Buck and the Preacher (1972)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Sidney Poitier

Writers:

Ernest Kinoy (story) and
Drake Walker (story) ...

Release Date:

17 March 1972 (West Germany)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Western

Tagline:

The fight was against the raiders... but the feud was between themselves!

Plot:

A wagon master and a con-man preacher help freed slaves dogged by cheap-labor agents out West. |

Plot Keywords:

Con Man | Wagon Master | Preacher | Chief | Native American

Cast

Sidney Poitier	...	Buck
Harry Belafonte	...	The Preacher
Ruby Dee	...	Ruth
Cameron Mitchell	...	Deshay
Denny Miller	...	Floyd
Nita Talbot	...	Madam Esther
John Kelly	...	Sheriff
Tony Brubaker	...	Head man
Bobby Johnson	...	Man who is shot
James McEachin	...	Kingston
Clarence Muse	...	Cudjo
Lynn Hamilton	...	Sarah
Doug Johnson	...	Sam
Errol John	...	Joshua
Kenneth Menard	...	Little Henry (as Ken Menard)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:16 | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Company:

Belafonte Enterprises

Trivia:

First time director 'Sydney Poitier' took over the job from Joseph Sargent when he became dissatisfied with the film's point of view.

Quotes:

Buck: Which way are you ridin', Preacher?
The Preacher: Well, that's not exactly settled in my mind yet.
Buck: Well, you got three possibilities.
The Preacher: Oh?
Buck: North, south or east.
The Preacher: What happened to west?
Buck: We're going west.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western (1997) (TV)

the anti-blaxploitation

Sidney Poitier made his directorial debut with "Buck and the Preacher", in which he played a wagon-master leading freed slaves across the Old West. The whole time, they have to battle night-riders trying to return them to slavery in Louisiana. But then, Poitier joins up with Harry Belafonte, a reformed thief spreading the Gospel across the Old West, and they figure out a way to protect the freed slaves.

Probably the most important aspect of this movie was that it came out around a time when Hollywood was releasing many blaxploitation movies portraying African-Americans as kick-ass brothers and sisters with hearts of gold. This one focused seriously on a part of black history in the United States, and did a very good job at it. I certainly recommend this movie. Also starring Ruby Dee and Denny Miller (a character actor who appeared twice on "Gilligan's Island").