Miss Evers' Boys

Year: 1997

Actors: Laurence Fishburne, Craig Sheffer, Alfre Woodard, Joe Morton

Duration: 118 min

In the Great Depression, the federal government orders a medical experiment into the treatment and lack thereof of syphilis in African Americans. A group of poor black men are lured into the program, only to be allowed to die when they succumb to the disease so that their deterioration can be documented. Told from the point of view of Nurse Eunice Evers, the movie shows the complete history of this project from its origins in the 1930s, through World War II, and into the late 1940s and early 1950s when the U.S. Senate shuts down the project after deeming it immoral and illegal. The movie's name comes from the fact that a performing dancer and three musicians named their act for her - "Miss Evers' Boys".—Anthony Hughes

Genre: Action   Drama   War