''Heavens Fall'' is a 2006 American film based on the

Scottsboro Boys The Scottsboro Boys were nine African Americans, African American male teenagers accused of rape, raping two White American, white women in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with Racism in the United States, racism ...

incident of 1931.

Plot

In the film, two young white women (portrayed by

Leelee Sobieski Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta "Leelee" Sobieski (born June 10, 1983) is an American artist and retired actress. She achieved fame in her teens with roles in films such as '' Deep Impact'' (1998), '' Never Been Kissed'', ''Eyes Wide Shut'' (both ...

and

Azura Skye Azura Dawn Storozynski (born November 8, 1981), known professionally as Azura Skye, is an American actress who first gained recognition for her role as Jane on The WB television sitcom ''Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane''. She also had a 2-episode role ...

) accuse nine black youths of rape in the segregated South.

Timothy Hutton Timothy Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Youngest winners 4, youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he ...

stars as criminal defense attorney

Samuel Leibowitz Samuel Simon Leibowitz (August 14, 1893 – January 11, 1978) was a Romanian-born American criminal defense attorney. He was best known for representing the Scottsboro Boys, and later became a justice of the New York State Supreme Court. Early ...

. The film begins after the first trial of the nine in the bustling city of Scottsboro, Alabama. Samuel Leibowitz, a successful Jewish lawyer from New York is called down past the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...

to defend the nine black youths.

Cast

...

David Strathairn David Russell Strathairn (; born January 26, 1949) is an American actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he has often portrayed historical figures such as Edward R. Murrow, J. Robert Oppenheimer, William H. Seward, and John D ...

... Judge James E. Horton *

... Victoria Price *

Anthony Mackie Anthony Dwane Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor. He gained wide recognition for portraying Sam Wilson / Falcon / Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with the film '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier ...

... William Lee *

Bill Sage William Sage III (born April 3, 1962) is an American actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Hal Hartley. Sage has appeared in more than 90 movies, most notable ''American Psycho'' (2000), '' We Are What We Are'' (2013), '' Every ...

... Thomas Knight, Jr. *

... Ruby Bates *

James Tolkan James Stewart Tolkan (born June 20, 1931) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as high school vice-principal in charge of discipline Mr. Strickland in ''Back to the Future'' (1985) and ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), and as ...

... Thomas Knight, Sr. *

Bill Smitrovich William Stanley Zmitrowicz Jr. (born May 16, 1947), known professionally as Bill Smitrovich ( ), is an American actor. Personal life Smitrovich was born on May 16, 1947, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna (married and maiden names, née ...

... George Chamlee *

Maury Chaykin Maury Alan Chaykin (July 27, 1949 – July 27, 2010) was an American-Canadian actor. Described as "one of the most recognizable faces in Canadian cinema," he was best known for his portrayal of Rex Stout's detective Nero Wolfe on the televi ...

... Lyle Harris *

Joseph Lyle Taylor Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

... Joseph Brodsky *

B. J. Britt B. J. Britt (born April 20, 1982) is an American actor best known for his role as Antoine "Trip" Triplett on ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,'' set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe''.'' He is also known for his roles as Paul Patterson Jr. on ''Bein ...

... Haywood Patterson *

Francie Swift Francie Swift (born 1969/1970) is an American actress best known for her role as Cynthia in ''Thoroughbreds'' and her recurring roles as Haylie Grimes on '' Outsiders'' and Anne Vanderbilt Archibald on ''Gossip Girl''. Life and career Swift was ...

... Belle Leibowitz

Production

A train from the

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum was founded as a chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in 1960 by Paul H. Merriman a ...

was used in the filming.

Release

''Heavens Fall'' was released on DVD in the US in 2007.

External links

* * 2006 films 2006 crime drama films American crime drama films Films about miscarriage of justice Crime films based on actual events Films set in Alabama Films set in 1931 Films about racism in the United States African-American drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language crime drama films {{2000s-crime-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Production

Release

See also

External links