2023 Blind Spot Series: Buck and the Preacher

 

Directed and co-starring Sidney Poitier and screenplay by Ernest Kinoy with a story by Kinoy and Drake Walker, Buck and the Preacher is the story of a wagon master who teams up with a pistol-packing preacher to deal with white bounty hunters while they’re on a journey towards West with emancipated slaves. The film is a western set years after the American Civil War where two different men work together to get freed slaves to a new home and deal with white bounty hunters with Poitier and Harry Belafonte playing the respective titular roles. Also starring Ruby Dee, Cameron Mitchell, Denny Miller, Enrique Lucero, Julie Robinson Belafonte, Clarence Muse, and Lynn Hamilton. Buck and the Preacher is an exhilarating and riveting film from Sidney Poitier.

Set years following the events of the American Civil War, a wagon master who helps lead wagon trails to the West deals with white bounty hunters who are trying to get the former slaves back to the South where the wagon master in Buck teams up with a man known as the Preacher to deal with these evil forces. It is a film based on real-life events for African-Americans who decide to move west on a wagon trail of their own as they had to deal with white bounty hunters in an attempt to get things back the way they were. Ernest Kinoy’s screenplay play into these groups of African-American people on a wagon trail as they were former slaves who want to move to the West to find a new world yet they’re hired by former plantation owners to get them back to Louisiana in an attempt to restore the old ways. Many of these travelers turn to Buck, who is a former soldier, as he would help them in their travels yet has to deal with these men lead by Deshay (Cameron Mitchell) while a man in Reverend Willis Oaks Rutherford aka the Preacher is offered $500 to capture Buck yet he realizes what Buck is doing as he too would cause trouble for Deshay and others.

Even as African-American settlers would be ambushed with women and children being killed by Deshay and his men with money also stolen from them that they needed to buy seed, supplies, and other things they need for their journey with Buck being paid to help them reach their destination. The Preacher sees what is going on as he is reluctant to help Buck but is aware that the people are the ones in need of help as he and Buck would come up with ideas to not only get their money back but also ask the help of the Native Americans who have their own issues with the white men.

Sidney Poitier’s direction definitely has elements of style in the film while retaining many of the hallmarks expected in a western as it is shot on location in Durango, Mexico. Though it was initially helmed by Joseph Sargent who would then be replaced by Poitier a few days into production due to Sargent’s lack of understanding towards the African-American experience. Poitier would infuse not just a lot of the imagery of African-Americans trying to go into the West to find a new home where there’s an old man in Cudjo (Clarence Muse) who would perform old magic with bones to give him a message. It plays into this sense of danger that African-Americans had to deal with as a young woman in Sarah (Lynn Hamilton) had to hide dollar bills around her body from the white bounty hunters. Poitier doesn’t shy away from the severity of the violence though it isn’t graphic but rather the aftermath of wagons being burned and destroyed as well as tents and such where men are digging a hole to bury the bodies including a child. Poitier’s usage of close-ups and medium shots don’t just add to the suspense and drama but also the desire of two men trying to think in how to deal with Deshay and his men that includes his young nephew Floyd (Denny Miller) as they’re both lawless, racist individuals.

Poitier also creates some unique wide shots as the locations are key to the story including some of the mountains, rivers, and valleys that the wagon trail and other characters venture into as well as small towns where Buck and the Preacher would concoct a plan with the aid of Buck’s wife Ruth (Ruby Dee) as it relates to getting the money Buck is owed as well as the money that was stolen from the wagon trail. Poitier does create some moral ambiguity for Buck and the Preacher though they don’t intend to kill innocent people nor do they want to cause trouble while a local sheriff (John Kelly) who wants to capture Buck and the Preacher for what they did as it relates to Deshay is someone who does uphold the law as he doesn’t like what Deshay and Floyd do in harassing African-Americans. The film’s climax is a shootout yet it is all about location and what Buck and the Preacher do to get the posse away from the wagon trail where Poitier doesn’t just get these great wide shots to showcase the point of view of where Buck and the Preacher are against this posse but also the Natives who watch from afar. Overall, Poitier crafts a gripping yet captivating film about a wagon master and a gun-slinging preacher trying to help their people reach a new world away from evil white racist bounty hunters.

Cinematographer Alex Phillips Jr. does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with the opening usage of sepia-drenched filters for the film’s first few minutes to the vibrant colors of the daytime exterior settings and low-key lighting for the scenes at night. Editor Pembroke J. Herring does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts for the action and some of the film’s comedic moments. Production designer Sydney Z. Litwack, with set decorators Ernest Carrasco and Ray Moyer, does fantastic work with the look of the tents and shacks that the settlers live in as well as the town that the white people mainly stay in. Costume designer Guy C. Verhille does terrific work with the costumes from the black suit and hat the Preacher wears to the ragged look of Buck. Sound mixer Tom Overton does superb work in capturing the sounds of gunfire, horses running from afar, and other natural sounds to help maintain a tense atmosphere for the film’s suspenseful moments. The film’s music by Benny Carter, with additional music from Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, is incredible for its offbeat score with elements of traditional folk and blues that is filled with some offbeat string instruments and other tidbits to play into not just the suspense and drama but also in some of the film’s humorous moments.

The casting by Billy Gordon is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Lynn Hamilton as a young woman in Sarah who helps hide the money for the freed slaves that she would carry around her body, Nita Talbot as a brothel madam in Madame Esther who would invite Deshay and his men for a good time only to get into some trouble of her own, John Kelly as a local sheriff who would go on the hunt for Buck and the Preacher for breaking the law yet wants no part of Deshay’s posse in killing African-Americans, Clarence Muse as an elderly African-American in Cudjo who uses old magic to get answers, James McEachin as a young African-American who turns to Buck for answers on what to do, Enrique Lucero as a Native American tribal chief who wants no trouble yet is fair to Buck, Julie Robinson Belafonte as a Native American woman who interprets for her chief as she helps relay the message for Buck and the Preacher, and Denny Miller as Deshay’s nephew Floyd who wants to help his uncle in turning the African-Americans back to South as he has little regard for the law.

Cameron Mitchell is excellent as Deshay as a bounty hunter who is hired by plantation owners to get former slaves back to the South as he sees it as a way back to the old ways while he is also aware of Buck whom he isn’t fond of. Ruby Dee is brilliant as Buck’s wife Ruth as a woman who is eager to go to Canada as she later takes part in Buck and the Preacher’s plan to rob a stationary/bank while also lamenting over Buck’s weariness in helping out the people. Finally, there’s the duo of Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte in tremendous leading performances in their respective titular roles with Poitier being this former soldier who leads a wagon trail as he deals with the dangers of the Wild West as well as Deshay where he also admits to being weary but is willing to do what he can. Belafonte brings a lot of charm and energy to his character as he often preaches the gospel while also bringing some back story about the clothes he wears as he is also someone that becomes aware of what is at stake as he helps out Buck. Poitier and Belafonte together are a joy to watch as they’re two different personalities all with the same goal as they also prove to be a duo that can’t be messed with.

Buck and the Preacher is a phenomenal film from Sidney Poitier that is led by the great performances of Poitier and Harry Belafonte. Along with its supporting ensemble cast that includes Ruby Dee plus, gorgeous visuals, a playful music soundtrack, and its exploration of post-American Civil War racial tension. It is a western that doesn’t just bear the elements that are crucial to the genre but also infuse it with the African-American struggle as well as bringing voice to those people who just wanted a new home. In the end, Buck and the Preacher is a sensational film from Sidney Poitier.

Sidney Poitier Films: (A Warm December) – (Uptown Saturday Night) – (Let’s Do It Again) – (A Piece of the Action) – (Stir Crazy) – (Hanky Panky (1982 film)) – (Fast Forward) – (Ghost Dad)

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