Countdown at Kusini (Columbia Pictures) (1976)

PUBLICITY SYNOPSIS Ernest Motapo (OSSIE DAVIS), a famed and valiant African freedom fighter, inspires his countrymen in waging an all-out struggle for their country’s freedom A foreign industry with billions at stake in the country plots to remove him. Colonel Ben Amed (TOM ALDREDGE), a fanatic mercenary residing in Fahari under the guise of import-export broker, is assigned the job. Marnie (FUNSO ADEOLVU), a bitter, arrogant opportunist, returns from France to Motapo when the freedom fighter secretly plans to visit his family in Fahari. Meanwhile, Motapo’s beautiful agent, Leah Matanzima (RUBY DEE), has captivated a touring Afro-American jazz pianist, Red Salter (GREG MORRIS). Although a reluctant participant, Salter initially becomes involved in the political intrigue because of Leah’s charms, then out of growing sympathy with their struggle for freedom. Ben Amed’s plan is to kidnap Motapo when his train stops at Balawi Junction near Kusini, then eliminate him elsewhere. It is here that Marnie’s treachery is revealed. As Ben Amed’s mercenaries swarm into the village with guns blazing, Red Salter’s band of patriots simultaneously converges on the railroad junction. The vital seconds begin to count down at Kusini... COLUMBIA PICTURES Presents A DST TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC. MOTION PICTURE “COUNTDOWN AT KUSINI” Starring RUBY DEE as Leah OSSIE DAVIS as Motapo GREG MORRIS as Red Also Starring TOM ALDREDGE MICHAEL EBERT THOMAS BAPTISTE and JAB ADU ELSIE OLUSOLA FUNSO ADEOLU YOMI OBILEYE Screenplay by OSSIE DAVIS, JOHN STORM ROBERTS, AL FREEMAN, JR. Based on the Novel “Countdown at Kusini” by JOHN STORM ROBERTS Produced by LAD! LADEBO In Association with TAN INTERNATIONAL, LTD. OF NIGERIA GLIPP PRODUCTIONS, INC. ARNOLD STONE and BRUCE GRAHAM Executive Producer, LILLIAN BENBOW In Charge of Production, JOSEPH G. KRUSCH Directed by OSSIE DAVIS Original Music Composed and Conducted by MANU DIBANGO Filmed in Panavision and Color on Location in Nigeria, Africa THE CAST Leah Matanzima RUBY DEE Red Salter GREG MORRIS Ernest Motapo OSSIE DAVIS Ben Amed TOM ALDREDGE Charles Henderson MICHAEL EBERT John Okello THOMAS BAPTISTE Juma Bakari ELSIE OLUSOLA FUNSO ADEOLU YOMI OBILEYE RASHEED ONIKOY! ALBERT LAFEVRE MANU DIBANGO ALAN REDITT KURT BAKER HECTOR GRIFFIN ROSALIND CORDETT KOLA OGUNNAIKE IBIDUN ALLISON CHERYL BORDE FOLABI PEREGRINO JOHN CHUKWU IHRIA ENAKAIMID CHRIS ABANG ADE OLUMUYIWA TONY IBEGBUNA JOSEPH LAYODE NGUBA ASPINAL HELEN OKORODUDU ESAN AKERELE NATHLYN FLOWERS Marnie (Yola) Aziz Mohamed Police Officer Sniper Woman Receptionist LILLIAN BENBOW LAD! LADEBO, In association with TAN INTERNATIONAL, LTD. OF NIGERIA, GLIPP PRODUCTIONS, INC., and ARNOLD STONE and BRUCE GRAHAM OSSIE DAVIS OSSIE DAVIS JOHN STORM ROBERTS, AL FREEMAN, JR. Original Music Composed and Conducted by MANU DIBANGO JOSEPH G. KRUSCH ANDREW LASZLO, A.S.C. HERBERT LANNARD CHERYL BORDE ROBERT DAVIS DWIGHT WILLIAMS KURT BAKER LAVERNE DAVIS NATHLYN FLOWERS GABBY SASHORE JOHN CHUKWU NGUBA ASPINAL CHRIS ABANG ... SUBU OJO-OSAGIE LOUIS OLOYEDE DANIEL NWAEJIKE DWIGHT WILLIAMS JOSEPH RAY JOHNSON FEMI ADESUGUN FOLABI PEREGRINO HOWARD BLOCK EDDIE RAMIREZ LEROY PATTON FRANCIS HERMAN JAMES AL PHOX BILL BENTLEY LEE SHAMBURGER, JIM BOWIE PETER BOST BILL SPARROW DAVID KAYODE Executive Producer Produced by Directed by Screenplay by In Charge of Production Director of Photography Associate Producer Assistant to Producer Production Coordinator Production Manager Production Office Manager Production Assistants Location Comptroller Location Assistant Production Manager Location Casting Director Location Casting Assistant Location Production Secretary ... Location Production Assistants Camera Operator First Assistant Cameraman Script Supervisor Gaffer/Unit Manager Sound Engineer Assistant Sound Engineer Still Photographer Assistant Still Photographer Property Master NELSON WRIGHT Assistant Property Master FEMI SASORE Wardrobe CELIA BRYANT Wardrobe Assistant SOLA OGUNMOYEWA Hair Stylist ANNIE DEMILLE Make-up Artist MARIEA CARTER Make-up Assistant MRS. A. KANYI Special Effects HARRY WOLLMAN Music Edited by GEORGE T. MORRIS Assistant Editors KEVIN LEE, BERNARD STEVENS Negative Editor CHARLES DIANA Music Recording and Mixing Engineer RICHIE BLAKIN Recording Coordinator ED WILLIAMS Sound Effects HARRIET GLICKSTEIN MICHAEL KIRCHBERGER, MAGNOFEX AL GRAMAGLIA (MAGNO SOUND) Title Art FRANK LITTLE Titles by PLANET ART Red Salter’s Band Instruments Played by Electric Piano CEDAR WALTON Fender Bass BUSTER WILLIAMS Drums TONY WILLIAMS NigeriaiFederallFilmiUnitiGrews 6 vin, eae een exis sos Oar ennai E. OSUJI, SAMUEL OSOBA, CHRISTOPHER ADOYE, HUMPHREY, AMU, W.-C. AKINFOLARIN, B. A. LASISI, BIS], NELSON LORI, C. ELEKWACHI, OKORO, BALOGUN, DECKON, S. C. AJIBORARE, HENRY, JAMES, ADELEGA, AMOS NWANKWO, UCHE CHIAKA, H. EMEuJI, E. E. JONES, R. G. EKEDIEE TRANS/AUDIO CINEMOBILE SYSTEMS, INC. TVC LABS, INC. Sound Transfers by Location Equipment by Chemtone by M.P.A.A. Rating: PG THE PRODUCERS WISH TO THANK THE WOMEN OF DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY WHO HAVE MADE THIS FILM POSSIBLE, PRESBYTERIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, THE FEDERAL MILITARY GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA, NIGERIA FEDERAL FILM UNIT, AND NIGERIA AIRWAYS WHOSE SUPPORT MADE THIS PRODUCTION POSSIBLE. CK-5 Revolutionary agent Ruby Dee and jazz musician Greg Morris confront Ossie Davis, as an African freedom fighter, after an attempt on his life, in this mo ment from ‘‘Countdown at Kusini.’’ The Columbia release of a D.S.T. Telecommunications production, filmed in and around Lagos, Nigeria, opens eal (ie eatre: VERSATILE RUBY DEE IN “COUNTDOWN AT KUSINI’” It may seem a long way from “‘Sesame Street’’ to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. But Ruby Dee has participated in both, underscoring the versatility that has made her one of America’s most celebrated actresses. Currently, she can be seen in “‘Countdown to Kusini,” opening tie. Ot The 5 2 Pieatre. co-starred: with Ossie Davis and Greg Morris in a topical action drama released by Columbia Pictures. She portrays a fiery African nationalist, determined to protect the life of a revolutionary — at the risk of her own. Ruby Dee’s career has taken her from television series such as “Peyton Place” and “The Guiding Light” to stage productions of “King Lear’ and “Agamemnon” to such movies as “St. Louis Blues.” Her performances have won an Obie (the off-Broadway Oscar) for “The World of Sholem Aleichem,” the Philadelphia Drama Guild Award for Moliere’s ‘‘The Imaginary Invalid,” and an Emmy Award for the CBS documentary, ‘‘Now Is the Time.” Producer Joe Papp selected her to open his theatre at the New York Shakespeare complex, starring in the Alice Childress play, *“Wedding Band.” On the screen, her roles include ‘“‘Buck and the Preacher,” Jules Dassin’s ““Uptight,” for which she authored the screenplay, ““A Raisin in the Sun,” and “The Jackie Robinson Story,” among others. She recently portrayed Roy Campanella’s wife on CBS-TV’s “‘The Roy Campanella Story.” AFRICAN CITY PROVIDES SPECTACULAR SETTING An adventure story, set in Africa, conjures up images of safaris, thick jungle foliage and rampaging animals. But “Countdown at Kusini, starring Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and ‘tare Morris, opening 2 at ie. Theatre, uses a far different backdrop for its drama of political intrigue in the “third world.’’ A Columbia Pictures release of a D.S.T. Telecommunications Inc. production, the topical motion picture was filmed largely in and around Lagos, capital and largest city in the Republic of Nigeria. Under the direction of Ossie Davis, a crew largely comprised of professional black American film-makers turned the teeming, colorful city of two million inhabitants into the fictional community of ‘‘Fahari.” It is there, in the screenplay by Davis, John Storm Roberts and Al Freeman, Jr. based on the novel ‘“‘Countdown at Kusini” by John Storm Roberts, that a band of mercenaries plots the kidnapping and elimination of a black revolutionary leader. Despite its sophistication, Lagos wasn’t quite ready for the invasion of nearly 100 Hollywood cast and crew members. Large, curious crowds gathered each day in front of the downtown Ikoyi Hotel, then followed the company to that day’s location site, no matter how remote. Both Ruby Dee, whose ‘“‘Peyton Place”’ television series has been immensely popular in Nigeria, and Greg Morris, whose “Mission: Impossible”’ is also a success there, were besieged by young converts to the sport of autograph hunting. All of the necessary backgrounds to be expected in modern Africa were found in the Lagos area — from picturesque fishing villages and open-air markets to swank nightclubs and towering skyscrapers. One of the city’s most beautiful villas provided the setting for a wedding scene, where the revolutionaries purchase an arsenal of sophisticated weapons while pretending to participate in the ceremony. In addition to dancers, musicians and extras, the crowd grew as crewmen invited friends and family to visit the set. By day’s end, the villa’s occupants had emptied their refrigerator, lavishing food and drink on the production company in a friendly gesture to aid in completing the scene. Unselfishly, Nigerian-based film-making — even if basically international — had turned into a community affair. “COUNTDOWN AT KUSINI’’ OPENS ._————( AT THE THEATRE “Countdown at Kusini, a topical action drama starring Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis and Greg Morris, opens _______ at. the Theatre. The Columbia Pictures release of a D.S.T. Telecommunications Inc. production deals with the attempted kidnapping of a dedicated African freedom fighter. Ossie Davis, who also directed the film, plays the revolutionary leader. Ruby Dee (Davis’ wife in real life) portrays a young female agent, assigned to protect him from mercenary agents. Morris is cast as an Afro-American jazz pianist whose love affair with Miss Dee involves him in the climactic gunplay at the Kusini railroad depot. “Countdown at Kusini”’ marks several “‘firsts.”’ The production was totally financed by members of Delta Sigma Theta, the largest black sorority in the world and an influential factor in both government and the arts. Filmed on locations in and around Lagos, capital city of Nigeria, it is the first black American production shot entirely in Africa by black American professionals. Executive Producer of “Countdown at Kusini’” is Mrs. Lillian P. Benbow, Immediate Past President of Delta Sigma Theta and the Director of Housing for the State of Michigan. The screenplay was written by Ossie Davis, Ladi Ladeoo and Al Freeman, Jr., based on an original story and screen treatment by John Storm Roberts. Ladebo also served as producer of the film. The original music score was composed and conducted by Manu Dibango, the well-known jazz artist whose ‘‘Soul Makossa” was a gold record winner. GREG MORRIS’ MISSION TO KUSINI “Countdown at Kusini,’’ the topical action drama _ opening PMS ae lee a Theatre, marks the transition from television to movie stardom for Greg Morris. The contemporary story of a kidnapping plot in an emerging African state, the Columbia Pictures release casts Morris as an Afro-American jazz pianist forced to choose sides when he falls in love with a beautiful young revolutionary. From his debut in a supporting role in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series, Greg Morris worked upward to star billing long before the series’ production halt in 1973. His work on that popular show, (in the role of Barney Collier) brought him international recognition among youth and adults and a trio of “Emmy” nominations. In 1970, Morris narrated an hour-long documentary on drug addiction, ‘‘H is for Heroin,” and participated in the award-winning documentary on youth and drugs entitled “It You. Tum Qn.” During his first season uncommitted to ‘“‘Mission: Impossible,’ Morris found his talents much in demand and within a short period essayed such varied roles as an escaped convict, a cop, the leader of a cult of Satan worshippers, and a downed test pilot. CK-2 Greg Morris of ‘Mission Impossible’ Stars in ‘“‘Countdown at Kusini’’ as an Afro-American jazz musician, who reluctantly becomes involved in an African revolutionary movement. The topical action drama, a Columbia Pictures release opens _________ at the Theatre. OSSIE DAVIS ON BOTH SIDES OF CAMERA During the past two decades, Ossie Davis has enjoyed a distinguished career as both an actor and director. For “Countdown at Kusini,”’ a topical action drama which opens Se Oa a || eee Theatre, he combined the two capacities. On screen, Davis is Ernest Motapo, a dedicated revolutionary leader marked for extinction. Behind the scenes, he helmed the production. In a third contribution, Davis co-authored the screenplay with John Storm Roberts and Al Freeman, Jr., which is based on John Storm Roberts’ original novel, “Countdown at Kusini.” Davis’ earlier film direction of “Cotton Comes To Harlem” and ‘‘Gordon’s War” are examples of his mastery of screen suspense and humor. His acting skill was most evident in his performances in both the Broadway and film hit productions of ‘‘Purlie Victorious.” He gained much acclaim for his screen portrayals in “Green Pastures,” ‘The Cardinal,” ‘‘A Raisin in the Sun,” and other films. Davis won an Emmy Award for his performance on the Hallmark Hall of Fame’s ‘“The Teacher Teacher.” A frequent guest star on television drama series, Davis recently directed a_ children’s television special for CBS Television entitled “Today Is Ours,”’ based on a collection of poems written by his wife, Ruby Dee.