TV REVIEWS : James Earl Jones Brings Fiery Pastor to Life

The producers of “The Vernon Johns Story” (which airs tonight at 5 p.m. on WGN and at 8 on KTLA-TV Channel 5) couldn’t have found a more perfect actor than James Earl Jones to portray the renegade minister and civil rights leader at the hub of this inspirational, real-life drama.

With his imposing physique and booming baritone, Jones is thoroughly believable as a fiery African American pastor who attempts to politicize his staid Baptist congregation in Montgomery, Ala., in the early 1950s. (Jones is competing with himself tonight. He’s also in NBC’s “Confessions: Two Faces of Evil”; see review below.)

In this charismatic actor’s hands, Vernon Johns is a powerful orator who uses Scripture to help convey the need to rise up against the South’s racist policies and attitudes. During one typically impassioned sermon, Johns thunders, “Others say don’t rock the boat. . . . Ladies and gentlemen, I want to tell you I am a boat rocker!”

True enough. At one point the forthright Johns walks straight into a whites-only diner and orders a ham sandwich and a lemonade. It’s a tense scene that Jones plays with just the right mix of gutsy pride and trepidation.

Johns was a true iconoclast whose dogmatic, uncompromising ways are honestly shown to be both an inspiration and an irritant to those close to him. His adolescent daughter Dee (Nicole Leach), in particular, struggles to come to terms with the negative attention his vociferous activism casts upon the family.

In addition, the headstrong minister finds himself at odds with a number of exasperated church deacons who want to replace him with a more conventional pastor. He eventually is succeeded at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church by a young minister named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“The Vernon Johns Story” is striking for its unflinching depiction of Southern racism as it was 40 years ago. Most disturbing is the film’s portrayal of Alabama cops, who routinely harass and brutalize local blacks with impunity.

The filmmakers should have shed at least a little light on the accomplishments of Johns’ wife, Altona. A gifted musician and an author of children’s books, she is depicted in the movie (by Mary Alice) solely as a supportive wife and mother.

Despite this omission, “The Vernon Johns Story” is a memorable tribute to an unsung hero of the civil rights movement. It was written by Kevin Arkadie and directed by Kenneth Fink.