| Homer Hobbs (Tyson Beckford), home after two years in jail, discovers that life on the outside can be more cruel than the back-breaking injustice of the chain gang. He returns to a bleak urban town caught in the depths of the Great Depression - no jobs, no prospects, no hope – where he is thrown together with four strangers, each struggling to survive as they scratch and scheme to dig their way out of poverty. |
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But on Sunday nights, in a dingy hall in a forlorn neighborhood, the men of the ghetto piece together the finest attire their
meager lives can beg, borrow or steal to compete in an underground contest like no other.
The big winner will go home with the five dollar prize. The real prize – far less tangible, yet priceless – is the chance to feel like a king, if just for an evening. To men like these, the touch of a woman, the adulation of the crowd, the feel of a fine-looking suit are proof enough that a man might yet escape the debasement of the ghetto. |
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Along the way, Homer meets Gracie (Lynn Whitfield), Clarence (Glynn Turman), Benny (Reginald T. Dorsey) and Lucy (Linara Washington), a woman with a dangerous past personified by the mysterious Ramsey (James Russo). |
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The story is an adaptation of true events which originated in South Africa. Impoverished South African
men would enter fashion contests for a $5.00 cash prize. Local residents would pay $.50 eash to watch.
In an era were black men were not able to afford decent clothes, these contests were real acts of defiance against oppression. "Kings of the Evening" takes place in the deep South during the Great Depression. | 
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The feature film version of "Kings of the Evening" finished filming on May 7, 2007 in Austin, TX. Andrew P. Jones teamed up with his writing partner and executive producer,
Robert Page Jones to finance and produce the film under their company, Picture Palace Films.
They brought in Reginald T. Dorsey as a producer and actor to help them bring the script to screen
The cast also includes Steven Williams, Bruce McGill, Lou Myers, Willard E. Pugh, Clyde Jones and others. Equipment was provided by Panavision Dallas. Special thanks to James Finn. We shot on Moviecam cameras using Panavision Ultraprime lenses. Panavision Dallas also provided the grip and electric equipment. |
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"Kings" was beautifully scored by Kevin Toney. More information on the cast and crew can be found on IMDB.com. |
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