The Mighty Quinn

"The Mighty Quinn" is a clever little movie from early 1989 that was among the first flicks to show the true star power of Denzel Washington ("Glory" was released later that year). Denzel plays Xavier Quinn, the police chief of an unnamed Caribbean island, who has a whodunit on his hands--and his boyhood friend Maubee (Robert Townsend) at the center of it.

It's a laid-back movie, awash in color and great music. Cast includes Sheryl Lee Ralph, Esther Rolle, Art Evans, M Emmet Walsh, Mimi Rogers and the beautiful Maria McDonald in a small, but memorable role as the mischievous Jax.

...As I think about it: Whatever happened to Maria McDonald? Great voice, strikingly fine face and not a bad actress. After "The Mighty Quinn," imdb.com shows her in the made-for-tv movie "The Marla Hanson Story" from 1991, and that's it. If you've got about 50 minutes to kill, check her out in this 1987 episode of "Miami Vice."