THE GREEN PASTURES
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Today’s “Summer Under the Stars” actor is Rex Ingram, less of a household name than most – but this actor managed to snag many of the rare starring and co-starring roles for African-American actors in the decades before Sidney Poitier became a major star in the 1950s and 1960s. Ingram’s more controversial films are saved for prime time, beginning at 8 p.m. ET with a showing of 1936’s rarely televised The Green Pastures. It’s a retelling of several biblical stories with an all-black cast, and, ostensibly, perspective. What’s it like? Well, Ingram plays several roles here, including Adam (to Myrtle Anderson’s Eve) and the most top-billed character of all, “De Lawd.” (Don’t blame me: That’s what they call God in De Credits.)