Countdown at Kusini
Countdown at Kusini (also known as Cool Red) is a 1976 American-Nigerian action-drama film directed by Ossie Davis. It stars Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, and Greg Morris and follows Red Salter, an African American jazz musician who falls in love with Leah Matanzima in Fahari, a newly independent African country. Leah fights a puppet government backed by multinational corporations. Red joins her cause, helps supply weapons, and supports revolutionary leader Ernest Motapo.
When Fahari officials arrest them, British journalist Charles Henderson rescues Leah and Red but is killed by Ben Amed, a French mercenary. Motapo’s nephew Marnie betrays him and teams with Amed to ambush Motapo at a railroad junction near Kusini. Leah and Red arrive with fighters and kill Marnie and Amed, then Leah welcomes Red to Africa’s revolution against European imperialism.
Production notes: The film was financed by Delta Sigma Theta and shot in Lagos in August 1974 with both U.S. and Nigerian crews. It runs 101 minutes, is in English, and had a budget of about $1.2 million. It was produced by Ladi Ladebo and released by Columbia Pictures.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:23 (CET).