What a genuine find this obscure 1964 film is. In the midst of Sidney Poitier's breakthrough as a mainstream leading man of the big studios, director Michael Roemer made a groundbreaking independent film that fully captured the black experience at the dawn of the civil rights movement without exploiting the controversial subject or introducing a non-threatening component that would have made the story more palatable for white audiences. The latter was especially the case in Poitier's biggest movies at the time like "Lilies of the Field" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" where he played variations on the over-idealized black man, a point made ironic by the fact that the legendary actor turned down the lead role in this film. In a perceptive screenplay co-written by Roemer and Robert M. Young, the protagonist, Duff Anderson, is anything but idealized. He is a laborer who suffers as much from his own self-loathing as he does from the deeply ingrained racism surrounding him.
In early 1960's Birmingham, Alabama, Duff is an itinerant worker, a member of a section team for the railroad company. At a church social one evening, he meets Josie Dawson, a well-educated schoolteacher who happens to be the minister's daughter. In spite of her father's disapproval, the two quietly fall in love and get married. They face one hardship after another as he tries to find stable work while dealing with a troubled past which includes an estranged, embittered father whose life he appears to be emulating against his will. Duff also supports a four-year-old son whom he hasn't seen for two years even though he's not certain he's the father. While racism is presented honestly and produces moments of genuine dramatic tension, it never becomes a manipulative device to move the plot forward. Things begin to unravel between Duff and Josie through the course of the story but not with excessive melodramatic flourishes. In fact, the film is so truthfully matter-of-fact in Roemer's documentary-like approach that when Duff has an explosive moment late in the story it feels shocking but utterly real.
The performances completely surprised me. Best known as the quiet communications specialist Sergeant Kinchloe on the long-running sitcom "Hogan's Heroes", Ivan Dixon brings unerring gravitas to his conflicted character. He doesn't take any short cuts in presenting Duff as a man who makes his own decisions no matter how harsh the consequences. As Josie, jazz great Abbey Lincoln ("For Love of Ivy"), with her infectious smile, is genuinely affecting as a woman who becomes attracted to Duff because she thought the two of them "might have something to say to each other." One wonders in hindsight how powerfully she might have portrayed Billie Holiday if given the chance she was supposed to have before Diana Ross got cast in "Lady Sings the Blues". Julius Harris makes his few scenes count as Duff's belligerent father, while Gloria Foster (later the Oracle in "The Matrix") etches a vivid impression as a beaten-down woman who remains inexplicably faithful to him. In one of his earliest roles, Yaphet Kotto ("Alien") is recognizable as one of Duff's railroad buddies. The well-used Motown soundtrack is a nice surprise as well. This forgotten film is well worth seeking out. Strongly recommended.
In early 1960's Birmingham, Alabama, Duff is an itinerant worker, a member of a section team for the railroad company. At a church social one evening, he meets Josie Dawson, a well-educated schoolteacher who happens to be the minister's daughter. In spite of her father's disapproval, the two quietly fall in love and get married. They face one hardship after another as he tries to find stable work while dealing with a troubled past which includes an estranged, embittered father whose life he appears to be emulating against his will. Duff also supports a four-year-old son whom he hasn't seen for two years even though he's not certain he's the father. While racism is presented honestly and produces moments of genuine dramatic tension, it never becomes a manipulative device to move the plot forward. Things begin to unravel between Duff and Josie through the course of the story but not with excessive melodramatic flourishes. In fact, the film is so truthfully matter-of-fact in Roemer's documentary-like approach that when Duff has an explosive moment late in the story it feels shocking but utterly real.
The performances completely surprised me. Best known as the quiet communications specialist Sergeant Kinchloe on the long-running sitcom "Hogan's Heroes", Ivan Dixon brings unerring gravitas to his conflicted character. He doesn't take any short cuts in presenting Duff as a man who makes his own decisions no matter how harsh the consequences. As Josie, jazz great Abbey Lincoln ("For Love of Ivy"), with her infectious smile, is genuinely affecting as a woman who becomes attracted to Duff because she thought the two of them "might have something to say to each other." One wonders in hindsight how powerfully she might have portrayed Billie Holiday if given the chance she was supposed to have before Diana Ross got cast in "Lady Sings the Blues". Julius Harris makes his few scenes count as Duff's belligerent father, while Gloria Foster (later the Oracle in "The Matrix") etches a vivid impression as a beaten-down woman who remains inexplicably faithful to him. In one of his earliest roles, Yaphet Kotto ("Alien") is recognizable as one of Duff's railroad buddies. The well-used Motown soundtrack is a nice surprise as well. This forgotten film is well worth seeking out. Strongly recommended.