Hurry Sundown (1967)

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Horton Foote (writer)
Bert Gilden (novel)

Release Date:

9 February 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

An explosive film. Its young stars are dynamite!

Plot:

Following the Second World War, a northern cannery combine negotiates for the purchase of a large tract of uncultivated Georgia farmland...

Plot Keywords:

Mammy | Saxophone | Sexual Symbolism | Farmer | Melodrama

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 wins

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Henry Warren
Loring Smith	...	Thomas Elwell
Peter Goff	...	Lipscomb
Jane Fonda	...	Julie Ann Warren
George Kennedy	...	Sheriff Coombs
John Phillip Law	...	Rad McDowell
Luke Askew	...	Dolph Higginson
Robert Hooks	...	Reeve Scott
Beah Richards	...	Rose Scott
Burgess Meredith	...	Judge Purcell
Donna Danton	...	Sukie Purcell
Madeleine Sherwood	...	Eula Purcell
Frank Converse	...	Reverend Clem De Lavery
William Elder	...	Bishop
Steve Sanders	...	Charles McDowell

Runtime:

146 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Otto Preminger Films

Trivia:

National Catholic Office of Motion Pictures gave the movie a "C" (condemned) rating, saying "superficial and patronizing in its treatment of racial attitudes and tensions, this melodramatic depiction of life in a small Southern town during the 1940s is also prurient and demeaning in its approach to sex."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one scene as the camera pans down the street, a later model Ford can be seen in a carport.

Quotes:

Rose Scott: Sometin's ailin' you, Reeve.
Reeve Scott: No, Mama.
Rose Scott: Well, sometin's hasn't changed your mood since breakfast. Tell me.
Reeve Scott: Mama, you better dan anyo' dat radar dey had out in de Souf Pacific.
Rose Scott: I don' know nothin' 'bout radar, but I know when sometin's plaguin' ma chile.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

Soundtrack:

Hurry Sundown

the ultimate kind of movie that can only be remembered for its cast

"Hurry Sundown" was, without a doubt, an embarrassment for Otto Preminger. After movies like "Anatomy of a Murder," it seems like he could have come up with more than this litany of hackneyed-ness. Exaggerating every stereotype imaginable, the only memorable part is the cast.

Now, let's talk about the cast. Michael Caine, Jane Fonda, Faye Dunaway, John Philip Law, Robert Hooks and Burgess Meredith. That sounds good enough, but it's not. Maybe it's just that the years since have associated these people with other roles, but the courtroom scene is almost laughable. Michael Caine (aka Alfie) and Jane Fonda (aka Barbarella) are represented by Robert Reed (aka the "Brady Bunch" dad), while John Philip Law (aka the "Barbarella" angel) and Faye Dunaway (aka Bonnie Parker) are represented by Jim Backus (aka Mr. Howell on "Gilligan's Island"). Meanwhile, Burgess Meredith (aka Penguin on "Batman") is the judge, and Madeleine Sherwood (aka Mother Superior on "The Flying Nun") is his wife. I sort of wished that Batman and Robin would enter the courtroom and tackle the "Penguin" and start a Battle Royale, while the Bradys would escort out "Mike," the Castaways would escort out "Mr. Howell" and Bertrille would escort out "Mother Superior." Maybe the casts of "I Dream of Jeannie," "Bewitched," "Get Smart," "All in the Family," "Sanford and Son" and "Happy Days" could also appear, just to jazz things up a bit. Meanwhile, "Barbarella" and "the angel" would return to outer space, while "Bonnie" disappears with Clyde and "Alfie" continues womanizing.

Anyway, the movie's not outright swill, but given all the people involved in it, they should have done better.