They Call Me Mr. Tibbs! (1970)

Starring:

• Sidney Poitier
• Martin Landau
• Barbara McNair

IMDB.com
This sequel to "In the Heat of the Night" will suffer in inevitable comparisons to its infinitely better predecessor. Instead of looking like a theatrical movie edited for television, "Mister Tibbs" looks suspiciously like a TV movie edited for theatrical release, with grainy photography, cheesy opening titles, and sets that look like they're made of plywood. The murder sequence has a glaring continuity error: the camera shows two hands choking the girl, then a shot of a hand reaching for a statuette, then a shot of the girl being choked with two hands again, and finally the statuette coming down for the fatal blow. Solving the case should be easy: find the only guy with three hands! But the shoddy production values can't completely obscure this film's considerable merits: namely, Sidney Poitier's performance as the cool detective determined to follow the evidence wherever it may lead, even if it implicates a friend. Martin Landau is also convincing as the do-gooder preacher-activist suspected of brutally murdering his prostitute girlfriend. In addition to being haunted by the case, Tibbs is conflicted about his home life, but the issues of race and Tibbs' barely concealed sense of social outrage are absent here. So is the complex murder mystery that made "In the Heat of the Night" so compelling.

Miracle in Harlem (1948)

Starring:

• Sheila Guyse
• Stepin Fetchit
• Hilda Offley
• Kenneth Freeman 

Storyline
Julie Weston and her aunt, Hattie, own and operate a candy-store in Harlem. A wealthy business man, Albert Marshall, and his wayward son, Jim Marshall, swindle the women out of the store. Later, Albert Marshall is found murdered, and there are several suspects, including Marshall's secretary and a blackmailer.

Available at archive.org

See China and Die (1981)

Starring:

• Esther Rolle
• Kene Holliday
• Frank Converse

IMDB.com
"See China, And Die" starring Miss Esther Rolle. I loved her. She recently died and I was very sad - mixed emotions surrounded me as I thought back to seeing Miss Rolle on the screen, both tv and in the movies. She was a wonderful actress.

Her starring role in the long running series, "Good Times," gave me many years of entertainment. She was a strong, concerned mother, who loved her children and an excellent wife who stood by her husband, who faced racism, joblessness and frustration in white America. Rolle gave pathos and exhilaration to her role as "Florida" in this series.

When I saw, "See China, And Die" on tv, Rolle made me love her more. She was playing a maid again, but this time, an amateur detective who was trying to solve the case of her murdered boss.

Her arrogance reminded me of an earlier movie maid, Hattie McDaniel, who, tho subservient, was a bold and earthy woman. Miss Rolle was the "maid" for several tenants in the building where her boss was killed. She solved the case despite the police and her policeman/detective son who tried unsuccessfully to quash her "work".

During the proceedings, Rolle almost got herself killed, but turned the tables on all suspects during a dinner revelation of the "real killer".

The picture was fun, because Esther Rolle brought her special quality, as an actress to the the role of "Mama". The New York locations added a touch of authenticity to the film.

I enjoyed many of the performances, especially Fritz Weaver, Paul Dooley and the rest of the cast.

Many people have caught this film on late night tv and enjoyed it, and then, putting ads in publications trying to find ANYone who had a copy of the film. They wanted to add it to their personal collections. I was lucky...I have a copy.