Intruder in the Dust (1949)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

William Faulkner (novel)
Ben Maddow (writer)

Release Date:

22 November 1950 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Rural Mississippi in the 1940s: Lucas Beauchamp, a local black man with a reputation of not kowtowing to whites...

Plot Keywords:

Boy | Mississippi | 1940s | Jail | Lawyer

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

David Brian	...	John Gavin Stevens
Claude Jarman Jr.	...	Chick Mallison
Juano Hernandez	...	Lucas Beauchamp
Porter Hall	...	Nub Gowrie
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Miss Eunice Habersham
Charles Kemper	...	Crawford Gowrie
Will Geer	...	Sheriff Hampton
David Clarke	...	Vinson Gowrie
Elzie Emanuel	...	Aleck
Lela Bliss	...	Mrs. Mallison
Harry Hayden	...	Mr. Mallison
Harry Antrim	...	Mr. Tubbs

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #13920)

Filming Locations:

Oxford, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Quotes:

John Gavin Stevens: Mr. Hampton is right Miss Eunice, and so are you. They'd pass even Will Legate sooner or later when there's enough of them.
John Gavin Stevens: [pause] But there's one thing that would stop them. Long enough anyhow.
John Gavin Stevens: [pause] And that's somebody without a gun.
John Gavin Stevens: [pause] A Lady. A White Lady.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Some of the Best (1949)

Good Film

Intruder in the Dust (1949)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Interesting film set in the deep South about an elderly black man (Juano Hernandez) accused of shooting a white man in the back. The black man claims he's innocent but won't tell anyone what really happened even when a white mob starts to gather outside the jail to hang him. I was expecting this film to turn into some courtroom drama about how racism is wrong but it never does that nor does it ever preach. The film simply tells its complicated story and lets the viewer see what's going on and draw the injustice as it plays in front of them. This film really took me off guard as it centers on a lawyer (David Brian) and his nephew (Claude Jarman, Jr.) who are trying to figure out the truth. The boy owes the black man a debt and decides to try and get him cleared of the murder charges in order to pay him back. This subplot adds a lot of interest to the film and it also adds some rather brutal moments about race and how it is looked at. The "n" word is thrown around quite often and the film doesn't shy away from the racist undertones and even the lawyer has some racial issues throughout the film. The performances are all very good with Hernandez stealing the film. It's pretty rare to see a black actor get to display so much respect and dignity in such an early film and Hernandez pulls this off wonderfully.