By Lee Pfeiffer
I have to admit that I hadn't a clue as to what Intruder in the Dust was about until I viewed the DVD released through the Warner Archive. The film is a powerful indictment of the horrors of racism, filmed by MGM during a period when the American Civil Rights Movement was just beginning to heat up. We have a tendency to accuse Hollywood studios of relegating African-American actors to being mere window dressing in films of this era, or worse, casting them as comic relief in often degrading ways. However, this 1949 achievement should be much higher on the radar of retro movie lovers. While most studio productions steered clear of the problem of racism in the American South during the period when segregation was still law, this excellent film addresses the issue head-on. There were some talented people who brought the story to the screen in 1949. Esteemed director Clarence Brown was behind the camera and the screenplay was written by the great Ben Maddow, based on a novel by William Faulkner.
The film was shot on location in Oxford, Mississippi and centers on
the murder of a local white businessman who was shot in the back. The
prime suspect is Lucas (Juano Hernandez), a middle-aged black farmer who
has incurred the wrath of local bigots because he is proud and
independent and fails to take on the subserviant persona of the "good
Negro". Causing more resentment is the fact that Lucas owns his own
farm, a prime piece of land that invokes jealousy from less successful
local whites. Lucas maintains his calm demeanor even when he is jailed
and is awaiting the inevitable murder at the hands of a mob. His one
white friend comes to his aid: a teenager named Chick Mallison (Claude
Jarman Jr.). Chick convinces his uncle, lawyer John Stevens (David
Brian) to defend him. Stevens agrees because he doesn't want a murder
committed, but even he believes Lucas is guilty. He tells the seemingly
doomed man that he can't get a fair trial, that he doesn't believe he is
innocent and that he should have shown proper deference to the bigots
at all times. This attitude is what passed for enlightened thinking
during this period. Ultimately, Stevens becomes convinced that his
client is being framed and the plot turns to to who-dunnit as an oddball
group of progressives fights against time to find the real murderer
before Lucas is lynched or burned alive. The only whites in town who
will assist Stevens and Chick are an elderly woman (Elizabeth Patterson)
and the local sheriff (Will Geer), who has a condescending attitude
towards blacks but is courageous enough to stand up to the worst
elements of the population.
What is most surprising about the film is that it doesn't devolve
into a wishy-washy, feel-good look at the basic decency of the town's
population. They are portrayed as people who converge on the anticipated
murder of a black man as though the circus has come to town. Like the
public hangings depicted in films such as Hang 'Em High and the original True Grit, death
is a spectator sport that breaks up the monotony of day-to-day life. At
the end of the film, the only people who are redeemed are the ones who
had a basic decency to begin with. In the lead role, David Brian is
adequate but calls to mind the image of the stiff, sitcom dad from the
1950s: he always wears a tie, sucks on a pipe and delivers his lines as
though he's chastising The Beaver and Wally. However, given the era,
this was par for the course and in the few scenes where Brian is allowed
to emote, he registers strongly. The supporting cast is terrific, with
Jarman giving a very natural and believable performance as a young man
who realizes he possesses inherent racism, despite his self-denials.
Patterson is excellent as the old woman who puts her life on the line to
stop the lynch mob and Will Geer is particularly affecting as the
wizened, corn porn sheriff who is determined to uphold social justice
even for a man he regards as a second-class citizen. Even the smallest
role is played with such skill that you forget you are watching actors
at work. The
scene-stealer, however, is Juano Hernandez, who brings such dignity and
conviction to the role of Lucas that it seems pitiable he was not
nominated for an Oscar. Then again, even though MGM bankrolled this fine
movie, the studio still stuck to the theory that blacks shouldn't
feature in advertising campaigns for mainstream films. Thus, the ad
campaign (replicated on the DVD sleeve) doesn't depict Hernandez and
never even hints that the film has a racial element to it. Sadly, the film still resonates as relevant in an America in which racial animus has been reawakened.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE.