

Leadbelly
You can't bury a black legend like Leadbelly!
The life of Blues and folk singer Huddie Leadbetter, nicknamed Leadbelly is recounted. Covering the good times and bad from his 20s to 40s. Much of that time was spent on chain gangs in the south. Even in prison he became well known for the songs he had composed and sung during and before the time he spent there.
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6.4/10
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- —
- Box office
- —
- Language
- English
- biography
- blues music
Top billed cast






Behind the camera
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for United States. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- PremiereUSA Film Festival7 Apr 1976
- TheatricalPGNew York City, New York28 May 1976
BrazilBR
- Theatrical (limited)14IMS Paulista (Gordon Parks: A América Sou Eu)11 Dec 2025
ItalyIT
- TVRete A4 Jun 1983
Frequently asked questions
Leadbelly was released on 28 May 1976.
Audience reviews
1- J
JPRetana
6/16/2026
Leadbelly (1976) opens with Huddie ‘Lead Belly’ Ledbetter (Roger E. Mosley) as an old man in prison. By “old” I mean they dyed Mosley’s hair and eyebrows gray, and even “dyed” might be an overstatement. Ledbetter is shirtless when we first meet him, so we can see he’s actually a strapping middle-age man. Perhaps that stuff on his hair is just dust from breaking rocks all day. Ethnomusicologists John and Alan Lomax…
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