=yes}} Eddie Awards American Cinema Editors (March 14, 1998) | Best Edited Two-Hour Movie for Non-Commercial Television | Michael Brown | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| scope="row" rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Golden Globe Awards" | {{Ordinal|55|sup=yes}} Golden Globe Awards Hollywood Foreign Press Association (January 18, 1998) | Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| Best Television Motion Picture
| Miss Evers' Boys | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| scope="row" data-sort-value="Golden Laurel Awards" | {{Ordinal|9|sup=yes}} Golden Laurel Awards Producers Guild of America (March 3, 1998) | David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television | {{Hlist|{{Nowrap|Robert Benedetti}}|{{Nowrap|Laurence Fishburne}}|{{Nowrap|Derek Kavanagh}}|{{Nowrap|Kip Konwiser}}|{{Nowrap|Kern Konwiser}}|{{Nowrap|Peter Stelzer}}|list_style=text-align: center;}} | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| scope="row" rowspan="3" data-sort-value="Golden Satellite Awards" | {{Ordinal|2|sup=yes}} Golden Satellite Awards International Press Academy (February 22, 1998) | Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="2" style="background-color: #cfc; font-weight: 500; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Co-Winner{{Cite web|title=1998 {{pipe}} Categories|url=https://www.pressacademy.com/award_cat/1998/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512122328if_/http://www.pressacademy.com/award_cat/1998/|archive-date=2016-05-12|access-date=2022-08-17|website=International Press Academy|language=en-US|df=mdy-all}} |
| Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
| Miss Evers' Boys | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television
| Ossie Davis (as Mr. Evers) | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| scope="row" data-sort-value="Humanitas Prizes" | {{Ordinal|24|sup=yes}} Humanitas Prizes Human Family Educational & Cultural Institute (July 10, 1998) | 90 Minute or Longer PBS/Cable Television | Walter Bernstein (writer) | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| scope="row" data-sort-value="International Monitor Awards" | {{Ordinal|19|sup=yes}} International Monitor Awards Association of Imaging Technology and Sound | Film Originated Television Specials – Color Correction | Allan Rogers | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| scope="row" data-sort-value="NAACP Image Awards" | {{Ordinal|29|sup=yes}} Image Awards NAACP (February 14, 1998) | Outstanding Made for Television Movie | Miss Evers' Boys | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| scope="row" data-sort-value="Online Film & Television Association Awards" | {{Ordinal|1|sup=yes}} Online Film & Television Association Awards Online Film & Television Association | Best Actress in a Television Motion Picture or Miniseries | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated{{Cite web|title=1st Annual TV Awards (1996–97)|url=http://www.oftaawards.com/television-awards/1st-annual-tv-awards-1996-97/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911025558if_/http://www.oftaawards.com/television-awards/1st-annual-tv-awards-1996-97/|archive-date=2016-09-11|access-date=2022-08-17|website=Online Film & Television Association|language=en-US|df=mdy-all}} |
| scope="row" rowspan="6" data-sort-value="Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards" | {{Ordinal|49|sup=yes}} Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 7, 1997) | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Special | Michael Brown | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Special
| Donald M. Morgan, A.S.C. | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| Outstanding Choreography
| class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries or a Special
| {{Hlist|{{Nowrap|Shay Bentley-Griffin, C.S.A.}}|{{Nowrap|Jaki Brown-Karman}}|{{Nowrap|Robyn M. Mitchell}}|list_style=text-align: center;}} | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Special
| {{Hlist|{{Nowrap|Matthew W. Mungle}}|{{Nowrap|Wynona Y. Price}}|list_style=text-align: center;}} | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Special
| Walter Bernstein | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| scope="row" rowspan="6" data-sort-value="Primetime Emmy Awards" | {{Ordinal|49|sup=yes}} Primetime Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 14, 1997) | Outstanding Made for Television Movie | {{Hlist|{{Nowrap|Robert Benedetti}} and {{Nowrap|Laurence Fishburne}} (executive producers)|{{Nowrap|Derek Kavanagh}} and {{Nowrap|Kip Konwiser}} (producers)|{{Nowrap|Kern Konwiser}} and {{Nowrap|Peter Stelzer}} (co-producers)|list_style=text-align: center;}} | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special
| Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| The President's Award
| {{Hlist|{{Nowrap|HBO Network}}|{{Nowrap|Anasazi Productions}}|list_style=text-align: center;}} | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special
| Laurence Fishburne (as Caleb Humphries) | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special
| Obba Babatundé (as Willie Johnson) | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special
| Ossie Davis (as Mr. Evers) | class="no table-no2" data-sort-value="1" style="background-color: #ffe3e3; color: #000; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Nominated |
| scope="row" data-sort-value="San Francisco International Film Festival Awards" | {{Ordinal|41|sup=yes}} San Francisco International Film Festival San Francisco Film Society (May 7, 1998) | Silver Spire Award | Joseph Sargent | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won |
| scope="row" data-sort-value="Screen Actors Guild Awards" | {{Ordinal|4|sup=yes}} Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild (March 8, 1998) | '''[[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie|Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries]]''' | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | class="yes table-yes2" data-sort-value="3" style="background-color: #9eff9e; color: #000; font-weight: 600; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Won{{Cite web|title=The 4th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards – Television|url=https://www.sagawards.org/awards/nominees-and-recipients/4th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards?field_taxonomy_vocabulary_2_target_id=5|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102205305if_/https://www.sagawards.org/awards/nominees-and-recipients/4th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards?field_taxonomy_vocabulary_2_target_id=5|archive-date=2021-11-02|access-date=2022-08-16|website=Screen Actors Guild Awards|publisher=Screen Actors Guild|language=en-US|df=mdy-all}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{HBO Max title}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20180224074107/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b801055de Miss Evers' Boys] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
- {{IMDb title}}
- {{Letterboxd title|id=miss-evers-boys}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|id=m/miss_evers_boys}}
- {{TCMDb title|id=309601}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Miss Evers' Boys
|list =
{{EmmyAward TelevisionMovie}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special}}
{{Producers Guild of America Award for Best Long-Form Television}}
}}
{{Joseph Sargent}}
Category:1990s English-language films
Category:1997 television films
Category:African-American drama films
Category:American drama television films
Category:American films based on plays
Category:Films about medical malpractice
Category:Films about race and ethnicity
Category:Films about racism in the United States
Category:American films based on actual events
Category:Films directed by Joseph Sargent
Category:Films scored by Charles Bernstein
Category:Films set in the 1930s
Category:Films set in the 1940s
Category:Films with screenplays by Walter Bernstein
Category:Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie winners