Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975)

Starring:

• Moses Gunn
• Rosalind Cash
• Bernie Casey
• Madge Sinclair
• Jamaal Wilkes
• Thalmus Rasulala 
• Antonio Fargas 
• Laurence Fishburne
• Stack Pierce 
• Tierre Turner 
• Bill Henderson 
• Randy Martin 

Storyline
Nathaniel "Cornbread" Hamilton was the black urban dream and a hero to youngsters Wilford Robinson and Earl Carter. Shortly before he would have become the first man from his community to go to college, he demonstrates his scholarship-winning running ability to his friends and admirers in the neighborhood. At the same time, the police are on a manhunt for an armed rapist. They mistake Cornbread for the rapist and shoot him dead in the street. In the aftermath of the community's shattered dream, and in the face of an intimidating police cover-up, Wilford is determined not to betray the memory of his hero.

Link to soundtrack review
The Blackbyrds - Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975)

Trick Baby (1972)

Starring:

• Mel Stewart
• Kiel Martin 
• Dallas Edward Hayes 
• Vernee Watson 

Storyline
Trick Baby is the gritty story of the relationship between two Philly con men, Johnny "Folks" O'Brien, a white man, and "Blue" Howard, a black man. From an early age, Blue raised Folks as his own son and treated him as if he was black. However, Blue passed on more than his heritage when he taught him the ways of the street and the art of the con. Folks was a natural, and in no time they were using their skill and their color to play on people's prejudices and fears. Then, on one hellish day, things begin to unravel when they get in over their heads with a crooked cop and some shady investors. Now the heat is on, friends are scarce and they must rely on each other. But when the chips are down, can people of different races really trust each other? In the next 24 hours, Blue and Folks will learn the disturbing truth about themselves and the world they prey on. 

Sanford and Son [Third Season] (1974)

Starring:

• Red Foxx
• Demond Wilson

Episode Guide

• TV.com

Trivia Factoid:

Episode 19 was written but never filmed, due to contract disputes between star Redd Foxx and the show's producers. The negotiations also forced Foxx not to appear in Season Three's final six episodes. He returned to the hit series at the start of the fourth season.

Amazon.com
Though conflict erupted between comic Redd Foxx and the producers of Sanford and Son during its third season, viewers of this three-disc set, which compiles all 24 episodes of the 1973-74 season, are spared the backstage rancor and instead enjoy more hilarious episodes, fueled as always by Foxx's Emmy-nominated performance as cantankerous junkman Fred Sanford. Sanford and Son was a solid ratings hit as it entered its third season (ranked third among network shows) and Foxx had won a Golden Globe the previous year, but a contract dispute had driven a wedge between him and series producers Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear (who also ran the season's top-rated program, All in the Family). Negotiations would eventually break down, and Foxx would be absent from six episodes (Fred was said to be visiting relatives in St. Louis) and did not return to the show until season 4 was underway.

Foxx's departure allowed the spotlight to shine more brightly on co-star Demond Wilson (who would soon launch his own contract disputes, which prompted his leaving the series in 1976) as well as new cast member Whitman Mayo, who joined the show that season as Fred's pal Grady. While series aficionados are firmly divided over Grady, Mayo is quite funny, especially during the final six episodes (in particular "Will the Real Fred Sanford Please Stand Up?" and season closer "Hello Cousin Emma, Goodbye Cousin Emma"). Other standout episodes include "The Blind Mellow Jelly Collection" (in which Fred attempts to reclaim his donated record collection) and "Fred Sanford, Legal Eagle" (Fred defends Lamont in traffic court), which features Starsky and Hutch's Antonio Fargas. The third-season scripts, penned mostly by story editor Ilunga Adell (Moesha), remain sharp, as does the direction (the lion's share is handled by Peter Baldwin, though Bud Yorkin helms two episodes). Fans and first-timers alike will find plenty of laughs among the three discs, which unfortunately lack any extras.